Waterford Ballykilcavan Edition 1.2...

Waterford Ballykilcavan Edition 1.2 (50.0%): Although this is going to be the seventh whisky from Waterford Distillery reviewed on this blog it is the first 2nd edition I will be tasting from any farm they work with and also the very first one bottled from a batch which didn't contain any new American oak matured whisky in the vat. The spirit is distilled in February 2016, filled in variety of 1st fill ex-Bourbon and ex-French wine casks right after and bottled in July 2020 when it was over 3 years and 11 months old. Like with any other release of Waterford you can reach way more info by clicking this "link" or entering the "teireoir" code F002E01-02 on their website. This time I am hoping for a less crafty profile due to the lack of new American oak barrels. Let's pour the sample now and see how it goes...

Color: White wine, straw-like pale yellow color with tiny teardrops around the glass turning slowly into thin but oily legs.

Nose: New make, very young grain whisky and half baked lemon cookies. Vegetable stew, damp and muddy forest floor with rotting leaves and pickled citrus. Sauteed mushrooms and sulphur... That pungent smell hitting your nose when you walk into a horse stable. This is not the most pleasant nose I got from a whisky to say the least...

Palate: Still a very young palate but much clearer and simpler than the nose... White pepper, ground ginger and sawdust. Lightly toasted wood, ground coriander and again hints of sulphur. Century eggs, unstruck matches and mushrooms.

Finish: Long with lemon juice, white pepper and dried ginger.

Overall: I know that I said above that I was looking forward to taste a batch without new American oak barrels but I was simply wrong. I have to admit that an extremely young whisky like this definitely needs the help of new oak. It's harsh spicy, sharp citrusy and to my surprise on top of everything sulphury. It needs considerable amount of more time in the barrel... Well, not my favorite edition. We have one more to go. Thanks again to Koray Kaan Özdemir a.k.a. Whisky Monster for the sample.

Price: £70

78/100