Waterford Sheestown: Edition 1.2

Sheestown 1.2 is the second release from Phil O'Brien's farm just outside the historic town of Kilkenny. The land sits on undulating, well drained lowland terroir derived predominantly from limestone. O'Brien has farmed the holding for around half a century and is the father of one of the distillery's workers. The Irina barley variety was harvested in 2015 and distilled in 2016, with the whiskey bottled in October 2020 after four years of maturation. An outturn of 30,000 bottles was produced. 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.

The nose shows vanilla and green house brightness. The palate carries citric malt with cooked fruit and a subtle coal gas edge characteristic of the Waterford house style.