In August of 2016 I was lucky enough to get married. As a whiskey enthusiast my sister and brother in-law naturally wanted to get me a nice bottle to mark the occasion, they gifted me the Celtic Whiskey Shop Celtic Cask - Cúig Déag. Anyone who knows their whiskey and Dublin should be familiar with this shop. This bottling is one of their limited releases and I had never been lucky enough to taste one let alone own one.
For one reason or another we didn’t get around to opening the bottle on the day of the wedding, I really wanted to make sure all those who should get a taste would get one and the opportunity never arose. Flash forward to 2020 and the bottle is still not open! To be 100% clear, I don’t buy whisky to let it gather dust, I am a drinker not a collector. The idea of this siting on a shelf so long is crazy but I really just wanted the occasion to be right.
Well the occasion finally came about when our baby boy arrived March 2020. How could I not celebrate by opening the best spirit in the house. I got to share this with my father and brother in-law. I also decided to take some pictures of the bottle before it was opened, you can view a few of them below.
The Celtic cask series is commissioned by the Celtic whiskey shop in Dublin, typically they will procure some aged whiskey, add their own touch of magic and then release. This Edition “Cúig Déag“ meaning fifteen in Irish is their fifteenth edition would you believe. To date I think the have released over 30 of these Celtic Cask bottlings.
This whiskey was first aged for 22 years in a bourbon barrel, then moved to a Port Pipe from Quinta do Noval for a final 2 years. It is non-chill filtered and is 46% ABV. Spending 24 years aging in wood imparts a healthy dark color on this whiskey as you can see in the pictures.
The taste is fantastic, it holds all the classic traits of Irish whiskey with an extra depth and mouth feel that I assume has been imparted from the long barrel aging. There is plenty of dark fruit and and vanilla flavors here along with a surprise for an Irish whiskey, a kick of smoke! Just enough smoke to let you know it is there and really round off the whole experience. I look forward to finishing the bottle with friends and family.
