Editor’s Note: This whiskey was provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. This in no way, per our editorial policies, influenced the final outcome of this review. It should also be noted that by clicking the buy link in this review our site receives a small referral payment which helps to support, but not influence, our editorial and other costs.
Most of us remember a time we thought, “wait… is it ‘whiskey’ or ‘whisky’?” before turning to Wikipedia for salvation. Was it the first time you noticed the difference? Or like me, did you return to the question after forgetting what you previously read? Take solace in the face that people may have been having the same argument 1000 years ago. Uisce Beatha, or “the water of life”, was the first known name for whiskey on the Emerald Isle (Ireland). But wait! The Scottish Gaelic spelling is slightly different – Uisge Beatha. And so the great debate was started, even though both refer to the same thing: spirits distilled from fermented grain mash.
While modern whiskey finds its roots in Scotland and Ireland, over the centuries various cultures have added their own flare to the process. The Scots and Irish started the trend somewhere between 1000 A.D. and 1500 A.D., before it traveled to the Americas in the 1600s, and on to Japan around 1870. Today, I’m trying one of the originals, an Irish whiskey (yes with an ‘e’), from the innovative group at Method and Madness microdistillery. The distillery was founded in Midleton in 2015 and was used as a training hub by the masters for the apprentices.
As implied from its Shakespearean derivation “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t” (Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2), it is the experimental branch of the Irish Distillers collection and “has provided the copper canvas for experimentation to run free.” “There will be trial, and error, and brilliant bottled breakthroughs that start with ‘What if?’”
What I’m reviewing here is the Method and Madness Single Pot Still Whiskey, which is a blend of malted and unmalted barley distilled in a pot still within a single distillery. There is no information as to the exact blend, but the mixture must be at least 30% malted and 30% unmalted barley by law. This whiskey is matured in sherry and American bourbon barrels and then finished in a chestnut cask.
The sherry maturation should add a nice dark fruit flavor of figs, currants, and berry, but the most interesting addition is the chestnut casks. Aging a whiskey in something other than oak is not unheard of, but it certainly is uncommon. Chestnut notably “impart[s] flavors of caramel, toffee and toast, as well as vegetal notes…” and, like American oak, can add a vanilla flavor. Chestnut is also more porous than oak, leading to more evaporation, i.e. the Angel’s Share.
Tasting Notes: Method and Madness Single Pot Irish Whiskey
Vital Stats: No age statement. Aged in sherry and American barrels, finished in French chestnut. 92 proof (46% ABV). $84/700ml.
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Appearance: Clear yellow tinted a slight orange.
Nose: Reminds me of Suntory whiskies, in that I smell a Japanese dinner of seaweed and rice initially. The sherry notes of dried fig make an appearance while wood and licorice round out the smell.
Palate: Rich up front with caramel and charred oak. Cloves spices then come forward, but lurking behind them are currants and wild strawberries. Thyme snakes its way forward toward the end of the palate, and on the finish bitter lemon peel and soft bread fade off.
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