West Cork x6 for July: Cask 160 for The Nectar, Port, Calvados, Sherry, Virgin Oak, Rum Finish

After having my palate bashed in by some of the best bottles I've ever had, I thought it was time to take a little break from my weeks-long run of cane spirits. I've got some mezcal lined up for later in the week, but today it's a brief layover in southwest Ireland.
Over the last several years West Cork in Skibbereen has grown from a tiny operation in the back of someone's house to a gigantic, nearly 4 million liter a year behemoth. It's a large and sometimes baffling portfolio of offerings - some of it is distilled by them but some of it is sourced, and good luck telling the difference unless you can physically check the back of the bottle - but I tend to enjoy what they do, and they've got a fair number of genuinely good ideas (cf • Sinus-Clearers: West C... for their barrel proof blended whiskey). Today it's all "produced by," i.e. sourced, malts, a little box set of different finishes and then a barrel pick that has been living in my brain rent-free for weeks. Stats:
- West Cork Port Cask Finished Single Malt Irish Whiskey (NAS, triple distilled, aged in first fill ex-bourbon, finished in Quinta Da Boeira port casks; bottled circa 2019; unchillfiltered, natural color; 43% ABV), 83+/100
- West Cork Calvados Cask Finished Single Malt Irish Whiskey (NAS, triple distilled, aged in first fill ex-bourbon, finished in Calvados Garnier casks; bottled circa 2019; unchillfiltered, natural color; 43% ABV), 83+/100
- West Cork Sherry Cask Finished Single Malt Irish Whiskey (NAS, triple distilled, aged in first fill ex-bourbon, finished in Bodegas Baron sherry casks; bottled circa 2019; unchillfiltered, natural color; 43% ABV), 84/100
- West Cork Virgin Oak Cask Finished Single Malt Irish Whiskey (NAS, triple distilled, aged in first fill ex-bourbon, finished in Kelvin Cooperage virgin American oak casks; bottled circa 2019; unchillfiltered, natural color; 43% ABV), 82/100
- West Cork Rum Cask Finished Single Malt Irish Whiskey (NAS, triple distilled, aged in first fill ex-bourbon, finished in Consorcio Licorero Nacional rum casks; bottled circa 2019; unchillfiltered, natural color; 43% ABV), 83/100
- West Cork Single Malt Irish Whiskey, Cask No. 160 for The Nectar (NAS, aged in first fill ex-bourbon, finished in "toasted and lightly charred" first fill ex-bourbon; 240 bottles, bottled circa 2019; 56% ABV), 85+/100
The finishes, to my surprise, were all done with a pretty light touch. The sherry cask is the best of the bunch, but the biggest surprise was my actually enjoying the long, leafy finish on the port cask version. The calva one is nice and likes water, the rum one is also nice but really doesn't like water, and I honestly wouldn't bother with the virgin oak one.
The cask pick is really quite good (and improves with water to boot), but it is a total mindfrack. I swear there's peat in this - not much, just a little - but I don't trust myself and I don't know how it ever could have landed there, so if you have this bottle please post a comment and tell me whether I'm nuts or not. Beyond that, you're getting a grand party of grains, fruit, teas, and burned stuff. Good stuff if you're looking for a house whiskey for the summer.
Extra special thanks to my Different Spirits on Patreon ( / differentspirits ) -
Eric Amig
Anthony
Kingsbury bushcraft
Clematis
Rob D
Liam Davitt
Joe Devine
Samuel Dose
Stephen Eckert
eon Ingmar nine
Steve Frazee
Ian Gendler
John Halliday
Alex Hurd
Trevor Jarrait
Jonathan Lestingi
Kyaru
Jason Newquist
No Thanks
Chris Rhodes
Randy Rice
RumSquirrel
Chris Sherman
Gordon W
Zach W

[@austintierney4828]

I've had the Nectar and it was awesome, but not that cask, but I can tell you...probably Cooley, which may explain the hesitation on the "peat" note. This could either be from the extra malt funkiness one gets from a double distilled product or again because its Cooley there could be an essence of peat coming from parts of the distillery/ barrel warehouse. Anyway, great stuff! love West Cork

[@differentspirits4157]

Yeah, I have lost sleep on this bottle. Could there be some Connemara?? Or is it an ex-Connemara cask, maybe??? There's a deep, dark hole in this bottle and maybe that's a reason not to buy it. 😅

[@ILuvRum]

Tried some West Cork when it first showed up on the grocery store shelves around here a few years ago. Mostly the Bourbon cask (red label), 40 ABV NAS, with the label stating no more than product of Ireland and with the West Cork in Skibereen distillery name, and then the "Black Cask" (black label) at 43 ABV NAS barreled in "double charred" first fill bourbon casks. the label stating Distilled Matured and Bottled at Skibereen. Both bottles being blends. It think I paid $25 for the Bourbon Cask and $29 for the Black Cask. Both were decent although I liked the Black Cask better as it had more flavor. You could definitely taste the "char" and it almost seemed as it had a slight taste of Iodine like some scotches. (Don't know if this is anything close to the single cask you have as it is a blend and not single malt nor single cask and quite a bit lower in ABV.)
Sometime later, a year or so ago, I noticed some West Cork (green label) that I had not seen before at the local rural grocer on clearance for 17.99 a bottle and thinking it seemed like a deal based on the two I had tried, I picked up the last couple they had, not really looking at the label. When I got home, I realized it was a different bird than the previous two I had tried as it was a single malt and was age dated at 8 years with the designation of "small batch" the label stating it was "produced by" the Skiberdeen distillery. It was very nice, with a nice clean predominant honey note and an inoffensive nature. It turned out to be my favorite of the brand so far and felt lucky to run across it when I did.

[@differentspirits4157]

Sorry to take so long responding!! I've actually tried a few of these and yes, they are a grab bag. The love of oak seems pretty consistent, though. 😂