A Drop of the Irish Black Adder 2016 Sherry Cask Finish Single Cask

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Thanks to /u/saba007[ for the sample.

This past year (2018) I had lots and lots of plans. Finish my accounting schooling, find a new job in a new career space, making running jokes that only I’ll appreciate at all, and review enough Irish Whiskey to finally hit 100 total reviews.

I’m happy to say I got most of that done, and regularly laugh to myself like a crazy person. As for posting the reviews, I may have gotten behind what with learning derivatives and verbally masturbating. So I’m posting them now! Yay!

This is the last one, folks. We’re at A Drop of the Irish Black Adder 2016 Sherry Cask Finish Single Cask. One that was specifically handed to me to be the last Irish of 2018. Heck, it was my last dram of 2018.

So what is it? Well, it’s a no age statement, no colouring, no filtering offering that’s released once a year from Blackadder, an independent bottler. They also state it’s unpeated, and from one of the oldest distilleries. They also state it’s in County Antrim.

At this point, you may have Googled what distillery is there. If you haven’t, shame on you, learn to do some research and be informed. It’s Bushmills you lazy person.

So there’re different versions of A Drop of Irish. Some single casks, some vatted, and some with age statements that are making me jealous of people able to afford it, and then kinda hating myself for putting myself down. I’m doing okay.

This particular one was bottled in 2016, is sherry cask finished, and is a single cask. All the things I enjoy. So let’s see how this tastes, shall we?

Price: Currently not available at the LCBO

Region: Ireland

Bottled: April 2016

Cask Type: Sherry Cask Finish

Number of bottles: 349

Abv: 58.9%

Colour: 7.5Y 8/8

Nose: Nail polish, hot peanut oil, canned pears, honey

Immediate alcohol. Gave it more time to open up. Some nuttiness, some of that heat is still there. More time gives me pears and honey. Water brings out more sweetness and calms it down, but wow is this hot.

Taste: Canned pear, vanilla, hot, caramel cake, peanut, orange

More sweet, more of that pear, though now it’s more…. Wow, just got hot. Alright, more time with this one.

Once I’ve added water and showed some patience like Gail King in an interview with a paedophile, there’s a nice caramel cake note. Lovely nuttiness, some orange to balance it out. But wow is it hot and sweet.

Finish: Cinnamon, hot, peanut butter, basil, orange rind, Twizzlers

More heat, and now it goes really bitter. Before the bitter aspect was calm or balanced with the bakeshop of sweets it had. Now? Water helps, but this is bitter. Really bitter. Bitter like me wanting to have an age statement version of this.

Conclusion: Too hot and bitter. I can see what they liked about this one. I can also see a bunch of reasons why this needed time in the cask. Much more time. Wow is this hot. Sure, it’s sweet as hell and there’s a lovely nutty/cake note in there as well. The sherry is trying it’s hardest to balance out strong vanilla.

It’s just… really strong. That brought it down a lot. I wanted to want this more, but in the end I hope that the vatted versions, or different years, or others. That’s not to say this isn’t good: I just felt there was enough for me to not enjoy it to the fullest extent, and I’d recommend trying this before buying to see if you align with me.

81/100

World Whiskey review #358, Ireland review #103, Whiskey review #1691