Malt & Pot Still v Peated Single Malt | 46% ABV

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Rare pockets of Irish interest in a sea of dull & overpriced sourcing*

Where’s the luck of the Irish when it comes to whiskey?

'St. Patrick's Day. It's the closest the Irish will ever get to Christmas' - Michael Scott, The Office.

A brilliant line from the U.S version of The Office. This year's Irish festivities came and went, and to be honest there wasn't much excitement in the air when I was imagining what Irish Whiskey I might pick up to celebrate the occasion.

This thought was cemented in a recent live vPub from Aqvavitae, with Roy and Whiskey Novice Jim sharing their musings on Irish Whiskey, and then their reasoning for choosing to not cover Irish Whiskey as the main topic.

Indeed. Why cover the same old pot still and single malt expressions that have been reviewed at length? The same old Bushmills, Redbreast, Teeling or Spot ranges just seem boring and they’re frankly too expensive these days. What's out there to get us excited or make a case for others to try? There’s not a lot of choice on the horizon.

Which is a sad state of affairs to be honest. It's 2024 and we’re told it’s boom time for Irish Whiskey. I decided to check to see how many operational distilleries we have on the island of Ireland. Surely one of those producers can offer something to rise above the rest? Well, a Google search threw back a few different numbers:

First up, we’re told 43 active distilleries by Irish Whiskey Magazine’s interactive map. McConnell's Distillery, recently opened in Belfast City, was told 50 by the Irish Whiskey Association. This Spirits Business online article - What’s next for the Irish whiskey renaissance? - suggests 45.

Other results have brought me back numbers anywhere between 32 and 59. It’s likely this could be a mixture of open, planned or under construction, so it’s hard to determine and get a definite result. A bit of a mess, which in many ways mirrors the general disarray and, sadly, my feelings about the disjointed state of the industry in Ireland right now.

Despite a lack of cohesion and steering, there does seem to be plenty of ‘collaboration’ which can be witnessed through the common practice of sourcing in Irish whiskey. This is a big part of the industry and, in my opinion, an annoyance to a degree.

Look, I get it. Bringing in sourced liquid means you have capital and can pay the bills and shareholders as your own whiskey matures. It’s either this or, as is the case with some producers, have your own clear spirits to bring in revenue: gin, vodka and even poitín (although isn’t that controversial? Surely once you pay tax on 'poitín' it’s no longer poitín?). However, this sourcing model (from only a few large enough and willing single malt or pot still producers in Ireland) surely narrows down the available flavour profiles, or it results in your own brand tasting pretty similar to what's saturating the market already.

So whenever a new brand is released these days, it’s rare that I care. Celebrity bottlings don’t help. Be it from Graeme McDowell (golfing), Carl Frampton(boxing) or Darren Cave(Irish & Ulster Rugby), it's all the same marketing noise, and samey liquid in the bottle.

Irish Whiskey Instagram accounts also seem overly focused on posting about product launches in North America and Asian markets. Pushing marketing stories and posts from brand ambassadors and social media influencers. I want to ask bigger questions: Where is your focus for the liquid produced? What are your processes? What's happening in the distillery? What are your goals? What flavours of whiskey are you trying to produce that will make Ireland stand out from the crowd?

Or course, we see this watered-down messaging everywhere. It mimics the plethora of ads we see each day on TV, YouTube or various sporting competitions. There is such a saturation of marketing, it begs belief on how anyone could possibly stand out from the crowd or be memorable to any target audience.

The Super Bowl is a recent example of this. Finding myself in the US recently, I watched the 2024 Super Bowl, why not? When in Rome and all that. But honestly I just sat through a ream of adverts for hours, with a few plays of football in between. It's the same in the cinema. I went to see Dune 2 recently, only to sit through forty minutes of ads before the movie started, interspersed with three or four movie trailers. It was a tiresome joke. But I digress.

Irish whiskey. What's out there to make me and the whiskey lovers out there excited -without expensive ad campaigns or celebrity endorsement? What's standing above the rest based on original flavour and quality? Sadly, as an Irishman, I have to say - not a lot.

There is some innovation coming from Irish regulars such as Bushmills and Midleton. But not a lot. Looking back to the Belfast Whiskey Social I attended back in 2021, the liquid presented that day was pretty much all sourced from the big hitters. What helped was being able to try an occasional Connaught or Teeling's own liquid. While not mind blowing - it’s still early stages for those producers - it was a start. Since then, bar the odd Dingle release here and there and some of the Waterford I sampled recently, the Irish whiskey to shout about, despite this so-called ‘renaissance’ remains depressingly few and far between. There are, however, some.

One of the newer Irish distillers that, in my opinion, seems to be producing something different and exciting would be the Rademon Distillery and their Shortcross Irish Whiskey. I've been lucky enough to visit the place and sample some of their exceptional maturing liquid. Not a lot of folk will be lucky enough to try their pot still or peated liquid straight from the cask, but both have so much more promise and grip compared to most of everything else out there on the Irish market today.

They've recently launched a 'bottle your own' experience at the distillery, offering 6 year old Single Pot Still coming in at well over 60% ABV.

This Belfast Whiskey week release below is now sold out online, however they have released a 'Distillers Duo' which is the same make up from these limited edition bottles.

Also, as of the end of March 2024, Shortcross have released this other exciting bottle in the Peated 7 year old, matured in orange liqueur casks. While I’ve promised myself time and again, 'no more whisky', this one dropping was a no brainer. I had to get it; a rare fizzle of genuine excitement from an otherwise confusing and dull Irish whiskey scene.

Review 1/2

Shortcross Malt & Pot Still Irish Whiskey, Bottled for Belfast Whiskey Week 2023, Bottle 71, Natural colour, No-chill filtered, 46% ABV
£55 paid direct from the distillery, now sold out.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Soft, subtle and enjoyable*

Nose

Tinned pineapples, apricot yoghurt and cinnamon sticks. Malty! Pear drop hard sweets. Sponge cake and soft vanilla icing. Some shortbread biscuits and strawberry jam. Fudge. A hint of pine mixed with spearmint pop out at the back end of the nose. Complex, loads going on here with such a lovely blend of the malt and pot still element.

Palate

A lot of tropical fruit sweetness. Mango and apricot, it’s all coming through on the palate from the nose. Fruit salad sweet and white grapes. Gripping and silky. Malt and spice is in abundance with this whiskey. Dries the tongue and side of the mouth with cinnamon and nutmeg spice, and a hint of brazil nut too. The sweetness transforms into honey and oats, with some toffee and maple syrup. Sweet and spiced finish, which is long. Such a nice balance here, with enough complexity to grab your attention and have you going back for more.

Score: 6/10

Review 2/2

Shortcross Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey, Matured in cognac and orange liqueur casks, Natural colour, No-chill filtered, 46% ABV
£60 paid, still some online availability.

Score: 5/10

**Average. In a good way.**
***TL;DR***
*Some will love the orangey sweetness, but it’s too much for me*

Nose

Orange liqueur is the most prominent note on the nose here, which surprised me. I didn’t think it would have been such a standout element to this whiskey. Sweet peat and campfire smoke is mixed in there too, nicely. Not overly sweet, just the right level. Damp cloth, shredded cardboard and salted caramel. Milk chocolate, which transforms into a jaffa cake note (for our non-UK audience, these are light sponge cake topped with orange jelly and dark chocolate). Hints of plums, ginger and honeydew melon. It’s malty, containing delicate notes of oat biscuit and some vanilla custard too.

Palate

Bright, sweet and peated. That orange and jaffa cake note is up front and attention grabbing. Mixed in with the peated element, it’s kinda weird. I don’t know if it’s working for me. Orange marmalade, some granary toast and chopped hazelnuts in there too. It’s a fresh dram that has a nice weighted mouthfeel. Slightly oily, lingering smoke and as you guessed it, orange liqueur sweetness lasting forever. Icing sugar, more orange with grated rind and milk chocolate.

Score: 5/10

The Dregs

I held off on reviewing the Belfast Whiskey Week bottle when I saw the new 7 year old was available online. Had to do a duo; offer some more Shortcross insight and see how both new releases fair.

Having visited the distillery before, and tasted their delicious peated single malt, I was going into this review with high expectations for the peated release, but with even more intrigue around the cognac & orange liqueur casks. However, and this is just my personal taste, that recipe and combination just didn’t do it for me. It’s not an offensive or bad whiskey, I just couldn’t get past the overpowering orange aspect to this with such a sweet, peated element too. The sweet peat on its own, maybe in an ex-bourbon barrel (or even a touch of port?) might have done wonders, so this factors in my assessment and scoring overall.

With the Belfast Whiskey Week bottle sold out, there is the new Distillers Duo release which replaces it. I've heard it’s just that little bit older too. A great dram, and one more notch to show the quality of Shortcross liquid and what else is yet to come from them.

I’m looking forward to more single malts, and a stand alone Pot Still release from them. While I wait this side by side was fun. My excitement for Shortcross as the herald of Irish Whiskey continues. With the quality they’ve produced, let’s hope the rest of the island takes note and stands up when their time comes. We’re in need of more definition and transparency.

Tried these? Share your thoughts in the comments below. HF

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