Writers’ Tears Cask Strength Review

Writers are sometimes fans of the obvious. In the case of Writers’ Tears, it’s the Irish whiskey you’ll find on many desks while writers plow away at words. I really enjoy Writers’ Tears at regular proof, and I love cask Strength whisky, so this seems like something I’d easily enjoy. 

From their website: 

A vatting of Single Pot Still and Single Malt, this is distilled 3 times and carefully aged in American Oak Casks. Each year Bernard Walsh selects a handful of exceptional casks to make this the benchmark for Super Premium Cask Strength Irish Whiskey. It is available in strictly limited quantities, with only 5280 bottles produced in 2017.

While I’ll regularly get Writers’ Tears as an easy sipper, I’ll probably never end up buying this limited release at cask strength. It’s good! It’s unique in the marketplace, because there isn’t much in the way of cask strength whisky coming out of Ireland, but does it doesn’t quite get the flavour profile I reach for.

The review:

Writers’ Tears Cask Strength Review - 2017 Release
Category: Irish Whiskey, Cask Strength, Blend of Single Pot and Single Malt
Score: 87

Nose: Malted barley sweetness, intense caramel, softer zesty notes, and a pretty wonderful start.

Palate: Lemon zest, caramel sweetness, buttery, and dark chocolate and herby anise notes. As with many cask strength whiskies, it’s intense, but if you weren’t told it was cask strength, you’d probably not guess it. It’s boozy, but subtly so. 

Conclusion: Within the category of cask strength Irish whiskeys, there are only a few contenders. Writers’ Tears brings in a very competitive option. It’s tough to talk about price, but the regular Writers’ Tears is already so damn good and affordable, I couldn’t imagine paying three times the price here (which I’d generally happily pay for cask strength whisky). It’s a terrific whisky (I scored it well) that has terrific competition including The Irishman Cask Strength (same company) and Redbreast 12 Cask Strength. 

Disclaimer: Thank you to the company for providing me a sample of this whisky. It had not baring on my review.