Waterford Cooladine: Edition 1.1

Cooladine 1.1 is a South Africa market exclusive Single Farm Origin from Waterford, drawing on barley grown by brothers William and Pat Doyle at Cooladine in Co. Wexford. The farm sits close to old Quaker burial grounds west of the River Slaney, beyond the historic barley town of Enniscorthy. The free draining fertile fields are derived from Clonroche soils composed of shingle to clay rich marl from Ordovician shale bedrock, one of the most productive terroirs in Ireland for malting barley. The Overture barley variety was harvested in August 2015 and distilled in 2016. An outturn of 5,076 bottles was produced after four years and 28 days of maturation. Every bottle carries the TÉIREOIR code linking to the specific field, soil analysis and cask records.

Maturation used four cask types: 30% first fill American oak, 24% virgin American oak, 22% premium French oak and 24% Vin Doux Naturel. 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 baled hay, satsuma plum, toffee apple and wild mint on the nose into honeyed cereal, salted caramel and warming spice, closing on drying barley sugar.