Waterford Hook Head: Edition 1.1

Hook Head 1.1 is a Single Farm Origin release named for the medieval lighthouse on the southern coast of Ireland, one of the oldest working lighthouses in the world. The barley was grown on Elton series soil, a fine loamy drift profile over limestone that Waterford identifies as one of the distinctive terroir types in its programme. This is one of the larger Single Farm Origin outturns at 30,066 bottles, bottled in February 2021. Every bottle carries the TÉIREOIR code that links back to the specific field, soil analysis and cask records for the release.

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 hay, leather, citrus and fresh fruit on the nose into a spice profile described by the distillery as clove, salted caramel, liquorice, ginger biscuit, lemon zest and chilli chocolate.