Dia duit gach duine! Conas atá tú go léir? Ar deireadh tá sé anseo! Ar deireadh tá mí Irisih Whisky anseo! Bíodh mí deas againn lán d'uisce álainn na beatha a rinneadh in Éirinn. 🇮🇪

Hello Everyone! Welcome back to my site. Finally Irish Whiskey month is here. This is a month, where we celebrate Ireland, the Irish people and the beautiful whiskey they make. Why is March the Irish Whiskey month you might ask. March the 17th is Saint Patrick's Day (Lá Fhéile Pádraig) in Ireland. This day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and by extension, celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Many reviewers like me pays homage to Ireland and its people by reviewing Irish Whiskeys this month.

Before we go any further, please check out a few of my previous Irish Whiskey reviews.

I thought what to start this month with? Well, let's go back to the basics shall we? Today we are taking a look at a legendary bottle, a bottle I haven't had for years. The Tullamore D.E.W.  To my surprise this whiskey went through a re-branding, it has the same bottle but a new label. I don't know if I like it more than the old one or not. We will see later I guess. I am curious however, about how good this whiskey is now. Without further ado let's get into the middle of things.

Irish Whiskey renaissance

Ireland was once the capital of whiskey. At a point in the 19th century, it had 88 licensed distilleries and countless more illicit producers. The largest distilleries in the world were in Dublin. The largest pot still was at the Midleton Distillery, Cork. Irish whiskey was drunk all over the world and had a reputation comparable to Champagne and Cognac. !!!It even outsold Scotch whisky in Scotland!!!

By 1980, just two distilleries were operating: Bushmills and Midleton. Irish whiskey went from a world leader to a niche product.

We are currently in the midst of the Irish whiskey renaissance. A period of extraordinary revival and growth for an industry that once teetered on the brink of extinction. This resurgence, beginning in the late 20th century and accelerating into the 21st, has been fuelled by several key factors, restoring Irish whiskey as a globally acclaimed spirit. 

We need to go back to 1966. A decision was made to pool resources, expertise, and brands into one company, one that could streamline operations, reduce costs, and enable a stronger negotiating position in both domestic and international markets. Cork Distilleries Company, John Jameson & Son, and John Power & Son took the radical decision to merge into Irish Distillers. It was a collaboration that saved the category from collapse.

By 1975, they had modernised the Midleton Distillery, producing a range of whiskies including the world-famous Jameson, while setting the foundations for a greater future, for example by committing to quality casks. It also kept the lights on at Bushmills, an old and proud name that would have been a travesty to lose, and maintained the creation of Ireland's signature style, single pot still whiskey.

Irish Distillers were, for a time, the pillar on which all Irish whiskey stood. The company did a great amount to preserve the industry and to lay the groundwork for the future. However, Irish whiskey was a monopoly, and that's never a sustainable solution. Bushmills remained part of Irish Distillers until Diageo bought it in 2005 (who, in turn, sold it to Proximo in 2014). That's where John Teeling comes in. He founded Cooley Distillery in 1987, converting a potato alcohol plant into a two-column still distillery and then reviving brands like Kilbeggan. In 2011, he sold the operation to Beam Inc (later Beam Suntory) for US$95m, but by that time the Irish whiskey industry was unrecognisable. Irish whiskey needed a new name to breathe new life into the industry and Teeling proved particularly adept at doing that.

In 2013, Ireland still only had only four distilleries but distilleries began popping up like dandelions. Teeling became the first new distillery in Dublin in over 125 years when it opened in 2015. And so on it goes. By 2025 there are over 30 distilleries in Ireland! That is just amazing.

About the Tullamore Distillery

The Tullamore Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery located in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland, established in 2014 and owned by William Grant & Sons. It is the first new distillery to have been constructed on a greenfield site in Ireland in over 100 years, and the first to operate in Tullamore since 1954.

The original distillery was opened in 1829 in the heart of the town of Tullamore. In the late 1800s, the General manager, and later owner of the distillery, Daniel E. Williams, launched a whiskey named Tullamore D.E.W., whose name was taken from his initials, D.E.W. Although the whiskey gained significant success, the distillery later closed in 1954 having suffered financial difficulties. However, the brand was kept alive. Tullamore Blends continued to be sold. In the meantime, Tullamore was distilled at Midleton distillery, a two hours' drive south on the coast of Ireland. The brand continued to exist. In 1965, the brand name was sold to Power's and shortly afterwards became part of the Irish Distillers Group. The brand was sold to the C&C Group in 1993 and to William Grant and Sons in 2010, in whose hands it remains today.

The new distillery was built for 35 million euros. When first constructed, the distillery initially had the capacity to produce up to 1.8 million litres of pot still and malt whiskey per annum using four pot stills. owever, provision has been made for the installation of a further two pot stills in the distillery, which would double this capacity to 3.6 million litres per annum. Following an additional 25 million euros investment, a grain distillery and bottling plant were added in 2017. This means that the distillery can now produce all three components (pot still, malt, and grain whiskey) of its Tullamore D.E.W. blended whiskey on-site.

There are  nine spacious warehouses of the Tullamore distillery that offers room for around 350,000 casks. Three different types of casks are filled with Tullamore Whiskey as standard: First Fill and Refill Bourbon as well as Sherry casks. The three new make spirits (Pot Still, Grain, Malt) mature in all three types of casks, with one exception: the Sherry would overpower the mild Grain, which is why the latter matures exclusively in the different Bourbon casks.

Tullamore is one of the few distilleries that still has a cooperage on site. The advantage: the team can buy as many casks as they like without having to worry about perfect quality, as they can also be refurbished on site.

Their core range consists of 6 bottles:

• Original Blended Irish Whiskey
• Honey
• 12 Year Old Special Reserve
• XO Caribbean Rum Cask Finish
• 14 Year Old Single Malt
• 18 Year Old Single Malt

The core range of Tullamore - image taken from tullamoredew.com

Tullamore D.E.W. Original Blended - Natural Color(?), Chill filtered, 40%

"Tullamore D.E.W. is the original triple blend Irish whiskey known the world over for its smooth and gentle complexity. Our whiskey, made in Ireland, is the perfect balance of both fruit and spice. A blend of three spirits, you won't find another whiskey like Tullamore D.E.W.

Three spirits blend together to give a balance of flavour like no other. Grain whiskey gives sweet flavours. Malt whiskey gives fruit flavours. And pot still whiskey gives spice flavours.

The complex yet approachable flavours in the whiskey are derived from - three types of grain, triple distillation and the blend of all three Irish whiskeys.

Triple cask-matured for depth and balance. Over a period of several years, Tullamore D.E.W. Original is aged in traditional refill barrels, ex-bourbon barrels and ex-sherry butts."

Nose: Very typical Irish whiskey. A hint of alcohol that vanishes after airing the whiskey a bit. Sweet & mellow right away with a hint of spice. Green apples, ripe pears and some peaches in the background. Strong vanilla and caramel notes. A slight metallic note. Some grain-y notes appear with toasted oak and cracked black pepper. A hint of sherry fruits with honey. Quite a light and pleasant nose.

Taste: Quite thin at first. Almost watery. However on the second sip the flavours arrive. Vanilla, caramel and honey. Sweet & spicy at the same time. Green apples, peaches and black pepper. Cinnamon. Some sherry fruits appear in the distance. Grain-y sweetness, metallic note, freshly cut grass and hay alongside some other farm-y notes. Not too deep, not too complex, but OK.

Finish: It is quite short as one would expect. Firstly it is sweet but then it turns into a spicy & sour tickling sensation on the tongue. Vanilla, caramel, black pepper and some alcohol.

Overall this is a fine whiskey for beginners. It is sweet & mellow with minimal unpleasant notes. You can truly taste all three components. The smooth and fruity single malt, the sweet grain whiskey and the spicy pot still whiskey. Greatly composed. This is a whiskey that I would order in a bar or a restaurant if they have nothing else, however picking up a bottle as an advanced whisky drinker is not recommended. Or maybe yes? It is also good whiskey for visitors that just want to drink something tasty. Taking into consideration the price, which is 15 euros I rate this whiskey 5/10. It is a great value whiskey, and a great intro to the world of Irish Whiskey for beginners! 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.

Check out the points on all the whiskies I've rated and ranked head-to-head.

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

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