Ireland’s most heavily-peated whiskeys are here

Waterford Distillery has launched what are said to be the most heavily-peated Irish whiskeys of all time.

The Irish distillery’s two single malt peated expressions, Peated: Lacken and Peated: Woodbrook, are crafted using the ‘old ways’ of whiskey production of Irish peat, which the producer said allows for more ‘unique’ flavours to be imparted into the whiskey.

By harvesting barley from Lacken and Woodbrook farms, and combining it with Irish peat from the ultra-deep inland of Ballyteige in Kildare, Waterford Distillery has been able to produce whiskeys with ‘rich, distinct and complex flavours’, each of which is said to display the nuances of their respective terroir-derived flavours.

Mark Reynier, Waterford Distillery founder and CEO, said: “Our ongoing exploration into the old ways of whiskey-making has taken us, once again, to forgotten flavours: Irish peat, the original taste of Irish whiskey.

“Having demonstrated the unique flavours from our first peated Single Farm Origins, and that terroir trumps peat, we decided to dial up the smoke.

“This new brace of Single Farm Origins – using Irish peat and Irish barley – has been peated to levels higher than most of the famous Islay whiskies, and certainly the most for an Irish whiskey. And guess what? Those terroir flavours are still distinct and still apparent.”

Bottled at a rate of 57 PPM (phenol parts per million) and 74 PPM respectively, the Lacken and Woodbrook expressions are said to be the most heavily-peated Irish whiskeys to be produced.

Peated: Lacken is described as offering aromas reminiscent of a coastal walk with notes of brine, oyster shells, barley sugar and orchard fruits.

Meanwhile, its taste is said to be full-bodied, oily, and unctuous, with hints of grist, driftwood, campfire and creosote, while juiciness comes in the form of white peach and apple sauce.

Peated: Woodbrook provides notes of lemon skins, beeswax and recently-extinguished candles on the nose, with a suggestion of freshly-torched crème brûlée.

Dry spices, dry rub and shortbread biscuit can be picked up on the palate, along with preserved lemons and Lapsang Souchong tea.

It finishes long with more of the spices and comforting bonfire tones emerging.

Both whiskeys form the latest additions to the distillery’s Arcadian Farm Origins series, which is said to ‘revel in the old ways of whisky production’.

The series also includes the world’s first biodynamic whiskey, and Ireland’s only organic whiskey.

As with other Waterford Distillery releases, a unique téireoir code on each bottle provides validation and verification of its individual journey from barley to bottle: harvest, storage, malting, distillation and maturation.

Waterford’s Peated: Lacken and Peated: Woodbrook will be available to purchase at waterfordwhisky.com, with a RRP of €95/£90 (US$112).