FIRST SIP: Dingle Single Malt Core Release

BACKGROUND

Dingle Distillery is located on the western edge of Ireland--indeed, the western edge of Europe--in Co. Kerry, along the Wild Atlantic Way in the seaside resort town of the same name. Dingle has been distilling there since 2012, making it an old-timer among the new generation of craft distilleries that have multiplied throughout the Emerald Isle in the last decade. Master Distiller Graham Coull is very well-regarded in the whiskey industry and his new Core Single Malt is intended to be the flagship of the Dingle whiskey product line, which consists of several different batches of single malt and single pot still bottlings.

OUR TAKE

Dingle Single Malt Core Release is an extremely drinkable whiskey, being a mix of PX Sherry cask-matured (61%) and ex-bourbon barrel-matured (39%) malt. The nose on this 46.3% ABV offering displays an immediate aroma of fruit--particularly citrus--in a very inviting manner. The first sip yields a welcome warmth followed by vanilla notes and more fruit, with a prolonged spicy mouthfeel. Dingle's Core Single Malt retails for 55 euros (~$65), which is a more approachable price point than its prior batches of single malt (the 6th of which is forthcoming). No word yet on U.S. availability. 

RATING

Dingle Single Malt Core Release: 94 POINTS