FIRST SIP: Waterford Gaia Single Malt

Waterford Distillery is located in the city of Waterford, purportedly the oldest in Ireland.

Waterford Gaia Single Malt is one of the few organic Irish whiskeys on the market.

Waterford Gaia is a unique and very flavor-forward whiskey that we enjoy immensely.

Waterford Distillery was started by Mark Reynier in 2015 in an old Guinness brewery after his previous distillery Bruichladdich was sold to Remy Cointreau. Unique among Irish distillers, Waterford places a huge emphasis on the terroir in which the grains for their whiskey are produced. In fact, there's a giant map of Ireland in the distillery showing each of the farms that supply Waterford with its grain, and each beautiful cobalt blue bottle has a code showing where its grain originated. Heady stuff indeed.

We pick up loads of floral and citrus notes, both quite pleasant. There's also some spicy butterscotch and a touch of peppery licorice. At 100-proof it's somewhat stronger than the typical whiskey, which we definitely appreciate as well. It will be very interesting to see whether the market begins demanding more organic whiskeys like this one in the coming years.

ABV: 50%

Retail price: About $105

Waterford Gaia Organic: 94 POINTS

It's expensive, but worth it.