Waterford Ballybannon Edition 1.1

Ballybannon 1.1 is one of the first two peated Waterford releases and the heavier of the pair, the first Irish single malt whiskies in generations to combine Irish barley with Irish peat. Distilled in 2018 from barley grown by the Pender family at Ballybannon in Co. Carlow, the malt was kiln dried using peat cut from Niall Carroll's Ballyteige bog in Co. Kildare. Waterford peated the Ballybannon barley to 47ppm, taking advantage of what the distillery describes as the farm's natural affinity for peat. The Pender land sits on raised ground along the River Barrow with heavy lime rich Elton series soil. Part of the Arcadian Series alongside the organic Gaia and biodynamic Luna releases. An outturn of 11,088 bottles. Every bottle carries the TÉIREOIR code linking to the full farm and cask records.

Maturation ran four years across four cask types: 39% first fill American oak, 21% virgin American oak, 21% premium French oak and 19% Vin Doux Naturel. First fill Bourbon contributes vanillin and coconut lactones from the charred inner wood. Virgin American oak adds toasted sugar and raw lignin derived spice. French oak delivers finer grained tannins with clove phenolics. The Vin Doux Naturel casks, previously used for fortified sweet wines from southern France, add oxidised fruit esters that balance the peat. Bottled at 50% without chill filtration or added colour.

The nose shows soft peat, almond, lavender honey and driftwood fire. The palate delivers a clear peat kick with barbecue, warm apple, almond tart and honeycomb, closing on a long ashy finish.