Dingle Distillery Single Malt Irish Whiskey
It’s hard to believe, looking at the 50+ distilleries now dotting the Emerald Isle, that 15 years ago there were just three: Midleton, Bushmills, and Cooley. Then, along came a few friends and cousins with an idea: a new distillery, the first new one in Ireland since Prohibition.
And thus, Dingle Distillery was born. From a team with a background in brewing, a new movement was born, at the farthest west in Europe you can go. Facing the Wild Atlantic Way, the Dingle peninsula juts out, facing the sea breeze off the ocean.
It’s not the easiest place to get to, as the distillery’s owners and operators will admit, but that’s part of the charm. In just a decade in a half, Dingle has become an economic driver for the area, leveraging the existing tourism draw into a multi-day experience. Drink, eat, walk the shoreline, and…did I mention drink?
For their first few years of releases, Dingle had been working on a batch system for their single malts and single pot still whiskies, but that came to an end as they began producing enough to have a permanent core expression. Established by original distillers John MacDougal and Michael Walsh and continued by Graham Coull, whose tenure just ended in April 2024, the Dingle Single Malt Irish Whiskey is the culmination of growth over that decade-plus of time.
At a cool 46.3% ABV, the Dingle Single Malt is NAS and blends whiskies finished in two casks: 39% ex-bourbon and 61% Pedro Ximenez sherry. As the first permanent core expression, this bottle is meant to set the tone and baseline for all Dingle single malt whiskies going forward, no matter the finishes found in special editions like the Celtic Wheel of the Year series.
Using these casks for maturation in that specific ratio is no accident, and the time invested comes out beautifully. There’s the bright, lemony malt character with freshly rolled hay bales, the summery feeling of a red wine sangria, and dark chocolate-covered red fruits from the PX. The palate evolves over the course of several sips, inviting you for more without much of a burn. A dangerously easy sipper, for sure.
As an aside, don’t miss out on the Celtic symbology on Dingle’s bottles. I’ll talk more about them in the Wheel of the Year reviews, but I want to draw your eye to the figure on the front of the Single Malt bottle and on the topper. A straw man? A scarecrow? No, it’s the Wren Boy, a throwback to a tradition in Celtic paganism that has seen some popular revival in the last few years. In a Gaeltacht regions of Ireland (like Dingle) where the Gaelic and Celtic traditions are still dearly held, these celebrations harken back to festivals throughout the year, including ones highlighted in the Wheel of the Year series. But it all starts with the Wren Boy, hunting the wren on St. Stephen’s Day (December 26th) with a ceremonial funeral to mark the end of the past year.
For Dingle Distillery, it’s also a new beginning. Hail the Wren Boy, and may his hunt be true.
Listen to my Whiskey Ring Podcast episode with Managing Director Elliot Hughes, going live on Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 wherever you get your podcasts!
Thank you to Dingle Distillery for providing this bottle free of charge. All opinions are my own.
Dingle Distillery Single Malt Irish Whiskey: Specs
Classification: Irish Single Malt Whiskey
Producer: Dingle Distillery
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Proof: 92.6 (46.3% ABV)
Age: NAS
Location: Ireland
Dingle Distillery Single Malt Irish Whiskey Price: $124.99
Dingle Distillery Single Malt Irish Whiskey: Tasting Notes
Eye: Gold tinged with green. Medium syrupy rims, large drops rolling off slowly.
Nose: Sweet, honeyed malt, rounded and fresh without being grassy at all. A slight hay bale funk lending itself to a nice earthy character of walking in the fields in summer. Sherry and bourbon cask influence show in yellow fruit flesh and a grape juice blend.
Palate: Bright lemon zest and Meyer lemon pith, barely bitter. Creamy and custardy with freshly cut grass and straw harvested in summer. Vanilla and light baking spice from the bourbon casks, white grapes and a delicate fruit from the sherry adding great body. Oak is there just enough for mouthfeel, never showing more than that. The barest astringency that could be mistaken for tannin, quickly washed away by bright yellow fruits like white grapes and nectarines.
Finish: A surprising turn here, with coffee grounds or chocolate covered espresso beans on the back end adding to a coating mouthfeel from the palate. Medium length, slightly bitter, and I really enjoy that playing off the sweet and tangy notes of the fruits.
Overall: What a great introduction to the Dingle lineup. A clear, unique character that stands up to finishes (as seen in other releases) and can be called “Dingle”. Complex, especially for its age (NAS but around 4-6 years) with bright single malts transitioning to yellow fruit and dark chocolate. Delightful.
Final Rating: 7.4
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary
8 | Excellent | Exceptional
7 | Great | Well above average
6 | Very Good | Better than average
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary
4 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
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