Connemara 12 Year Old Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Connemara 12 Year Old Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey is the age-stated bottle from Cooley Distillery on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth, bottled by Kilbeggan Distilling Company at 80 proof. Peated malt is double-distilled in copper pot stills, a break from Ireland’s usual triple distillation, then aged 12 years in former bourbon barrels. The peat sits around 13 to 14 ppm, milder than a heavy Islay, and twelve years in American oak pull the smoke into the malt instead of leaving it as young kiln. This is not the no-age-statement Original; the extra time is the point.

Crème brûlée, vanilla cream, and a restrained peat open together, with lemon zest and orchard fruit. The palate is round and medium-full: praline, vanilla bean, pear and apple, then pepper and gingery oak. It finishes long on honeyed cereal, grass, and a white-pepper smoke that stays polite.