METHOD IN THEIR MADNESS

METHOD & MADNESS IRISH WHISKEY

The young and the old made the trip up from Midleton Distillery to launch four new whiskies in Dublin last week, all under the banner of Method & Madness. The old guard was made up of Ger Buckley (Master Cooper), Brian Nation (Master Distiller), Kevin O’Gorman (Master of Maturation) , Billy Leighton (Master Blender), David Quinn (Master of Whiskey Science). Lots of Masters. The new team included David McCabe (Apprentice blender), Karen Cotter (Apprentice Distiller), and Katherine Condon (Apprentice distiller).

Irish Distillers cannot be accused of resting on their laurels, having launched several new or revamped ranges of whiskey over the last few years. The Method & Madness series allows the team to experiment with limited releases of more exciting styles of whiskey. As they have just taken delivery of a new micro-distillery, currently being installed in Midleton, we can expect more in the future. This is a genuinely fascinating range of whiskeys.

Single Grain Irish Whiskey Finished in Virgin Spanish oak casks.

This single grain whiskey forms the base for all Jameson whiskies. It has been aged for 12 months in toasted virgin Spanish oak casks. Lightly aromatic, it has a smooth texture with a real spiciness (cloves?) and plenty of toasty oak. 46% €49

Single Malt Whiskey Enhanced with French Limousin Oak Casks

This single malt was made from a batch of whiskey distilled in Bushmills in 2002, when both Dave Quinn and Billy Leighton were working there. When Bushmills was sold, it came with them to Midleton. The influence of the French Limousin oak was so marked they only used it in part of the blend. Beautifully perfumed and elegant, with a lovely sweet palate of biscuits, toasted nuts, and a lingering finish. 46% €79

Single Pot Still finished in French Chestnut

‘The Irish Whiskey Act allows us to push the boat out’, says Billy Leighton, as it doesn’t limit ageing to oak casks. They used sweet chestnut or Spanish chestnut, unrelated to Horse Chestnut, for this whiskey, and the result is spectacular. Ger is delighted with how it turned out. This is an amazing whiskey with a warm spicy rounded nose, a big powerful palate, with plenty of wood character, sweet spices, honey and golden syrup. 46% €69.

Single Grain 31 year old single cask Cask Whiskey

Just three casks of this were made, and all bottled separately. It was distilled in 1985. We tasted cask 21614 which yielded 105 bottles. A wonderful delicate nose, sweetish but more precise, elegant and incredibly long, with honeyed fruits and spice on the finish. 52.5% €1,500 a bottle!