Killowen 10 YO Bonded Experimental Series – Pino Noir Cask Finish – 56% ABV

Ireland’s Smallest Distillery, Killowen, has continued their sellout ‘Experimental Series’ with a cask strength 10 year old blend finished in Pino Noir Burgundy casks.

With transparancy at its core, Brendan Carty, founder of Killowen Distillery, explains how this Pino Noir cask was intended to be the first ever Experimental Series release, but was hampered due to an overpowering cask influence. Brendan explains, “We spent the past year trying to rescue it, firstly by removing half its contents and adding in new whiskey of the same vintage and proportion, luckily the initial cask shock had already been absorbed into the whiskey and we spent the rest of the time letting the spirit become part of the cask once again.  The biggest challenge with this range is maintaining the very high standard of previous releases while making a very different expression. Thankfully the same successful and unique Killowen blend has been introduced to a very different cask and created another top class expression.”

Interestingly, this bottle will feature several blacked out sections to the label, as Killowen Distillery was one of several Irish brands that were chastised for their transparancy of information on their labels. Brendan goes on to explain, “It has been Killowen’s prerogative that a consumer may enjoy an educational experience while drinking, consumption is then enhanced by extensive production transparency info on the bottle’s label. Unfortunately this time we have been prohibited from doing so, eventually under the GI via EU law. We won’t bore you with the details or paper trail, but basically, Killowen have been asked to remove the dates of the different blend components as they are deemed to be misleading for consumers. We thank you for your support regarding this issue and can only apologise for the vandalism to our back labels as a result. We all understand that misleading the consumer is not on Killowen’s agenda. “

This whiskey is the fifth in a set of different whiskeys that will be released over a two year period. The creators have advised the whiskey can be slightly diluted to suit the consumer, as this is a wine cask, you are unlikley to find any char in your bottle, but we will make up for it in our next, penultimate release. This release only yielded 387 numbered 500mL bottles at cask strength 56%. Brendan notes that this Pinot Noir Burgundy cask was specifically chosen for its freshness and vibrancy, creating a unique small-batch spirit with a full-bodied experience.