Irish whiskey is on the rise. Just kidding. Little inside joke there for those paying attention. What I can say is on the rise is rum finished whiskies. Balvenie does it, Angel’s Envy does it, I think, and now our close, personal, mutual friends at Tullamore Dew are jumping in on the Caribbean action. And they might be the first to finish an Irish whiskey in rum casks, if I am not mistaken. One would think that it could work easily, but perhaps the reason why every whisky company hasn’t finished at least one of their expressions in a rum cask is that it is too gimmicky. And the industry tries to keep gimmicks to a minimum, I am told.

William Grant & Sons still procures spirit from Midleton, as their new Tullamore Dew distillery has not bottled their own stuff as of yet. The base whisky is traditional Dew, triple distilled and blended from pot still, grain and malt whiskies, and is aged in ex-bourbon and sherry casks, only to be finally finished in Demerara Rum casks from Guyana and bottled at a dependable 43% ABV. On to it….

SWC Review

Nose- Molasses, licorice, banana and dried papaya. Mossy bog and glue. Boozy. Brown sugar. Medicinal.

Taste- Toffee, bananas foster. Cola and oak. Not overly sweet. Some barley. Honey-ish. Watery.

Finish- Toasted sugar and cashews. Bitter cocoa. Tobacco. Short and medicinal.

Comment- On the weak side, but some decent flavors. Would rather just buy rum than this, but you’re not out too much money with ($25-30). Tullamore Don’t.

SWC Rating- 77/100

Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section below and tell us why the rum is always gone.