Boann Single Pot Still

 

It’s getting to be an exciting time in Ireland right now. More and more distilleries are releasing whiskey that is their own, actual spirit. Something they have distilled and crafted to showcase their own abilities rather than products acquired from the good folk at GND or West Cork. In recent weeks we’ve have Clonakilty release their own single pot still, Echlinville released ‘The Beginning’ which showcased both single malt and single pot still and on June 21st Boann joined their ranks with the release of a trio of single pot still expressions.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a tasting event at Bar 1661 in Dublin to try the new whiskies (if you plan to visit Dublin any time soon make sure you add Bar 1661 to your itinerary, it is well worth visiting). Sadly I couldn’t make the tasting, but I was visiting Dublin a few days before the official release held at the distillery and so chanced my arm and asked if I could call in and see the beating heart of Boann. Thankfully I was given the all clear but warned to expect some renovation work.

Situated on the outskirts of Drogheda it’s an easy place to find, just a stones throw from the M1 motorway. Housed inside a repurposed car showroom it is a quite lovely distillery, even if it was akin to a building site when I turned up. Even amid the turmoil of ground works happening outside and extensive facelifts occurring inside in preparation for the big release it was clear that this was a very picturesque distillery.

Met on arrival by the delightful Amy King I was introduced to Head Distiller Alex Witt who would show me around and go full geek if required. The usual production questions were asked and thoroughly answered. The most interesting feature of the setup is the use of nano technology in the necks and lyne arms of the stills. This creates an uneven surface on the internal walls of the necks and lyne arms allowing for greater copper contact. It also means that these parts will last longer than standard construction. The lyne arms also have an internal coil that can turn on or off a cold water supply so reflux can be increased or decreased easily. These means they can make very heavy, oily distillates or very light, floral distillates. 

For a little more info on this here's a video of my chat with the then Head Distiller Michael Walsh about the distillery setup during Belfast Whiskey Week 2020.

With their own mill in house Boann is setup to be able to use a wide variety of grain too. Handy when you want to play about with the plethora of heritage mashbills that Ireland has to offer, in no small part available to distillers through the hard work of Fionnán O’Connor, who worked closely with Boann to create a belter of a tasting set in 2021 looking at 10 heritage mash bills ranging from the early 1800’s high wheat up to 1974 and the predecessor to the 40%/60% malt/barley mash bill that arrived with the New Midleton distillery in 1975 . These mash bills also clearly highlighted the variety of distillates that the Boann stills can produce.

Which brings us nicely to the new releases. Whilst Boann has the wriggle room to mash and distill and endless array of mash bills to keep even the most erstwhile whiskey nerd constantly on a drip feed of excitement, they have settled on a core mash bill for their whiskey. That mash bill is 40% malt, 55% unmalted barley, 3.75% oats and 1.25% rye, with all the grains being Irish and locally grown. The mash bill may change slightly in the future if the Irish Whiskey technical file evolves to allow more of the adjunct grains.

Rather than just one release the good folk at Boann have treated us to three single pot stills, each with their own maturation and finish.

The first is the Madeira finish. Initially matured in 200 ltr American oak ex-bourbon barrels sourced from Brown-Forman. The finish came from a variety of Madeira casks sourced from Justino’s Maderia house. They used Tinta Negro, Boal and Sercial which gave a range of sweet to dry madeira. The wines also underwent the canteiro process where the wine is barrel aged with naturally high temperatures in the barrel storage room, replicating the sea voyage maritime aging of the past on Portugal galleons of the medieval ages.

Second up is the Marsala finish which like the Madeira finish was initially matured in ex-bourbon before an undisclosed finishing period in a selection of Superiore and Fine Marsala butts from Cantine de Vinci.

The third expression is the PX cask. Here things take a bit of detour maturation wise. Initially aging was in 250 ltr American oak hogsheads that were seasoned with Oloroso sherry from Bodegas Garvey’s of Jerez da la Frontera. Finishing took place in 500 ltr PX butts that were part of a vintage PX solera system in Malaga for over 60 years. Interestingly a portion of these casks were made exclusively from Chestnut.

All three expressions are non chill filtered, natural colour and bottled at a lovely 47% abv. They cost €69.99 per bottle (roughly £60). For an Irish inaugural release I’m pretty impressed with the pricing. Although no age statement is on the bottles they are around 4 years old.

I was generously given samples by Boann of the three releases but as usual this doesn't mean favourable scoring is a given, it is after all, all about the liquid.

 

Boann Single Pot Still Madeira

Nose: Creamy butterscotch, apple blossom, vanilla, barley sugar, honey, pear and fresh peach. Toasted oak, cashew nut and milk chocolate. Some lemon and orange zest too.

Palate: The mouthfeel is creamy. Green herbs upfront, rosemary and lemon thyme followed by peppery spice and ground ginger. Coffee cake, walnuts, vanilla and a peach and pear crumble. A slight saltiness too as well as a light chalkiness.

Finish: Short to medium with warming peppery heat, salted nuts and coffee grounds.

Score: 6 out of 10

 

Boann Single Pot Still Marsala

Nose: This feels more cereal led. Barley husks, dry hay and wood sap. Brazil nuts, brown sugar, stewed apples, apricots, a cigar box and new leather.

Palate: Nice texture again on arrival. Caramel and digestive biscuits. Lemon oil. Seville orange marmalade mixed with ground cloves. Again a rocket like peppery note that is also herbal too. Spearmint and dry roasted nuts.

Finish: A little on the short side with salted butter, roasted nuts, oaky spice and caramel.

Score: 6 out of 10

 

Boann Single Pot Still Pedro Ximenez

Nose: The richest nose of the three. Almond essence, treacle, raisins, toffee apples and cinnamon. A slight bbq’d pork note with a sweet mustard glaze. Leather, orange slices, fresh figs and grilled pineapples.

Palate: Feels slightly thinner than the previous two but still oily. Caramelised brown sugar, cinnamon glazed danish pastries, pecans, dark chocolate. Some chilli flake heat and oak tannins. Apple tarte tatin and mocha.

Finish: Medium with plenty of spice, golden syrup sweetness and underlying orchard fruit.

Score: 7 out of 10

 

Overall: As well as having an absolutely brilliant time at the distillery I’m also glad to report good things on the whiskey front too.

Three really well conceived and presented whiskies from Boann with the PX, surprisingly for me, just nudging ahead of the Madeira and Marsala releases.

The Madeira expression has an absolute belter of a nose that the palate just can quite keep up with. The greenness and shortish finish are really the only indication of it’s youth. Aside from that, this is a good start.

The Marsala expression’s nose was noticeably drier than the Madeira expression. Not worse, just different which for me is a good thing, highlighting the cask variation. It still feels a little youthful but it’s really drinkable with no ‘off’ notes.

The PX expression was the biggest surprise for me. PX offerings generally don’t get me too excited as it’s a style of sherry that can absolutely pummel a whiskey into submission. Often you may as well just have bought a bottle of PX and saved the extra cash. Thankfully that isn’t the case here. The mix of American oak Oloroso casks and solera PX casks with a Chestnut interplay mean that the sherry supports the show rather than hogging the limelight. It’s well balanced between nose and palate, feels well integrated and drinks extremely easily.

As a side note I also love the presentation of the bottles. The design is really classy and elegant and stands out from the crowd for me. Not something I normally get too worked up about these days but there has definitely been attention to detail with these releases.

All in all, a very good showing from Boann and I look forward to further releases.

Thanks to Amy, Alex and Blender in Chief Andy Mooney for taking the time to show me around.

If you’d like to support my humble site there’s a ‘buy me a coffee’ link on the homepage menu bar. Thanks for reading!