Waterford Ballymorgan: Edition 1.1

Ballymorgan 1.1 is a Single Farm Origin release drawing on barley grown by Robert Milne on the Clonroche Series soils of Co. Wexford, considered among the premier malting barley terroirs in Ireland. The Clonroche profile consists of loamy clay soils derived from slate and granite bedrock. Distilled in 2016 and bottled in July 2020 with an outturn of 9,000 bottles. Every bottle carries the TÉIREOIR code linking to the specific field, soil analysis and cask records.

Maturation used the Waterford standard combination of first fill American oak, virgin American oak, premium French oak and Vin Doux Naturel casks. First fill Bourbon contributes vanillin and coconut lactones through 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 and concentrated sweetness. Bottled at 50% without chill filtration or added colour.

Tasting notes run from malt extract, hay and yeasty notes on the nose into citric fresh fruit and a cooked vegetable edge characteristic of a young terroir focused whisky.