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.
Even the most casual drinker of spirits can pick out the taste of peat. The moss, once a fuel source, imparted a smokey taste when burned during distillation. It’s a taste unique to whiskey, and still a primary factor used for categorizing it. In Scotland, it remains the signature taste of multiple regions.
Across the sea in Ireland, despite the significant presence of peat bogs in the region, distillers have mostly avoided peated whiskey. Even though there are a dedicated set of Irish distillers who still produce peated whiskeys, they’ve needed to import peated barley from Scotland.
Waterford Distillery aims to change that. The sister bottlings of their peated single farm whiskies, coming from Ballybannon and Fenniscourt, were malted with Irish peat from Ballyteige, Co. Kildare. Why go to the additional effort to utilize local peat? Waterford seeks the terroir of Ballyteige.
Terroir is a term for the environmental factors that impact a crop. It incorporates factors of soil, climate, topology, and the organisms sharing the ecosystem. The nuances in these factors run deep, quite literally.
The two farms that grew barley for these releases are both in County Carlow. Both grow on lime-rich Elton Series soil, fed by the River Barrow. Where they differ is that the Ballybannon farm is adjacent to a peat bog, giving it a terroir better suited to peating. This meant the Ballybannon could be dried to a higher peating intensity, setting it apart from its sister bottling.
There’s something appealingly modern about Waterford. On their website, you can enter a bottle’s “Teireoir code” (Teireoir being their fancifully Gaelicized spelling of terroir) to get an impressively deep breakdown of its soil, water, and cooperage. Their editorial pages offer deep dives into terroir that go as far back as the tectonic formation of Ireland and discuss the geological elements of soil in almost hypnotic detail. Even their bottles, with their ribbed blue glass and cleanly designed labels, feel like something out of a neon-lit nightclub.
It’s refreshing to see such aesthetics paired with such a grounded approach to distilling. Waterford’s focus on terroir and biodynamics is unusual among distillers, but these concepts have been part of farming tradition since its inception. In a time when whiskeys can struggle to maintain a modern identity, there’s a value in making the old seem new again.
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Tasting Notes: Waterford Peated Single Farm Ballybannon Harvest 2017
Vital Stats: 50% ABV. Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley. Suggested Retail: 99.99 USD.
Appearance: Pale Gold
Nose: It opens with peat and a balanced smokiness, which provides a stable medium for an underlying freshness of clover honey
Palate: The smokiness of the peat is strong enough to contend with the mossy flavor, which preserves the grainy notes of the barley. There’s a lightness and freshness to the taste, in pleasant contrast to the smoke and peat. The mouth feel is smooth. Only a hint of smoke stays for a finish of fresh bran and clover honey.
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