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Irish

Natterjack Irish Whiskey

OVERALL
RATING

6

Whiskey Review: Natterjack Irish Whiskey

Tasting Notes:

About:
Mash bill: 80% Corn 20% Malt. Aged first in used bourbon barrels and then transferred to new, American oak. 40% ABV.
Appearance:
Light Gold,
Nose:
Custardy and rich while also having an encompassing sweetness.
Palate:
Custard is the word I’m going to use again because the taste and texture are so sweet and smooth, along with a little bit of vanilla flavor, that the dessert seems like the best comparison that I can think of. There’s hardly any kick to the whiskey either, giving it a very gentle flavor profile overall.
Finish:
Comments:
Natterjack’s first release is sweet and subtle, delivering a relaxing texture to go along with a nice sweet and vanilla flavor. There’s hardly any kick, so this would be a great whiskey for those who don’t like to deal with the heat. I do wish the flavor profile popped just a little bit more and maybe gave us a little more Irish malt rather focusing then so heavily on the American Bourbon side of things.rnrnOverall though, I think Natterjack delivered something worth trying with their first batch and I’m excited to see what they produce in the future.

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.

We all love a good cross-over, think The Simpsons episode where Homer solves mysteries with the X-Files team, or when the guys from Supernatural showed up in Scooby-Doo. Combining the best of both-worlds is always admirable in its attempt to find innovation, while taking influence from the best parts of tradition.

This is the type of philosophy that the distillers over at Natterjack Irish Whiskey are working with as they attempt to combine the best of both Kentucky and Irish whiskey traditions by essentially creating an Irish style bourbon.

Headed by Jordan Via and Aidan Mehigan, who both met at Breckenridge distillery in Colorado, along with Lisa Mehigan, the trio are still in the early stages of the building a distillery which is set to occupy a 150-year-old former Irish wool mill.  As for their production style, Natterjack puts most of their emphasis on using both Irish and American aging techniques.

First, aging their whiskey in bourbon barrels, which is a classic Irish practice. Then finishing the aging process in brand new American oak barrels, which is a requirement in the aging process for any Kentucky bourbon. As for the mash bill they use an 80% corn and 20% malted barley blend. This is another ode to the mixture of Irish and American whiskey culture as Malted Barley is what is used in all traditional Irish Whiskeys, while corn is the main requirement for all bourbons.

They also advertise their whiskey as “triple distilled,” although I challenge any whiskey drinker, new and old alike, to blind taste test a double distilled and triple distilled whiskey to see if you can tell the difference (in my opinion, you can’t).

Natterjack Irish Whiskey review
We review Natterjack Irish Whiskey, made from a mash bill of 80% corn and 20% malted barley. (image via Gortinore Distilling)

Tasting Notes: Natterjack Irish Whiskey

Vital Stats: Mash bill: 80% Corn 20% Malt. Aged first in used bourbon barrels and then transferred to new, American oak. 40% ABV.

Appearance: Light Gold,

Nose: Custardy and rich while also having an encompassing sweetness.

Palate: Custard is the word I’m going to use again because the taste and texture are so sweet and smooth, along with a little bit of vanilla flavor, that the dessert seems like the best comparison that I can think of. There’s hardly any kick to the whiskey either, giving it a very gentle flavor profile overall.

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