Hey There and welcome back to my site. Lately I have been drinking and writing about Irish whiskey quite a lot. There are several factors as to why. Well one is, that I really like what currently goes on in the Irish whiskey industry. The boom. The renaissance. Everything. They are opening up distilleries and they are creating whiskey with a passion. Second factor is pricing. I feel like Scotch whisky is being offered already on prices that are crazy. You should absolutely not pay 80-100 euros for 5-10 year old newly released whiskies. It is CRAZY. Sadly people pay for them and that keeps their arrogantly high prices up. How sad. But oh well. We have Irish whiskeys and of course a lot of Scotch distilleries that stick to reality. I prefer  to purchase bottles from these places. I just do not want to take part in the idiocity that goes on around newly released young or even NAS Scotch Single malts selling for over 100 euros. No thanks.

Today we are taking a look at a bottle that was suggested to me by a good friend. He is working closely with McConnell's and has his own business where he holds nice tasting of whisky, gin and rum. Please check him out at @whiskytrailhungary on Instagram. Let's see what the McConnell's 5 yo Sherry Cask Finish has to offer us.

Check out my latest Irish Whiskey reviews and the story of the Irish Whiskey renaissance by clicking the links below.

About McConnell's

When opening up a new Irish whiskey distillery / brand it sure helps a lot to have a lot of history. McConnell's resurfaced in 2020. A legendary brand brought back from the dead. The brand is said to date back to 1776. This would make it Irelands's oldest whiskey brand. 

Hugh McConnel had a grocery  shop and was also a spirit dealer, we can trace back McConnell's to him. After Hugh's death, his widow Eleanor was left with three young children. Eleanor continued the business, appearing in Martin's Trade Directory as a 'rectifying distiller' in 1841.

In 1899 to meet the demand J & J McConnell opened a new distillery complete with a brewery on reclaimed ground on the southern side of the River Lagan. The distillery was known as Cromac Distillery. Wells in the Cromac area were the source of pure alkaline-free water. Cromac aerated water and ginger ale could be found in every major city in the world. McConnell's took great pride in the use of the Cromac name.

There was a fire in 1907 and 1909 too. In 1909 the damages were huge. Half a million gallons of whiskey were destroyed and the damages were around 200.000 GBP which in todays market would be around 30.500.000 GBP according to an inflation calculator. McConnell's showed great resilience continuing the selling and producing of whiskey. Their other five bonded warehouses and distillery were unaffected. It wasn't until Prohibition in the US in the 1930s that McConnell's finally closed its door.

Now 6 decades later McConnell's is finally being reopened. Construction of the brand's new distillery in Belfast on the site of a jail is finished. But the whiskey — whisky — in the bottle is still sourced, in this case from the Great Northern Distillery.

Where is the "E" though?

There's a convention that the Irish spirit is spelled 'whiskey' and Scotch as 'whisky'. The practice dates back to the 19th century, when Irish distillers introduced the spelling to differentiate their product from that of Scottish makers, who were beginning to have significant growth in the market. 'Whisky' is the form that was traditionally favoured by McConnell's, and today we honour that tradition – proudly and distinctively spelling our product just as we always have. With no 'e'.

McConnell's 5 yo Sherry Cask Finish - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 46%

"McConnell's Sherry Cask Finish is aged for 5 long years, matured in 1st fill select Bourbon barrels, then finished in the finest Oloroso Sherry Casks which bring out rich aromas of dried figs, dark chocolate and lingering spice. Bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill filtered."

This whisky is a blend of 40% single malt and 60% single grain whiskey (95% corn and 5% malted barley). It spends 5 full years in Wild Turkey ex-bourbon barrels and then it is finished for 6-12 months in Oloroso Sherry Casks which held 25-30 year old sherry. Finally, not seasoned sherry casks. Good quality casks. Love it. But does it taste like a whisky from the old Cromac distillery? Who knows. The lates bottle on auction I found was going for around 12.000 euros back in 2015. So I do not think a lot of people can have a comparison.

What I gotta highlight is: the bottle. It is very thick, heavy and nice. The cork is very solid and heavy. The label screams quality. I really like how this bottle looks like. It also only goes for around 40-45 euros which is a steal in my opinion.

Nose: Lovely. Fruity and deep. Green apples, overripe pears and juicy apricots. Followed by a hint of oak spice and vanilla fudge. Lots of sherry notes. Dried figs, sultanas and raisins. Orange peel, apricot jam and fruit cake. Cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper.

Taste: Quite velvety and smooth in the mouth. Oily. Has a great structure. Opens up with dark chocolate, tobacco leaves and orange peel. Vanilla fudge and toffee. Oak spice, black pepper and cinnamon. Spicy. Fruit jam and dried fruits. Mostly dried sultanas, figs and caramelized oranges. Very nice.

Finish: Quite long and tasty. Dried fruits, espresso and oak. Vanilla and toffee. Spices such as cinnamon and cardamom. Great.

Overall I like this whisky. It does not feel young nor cheap. The usage of nice casks is a great addition. This whisky has great structure, depth and taste. The bottle quality and detail is great. Overall I award this whisky 8/10. I am really looking forward to what the chaps will do at the distillery. Buy it, try it. Drink responsibly.

Some pictures in this article are not owned by me, I tagged their owner and I attached a link of their site. All other pictures that have my logo on them are TAKEN AND OWNED BY ME.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.