Every so often a bottle lands on my desk from a brand I have never encountered, and it forces me to sit up and pay attention. McConnell’s Irish Whisky is exactly that. This is a name with a remarkable history, produced by the Belfast Distillery Company in a former prison, of all places. Fires and countless setbacks thwarted its development for decades, but serious investment has finally brought this legend back into the limelight where it belongs, much like Midleton has done with Powers and Diageo has done with Roe & Co.
I must apologise to the folks at McConnell’s for taking so long to review the bottle they kindly sent me, but as you can see from how little remains, I have certainly enjoyed getting to know it.
The expression in question is their cognac finish, five years in first-fill bourbon before a spell in cognac casks, bottled at 46% and non-chill-filtered. Cognac finishing is not something you typically associate with Irish whiskey, though the likes of Glenmorangie and Balvenie have flirted with it in the past. Cognac tends to sit in cherry-adjacent territory, all raisin and Christmassy richness, and because those casks are less expensive than sherry, it feels like a genuinely experimental choice. Combined with malt and grain whiskies, it makes for a classic blend that the finish renders wonderfully approachable.
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On the nose, this is astonishingly oily for a five-year-old. It fills the room with fudge, toffee and, most surprisingly, pineapple. There is coffee cream, vanilla and a chewy Cornish clotted cream fudge quality, underpinned by dried apricot, raisin and sultana from that cognac influence. Put this in front of most people and they simply would not guess it was Irish.
The palate follows through beautifully. It is full bodied yet light, a slight juxtaposition I know, but the sweetness never becomes cloying and the spicy, woody notes stay politely in the background. The 46% delivers a slow-moving finish that, rather oddly, reminds me of rum and raisin ice cream.
What impresses me most is the absence of youth. There is only the faintest gristy, barley character right at the death, hidden beneath all that fudge. This whisky is not screaming its age at you, and that balance is precisely what makes it work. On a 28-degree heatwave day, it is clean and fresh yet carries real richness.
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READ THE STORYI am giving it a 7.5/10, and if this is what McConnell’s tastes like at five years old, the future is very bright indeed. Have you tried this Belfast revival yet, and does cognac finishing win you over?
To see my full tasting of the whisky, check out my YouTube video.
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