Jumping headlong into the exciting world of Independent bonding, the team at Ireland Craft Beverages are releasing cask strength The Blenders Cut and core whiskey The First Cut – the first in a series of independently distilled hand-crafted whiskeys from their Two Stacks Irish Whiskey brand.
Bonded and bottled from Killowen Distillery, in the scenic area of the Mourne mountains, Co. Down, Two Stacks are producing limited-edition premium whiskey that enthusiasts will want in their drinks cabinet
“Independent bonding, blending, and bottling is a dying art in Irish whiskey,” says Donal “Where once many towns and cities across Ireland had merchants, grocers, and public houses developing their own unique expression of bonded and bottled whiskey very few now have. The craft of whiskey bonding and blending in Ireland disappeared as the artisan industry declined throughout the 20th century but we aim to revive this tradition and showcase how uniquely brilliant Irish whiskey can be through our blends, finishes and cask strength offerings.”
Staying true to the indpendent bottlers gone before them, the team at Two Stacks aim to make every release different to the one before. Each release will be sourced from different distilleries across the country and laid down in casks chosen to highlight the different aspects of that distillate’s flavour profile.
In their inaugural release, the Two Stacks team have released a very intricate blended whiskey that has been released both at Cask Strength as well as at 43% ABV.
The cask strength expression is called “The Blenders Cut” and is bottled at a healthy and somewhat surprising alcoholic strength of 65.15% ABV. This is truly a bottle for the cask strength crusade.
This will be limited to 222 bottles, released at an RRP of €99/£89.
The 43% offering is dubbed “The First Cut” and also sees a limited run, with just 200 bottles going to market. This has an RRP of €46/£36.
Both of these whiskeys are of the same blend, simply at two different ABVs. They were matured in ex-bourbon barrels, ex-oloroso sherry casks as well as virgin oak casks.
Finally, as you may have heard on last week’s epsiode of Potstilled Live, the team at Two Stacks are also in the process of launching the aptly named “Dram in a can”. This will be an environmentally friendly alternative to the classic plastic bottle miniatures of mainstream whiskey companies, and will see the Two Stacks miniature whiskeys released, exclusively in the US in a 100ml aluminimum can. A very innovative move from Two Stacks.
These bottles have gone on pre-sale now, with an official launch at Belfast Whiskey Week on August 1st. You can find them on sale from August 1st from Irishmalts, Celtic Whiskey Shop, as well as other speciality retailers.
Tasting Notes of Two Stacks First Cut
The blend itself is made up of a combination of single pot still, double distilled unpeated malt, peated malt, as well as a combination of what the Two Stacks team are calling “light and dark grain whiskey”. These expressions are non-chill filtered and contain no caramel colouring.
Nose: Fuzzy Peach skin, vanilla custard, toasted oak, shortbread, and cereal.
Palate: Charred oak, hints of lemon peel, toffee with sprinkle of white pepper and oak resin.
Finish: A gentle lasting finish of sweet smoky caramel, grassy embers of heat peppering the tongue with spice.
Leave a Reply