Nose
A heady mix of overripe (almost black) banana, big oaky notes. Demerara sugar (slightly molasses, in fact), soft honey, ripe greengages and pepper. On a blind nosing, I might have considered this a rum. Just a few ripe barley notes pop through, but essentially when cold.
Taste
Big, booming start. Very rich from the off: attractively oily and mouthwatering, immediately showing an unmalted pedigree to the clean barley and perhaps a hint of oats. However, to the middle, there is a sweet, coppery, estery texture more attuned to Jamaican pot still.
Finish
Long, quite hard and brittle—as one would hope from a whiskey of this genre—and some of the deeper vanillas one might expect to find in an old bourbon. Chewy, with licorice and a hint of chicory. It is that estery, vaguely honeyed, oily copper pot rum that hangs on the longest.
Comment
A highly individualistic whiskey that refuses to take prisoners. Another year in the cask might have tipped this over the top. We are talking brinkmanship here, with a truly awesome display of flavor profiles ranging from traditional Irish pot still to bourbon via old Jamaican pot still rum. A whiskey of mind-boggling duplicity, tricking the taste buds into reading one thing after another and then moving off on a different tangent altogether. About as complex and beguiling as straight Irish whiskey ever gets. Astonishing and truly a thing of beauty.
Nose
Crisp, dry Riesling; extremely winey. Even so, a fabulous development of grassy malt, and an undercurrent of vanilla oakiness adds depth. A citrus youthfulness seems to complete the circle.
Taste
Fresh and mouthwatering lends to a light start, immediately followed by a massive malty follow-through, which develops into a honeyed sweetness and a trace of vague fruit notes.
Finish
Drier, with a burgeoning vanilla depth and a hint of cocoa.
Comment
For a light whiskey, this shows enormous complexity and depth. Genuine balance from nose to finish. Refreshing and dangerously more-ish!
Nose
The opening aroma is gentle but intensely malty. With aeration and a swirl or two, the second pass sees substantial aromatic expansion as pleasing waves of fruity cereal, flowers and spirit emerge and push past the malt. By the third pass, the base spirit really makes itself known in a citrusy/rind-like way. After nearly 10 minutes of exposure to air, the bouquet begins an easy, unhurried decline as the fruity notes become dominant and the spirit and mashy cereal components fade.
Taste
More assertive in the mouth than in the nasal cavity, the taste stage opens up a palate entry with a burst of grainy/spirity warmth. Then, at mid-palate, the grain takes over and adds a touch of zesty spice. The flavor phase makes clearly evident the youthfulness of this whiskey, not as a negative—because not all recommendable whiskey has to be decades old—but more as a calling card to its vivacity and agility.
Finish
The finish is quick, moderately malty and dry. Might be perceived as being slight, but I can live with that, because in the end, this whiskey shows enough character, in particular in the mouth, to be easily better than average.
Comment
The very pale flax/lemon-yellow/Muscadet-like color is pretty.
Nose
At opening is toasty, malty and remarkably compelling. With air contact, an oily/seed-like aroma emerges in the second pass that mixes well with the dry cereal surface perfume. In the third pass, a barely discernible touch of tobacco leaf/smokiness is detected. Following six minutes of aeration—in the fourth and final sniffing—what dominates is the stone-dry, toasted grain/malt tandem.
Taste
The palate entry is mildly sweet and grainy, but by mid-palate, the sweetness grows significantly more intense as the texture coats the tongue.
Finish
The aftertaste is long, grainy and oily.
Comment
This bottling owns far more grip and structural grace than the 1991. Bravo and keep them coming.
Nose
An uplifting, lively nose; lightly malty and grassy and exceptionally clean. A very delicate richness reveals an enchanting thoroughbred.
Taste
Intense malt vies for supremacy with a surge of controlled spice. The dominant cloves are well contained and are met with a mouthwatering sweetness that is rather brittle yet fresh—like a new toffee apple.
Finish
Soft spices suffuse with the cream-toffee sweetness. Gentle, with a tantalizing hint of cocoa and toast. Lush, oily and exceptionally long on the finish.
Comment
This is a malt of exceptional character and charisma. It is almost squeaky clean but proudly contains enormous depth and intensity. The chocolate finish is an absolute delight.
Nose
Teasingly delicate with a mouthwatering intertwining of fresh cut grass and distant zesty, lemony hints. Slightly floral but amazingly crisp and clean. The oaky vanilla notes do nothing to lessen the clarity of the aroma: there is a vivid sharpness to the aroma that is highly unusual for a whiskey of this age.
Taste
Soft, malty arrival on the palate that is at first sweet and then an on-rush of lively barley notes buzz around the tastebuds. The oak forms a stunning backdrop of weightier tones, though the freshness of the malt is never once displaced. That zestiness on the nose is apparent adding a slight marmaladey, bittersweet feel to the proceedings. Absolutely salivating.
Finish
Medium length and almost unbelievably clean despite the subtle cocoa notes which reveal the advancing years of the whiskey. A slight, almost shy, oiliness helps keep the sweeter malt notes locked into the roof of the mouth extending the finish that few extra vital seconds. Again, the balance—like on the nose and initial taste—is completely in sync: the barley and oak are in total harmony.
Comment
Overall, I think this is the most sophisticated Knappogue of them all. This is an enormously refreshing whiskey that can be enjoyed at any time of the day: from a pre-lunch pick-me-up to something to savour just before bed. Most startling is the clarity of the whiskey for a near 10-year-old where the barley and oak just seem so well adjusted together. There is not a single off-note to be detected and its mouthwatering qualities are awesome.
Color
Pale golden color, derived entirely from long maturation in bourbon oak casks.
Aroma
Very well balanced, clean fresh citrus and floral notes, complex mellow aromas of malt, perfumy oils, honey/vanilla with medium intensity. Touch of toasted wood also.
Taste
Really mellow and well rounded, very well balanced, medium intensity, sweetish complex taste incorporating the aromas above.
Comment
The 1995 Knappogue has more bourbon barrel wood character than the 1994, which serves to increase the taste complexity and makes the whiskey that bit more mellow and rounded. Malt whiskey purists will sometimes argue that malts are best matured in old, many times used casks to minimize the wood influence on the malt, thus allowing the "true distillery character" to be clearly tasted. However, others will argue that the interaction of the pure malt spirit with the wood extractives available in a fairly fresh cask will serve to add to the overall taste experience—since it adds to the complexity of the taste—and this would be my own view. I think the Knappogue Castle 1995, with its greater wood influence, is a nicely judged advance from the 1994 in terms of its overall taste experience.
