Say Hi to the new kids in town, IV of IV: Dingle all the way (The pun demands it!)

Dingle small batch 6 (Triple Distilled single malt Irish whiskey, NC, UCF, 46.5% ABV), Tawny Port Cask, 14500 bottles, 2021 release

Granted, there were many other whiskies I could have chosen to end this series on new distilleries (Dalmunach, Raasay, Lindores Abbey…), and they probably would fit the billof this wee series ‘better’, but sometimes you just have to give in to the almighty god of dadjokes and go for the awful pun.

Dingle, located at the west coast in county Kerry in the south west of Ireland, makes for an interesting story. Initially, what was to become Dingle started out in the mid-nineties with Porterhouse, a craft brewery project from 3 enthusiasts starting a brew pub. A time when craft brewing was most definitely not a thing and most Irish folk were happily enjoying their Guinness, Smithwick, Murphy’s or Kilkenny. Despite the odds, Porterhouse proved to be a thing, and remains so until this day. So where do you go next when the odds on your craft beer endeavour are against you, yet despite everything you end up opening pubs across the country and across the Atlantic?

Whiskey.

Obviously.

And so, back in the winter of 2012, when Irish Whiskey was still pretty much about the 3 major distilleries calling all the shots, Dingle was founded as an artisan distillery, the first whisky put in the casks in December of that year. So it’s fair to conclude that Dingle was right there at the heart and start of the revival of Irish Whiskey, along with the likes of West Cork and Teeling. Despite being a family owned and run independent distillery, they’re catering across the board by producing gin, wodka, single malt- and pot still whiskey.

Their track record is quite impressive - batch 1 was released in 2016 from ex bourbon casks, released at 7500 bottles. 5 years down the road, this is Dingle’s 6th and final ‘small’ batch release, fully matured in Tawny Port casks, with twice the outturn.

On the nose there’s sweetness, but this is far from sugary or dessert wine, or whatever you’d expect form a Port cask matured whisky. Instead, this reminds me of rhubarb, as there’s this vegetal element to it. It develops further with more familiar notes of apricot jam and sweet berries (strawberry, blackcurrant and blueberry). Nosing this is like going on a lovely Indian summer forest picknick, as the next thing I pick up is a thyme/heathery honey note. Underneath there’s a herbal/greenhouse note hiding making this even more interesting. Very nice indeed. Adding a drop of water isn’t necessary per se as this is quite lush as it is, but it brings out a feast of berries.

On the palate, it’s malty/grainy and driven by sweetness. Only this time the fruit and the herbaceous and rhubarb notes are even more integrated. It has a lovely, medium full, oily - viscous mouthfeel to it. It’s not per se complex (as in difficult to break down or dissect), but it is layered and has depth to it. A drop of water and the herbal notes open up, along with a lovely salty element adding even more to the party.

The finish is medium, herbal/spicy and drying. The sweetness echoes out rather quickly, but the drying, salty echo lingers on for quite a bit.

A rich and sweet whisky bringing plenty to the table. At first glance you might expect this to be a fairly straightforward sweet driven whisky, as is often the case with port cask matured/finished whiskies, but this has plenty of cards hidden in its sleeve to take you by surprise. So saying goodbye to what has again been a turbulent year, I hope everyone has a lovely end of year and can end it on a (whiskey) high note. I for one have absolutely no regrets. Not about the awful pun, and most definitely not about this lovely whiskey.