Clonakilty single pot still

When Clonakilty distillery released their first whiskey made in their own stills, I couldn’t wait to taste it.

Clonakilty has been like home since 2008, although we moved back to Sweden in 2009, and after digging into the world of Irish whiskey, I was thrilled to learn they were building a distillery there. I tried to follow the progress and also got to visit the future distillery and warehouse in 2017.

We moved back to Ireland in February 2019, and the distillery opened its doors in May that year. We enjoyed visiting for a tour, tasting their sourced whiskey bottled under their brand with various cask finishes, and attending the gin school.

In the beginning of 2024 (or it may have been earlier), it was announced that the first drops of whiskey from the Clonakilty stills were to be released to the public in the spring.

Some time before the big release there was a limited edition of the first Clonakilty single pot still, at a higher ABV and price, and we also learned that the newer version of the Double Oak contained some of their own pot still whiskey. Then the first batch of the more publicly available single pot still was released in May 2024. I was happy to taste a drop of it while visiting the distillery, and bought a bottle.

This whiskey is made with a 50/50 mashbill, which means 50% malted barley and 50% unmalted barley. It’s been matured in bourbon and Amontillado sherry casks, but the 1st and 2nd batch also had a part matured in Oloroso sherry casks. The whiskey I’ve tasted so far is from these first two batches.

Tasting notes

Nose:

Icing sugar, pears, some floral notes, light grapes, then citrus peel and earthy or maybe leathery notes

Palate:

Medium with spice, vanilla, stewed pears, prosecco and pistachios with a nice textured mouthfeel which ends in a drier, medium finish with ginger-like spice.

The first time I tasted this, I got some deeper darker flavours but now it seems lighter and fruitier. The brain can play tricks when you (I?) see the sherry casks on the label – I probably should taste this blind sometime!

It is a very nice whiskey and if you want to taste a good example of a solid Irish whiskey from a new distillery, this should be one of them.

The price is good too at about €60.

And if you happen to visit Clonakilty, there is a cask of single malt, also distilled in Clonakilty, waiting to be available for bottle-your-own purchases in the distillery shop.

4 responses to “Clonakilty single pot still”

Grant McWilliams

I was at Clonakilty in October and tasted the single pot still distilled there and I think itthe best thing that’s had their name on it. It’s exciting to see these young distilleries move away from using sourced spirit and having a product of their own to sell.

Reply
1. Susanne
  
  I totally agree! I really like the Double Oak but this one is much better and I was very positively surprised when I first tasted it, I think I expected something more “youthful” in flavour. I’m glad to finally see new distilleries releasing their own whiskey, most of the sourced whiskeys from GND et al are good, but variety is the spice of life!
  
  Reply
  1. Grant McWilliams
    
    I recently picked up a bunch of little bottles from Irish distilleries that I wasn’t familiar with and half of them tasted exactly the same. They were either Cooley or Great Northern. It’s nice that new distilleries can get off the ground but really, just changing the label is a bit problematic for me.
    
    Over the last 3 years I’ve been touring Ireland tasting spirit from new distilleries and I’ve decided I need to wait a few years before getting serious about them. Those that have their own spirit sell it young and weak, those who don’t sell Cooley or Great Northern. The next decade will be interesting for Irish Whiskey.
    
    Reply
    1. Susanne
      
      I totally agree about the same-ness, and it’s been like this for so long. A few of the new distillery releases have been nice (Powerscourt, Connacht, and this Clonakilty) but most are too young as you say. I have some samples from another distillery I’ll taste (and write about here) in the coming weeks. But yes, the coming decade will probably offer some more variety in Irish whiskey, let’s just hope the industry survives the effect of the US tariffs.
      
      Reply