Dram 4 ALS Irish Single Malt 13 year old Review

I missed out sample 3 from the Belfast Whiskey Week Irish becuase it was the Craigellachie 13 year old and I'd already reviewed it back in wait for it.....2017! So I suppose it would have been actually a good idea to have done notes on it when I was going through this box as there had been plenty of time in between tastings.

Alas we move forward to the next Irish sample which was from a Belgian bottling for the Dram 4 ALS charity. ALS is the abbreviation of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a disease for which there is currently no cure. To sponsor research, some friends bottled a single cask of whisky of which part of the proceeds are donated to the charity.

The whiskey is likely a Cooley and is presented at cask strength pleasingly. 

ALS Irish Single Malt 13 year old 55.5% abv

BWW Irish v Scottish 12 year plus

Distilled 2002, bottled 2015. 232 bottles.

Nose: Smells very Cooley-esque. Honeysuckle, apple, pear, peach and icing sugar. Lychee and kiwi too. There’s a waxiness to this along with vanilla custard. The alcohol is a little apparent too. Water brings out cadburys fudge bars, marzipan and some coconut.

Palate: Quite hot and spicy on first sip. 2nd sip brings in icing sugar and fruit from the nose. Apples, pears and peaches with plenty of vanilla. Mid palate is very peppery and hot before segueing into floral overtones with cachaca and lime. Water brings milk chocolate buttons and dials back the pepper along with more citrus notes.

Finish: Medium length with green fruit, white pepper, oak shavings and lime zest.

Score: 7 out of 10

Overall: I was verging on giving this a 6 at full strength as the alcohol did seem a little dominant but this opens up really nicely with water and my non grumpy side took over and I decided to go for a 7. Definitely very fruity with a nice mix of tropical fruit and citrus flavours.

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