Why Dingle Distillery’s new core releases are right on time for Ireland’s next whiskey wave

Dingle’s great new single pot still and 10-year-old single malt releases remind us of the massive leap of faith that Dingle Distillery took in 2012 

Timing is everything in business – and in whiskey-making. There are a thousand ways to get it wrong, but you only need one chance to get it right. Tasting Dingle’s new single pot still and 10-year-old single malt, I was struck by a perfect sense of timing.   

It’s been 12 years since I got my first whiskey cover story in The Irish Times (pictured), courtesy of Dingle Distillery. That year, wine writing was at its peak within Ireland’s paper of record, and not everyone in editorial could see the journey Irish whiskey was about to take.  (Read the original cover story here)

Over a decade of whiskey headlines later, it’s easy to forget just how unusual Dingle Distillery was that year. While there were some 20 Irish craft distilleries in planning, Dingle was the only one in operation. And what an operation: managed by Mary Ferriter and led by Oliver Hughes and his co-owners, they introduced a brand to the world that was entirely rooted in a place they loved. And they were the first Irish craft whiskey maker to do it, leading Ireland’s new wave of whiskey makers into its brave new future.

FIRST STEPS
It was the start of the new wave: Cooley had been sold to Suntory the year before, it would be another two years before the Shed started production in Drumshanbo and three years before Teeling opened its game-changing distillery in Dublin. Essentially, Dingle faced into a decade of craft whiskey problem-solving alone. But, as the years passed, more distilleries opened and Ireland’s new wave soared. 

That wave has reached shore now, and the next one is sorely needed as whiskey makers face down the challenge of changing economies and better-informed consumers. The engine of that wave will be fuelled by the quality of the whiskey that the first wave distilled. 

While shelves are heavy with extra-aged Irish releases, they are mainly from the big players – Midleton, Bushmills, Cooley, and Tullamore (including independently sourced and bottled releases). No other new distillery has been around long enough to produce liquid much older than 10 years.

Naturally, this isn’t Dingle’s first bottling. There have been many releases from Dingle’s big blue shed since 2012 and many lessons learned, but this new double-core release is special. Not least because it tastes of the ambition that was described back in 2013. Oliver, Mary and the rest of the team told me stories then of how Dingle’s ultimate personality and flavour profile would reveal itself in its own good time, on Dingle’s time.

SINGULAR DNA
Both of these releases are complex, rich and flavourful. They are distinctly different from each other – one a single malt, the other a single pot still – but both also carry a singular DNA that conjures a curious sense of place. I tasted the single pot still first, followed by the 10-year-old single malt, and, with both pours, I experienced the same tangible shift. I can only describe it as a moment of recognition, a flash of a memory. The whiskey felt grounded. 

I’m clearly a fan of Dingle, but not all its releases have worked for me. I bought and tasted all nine of the Celtic Wheel series, for example. I loved the ambition of this collection, but I was disappointed with some of its elements. I was mostly drawn to the wine finishes. The Shiraz and Muscatel worked well, softening some sharp corners in possibly too young single pot still bottlings. The rum finish, too, added a softness to the edges of its single malt, carrying it beautifully. However, there was often a sense that something was missing.

For me, these bottles are different. There’s no question mark, no missing link. They are wholeheartedly themselves. And this was the picture that was painted all those years ago. Twice in 2013, I pushed Oliver Hughes to talk to me about his whiskey inspiration. I wanted to know which existing whiskies he hoped Dingle would emulate, which brands it would resemble. 

Twice, he flatly refused to answer, indeed once telling me it was a very unfair question. He wasn’t interested in remaking the wheel, he explained. Dingle would be different; Dingle would be its own invention, given enough time. It feels like that time has arrived.

Reviews

Dingle Distillery 10-year-old Single Malt
(Core bottling)

ABV: 46.5%
Cask types: Ex-bourbon (65%), port (30%), Pedro Ximinez (5%)
Price: €80

Port finishes aren’t for everyone, but I love them. In place of the red-fruit sweetness of sherry, port delivers darker, earthier flavours that flatten and expand the palate. The small share of PX plays its part here to lace attractive, sugary notes between layers, but for me it’s all about the heavy plum and molasses of the port parcel. 

Aroma: plums, cherries and vanilla
Taste: You’ll discover molasses, vanilla and deep orange notes on the palate, accompanied by soft oak spice and subtle hints of cinnamon. 
Finish: A smooth finish that leaves a satisfying tingle on the lips and a long-lasting flavour and mouthfeel.

Dingle Distillery Single Pot Still
(Core bottling)

ABV: 46.5%
Cask types: Ex-bourbon (59%), oloroso (33%), Pedro Ximinez (4%), red wine (4%)
Price: €60

Triple-distilled from a mashbill of malted and unmalted barley, this is a sweet and tasty single pot still. It’s a non-age statement, but I’d suggest it’s been aged for at least seven years in cask. The oak has stripped away all the metallic elements that some younger Dingle releases have carried, and the delicate balance of sherry, wine and bourbon combine really well, elevating this whiskey beautifully.

The type of red wine cask used isn’t revealed, but it’s muscular enough to make its presence felt, so I’m pulled towards suggesting a shiraz or cabernet sauvignon cask. Bourbon and oloroso are long-proven classic whiskey companions, and the touch of PX here is an extra-sweet ingredient. 

Aroma: Brown sugar is the first note to arrive on the nose, followed by crisp green apple, warm honey and a lovely flashback to candyfloss and fruit salad sweets.
Taste: The palate is creamy, with a light sherry layer that gives way to those crucial pot still spices and some lovely oily, nutty notes. There’s only 4% red wine maturation in this, but it carries itself really well throughout. 
Finish: There’s a lovely lingering finish on this pour, and I picked up tasty notes of orange, plums, cloves and perhaps even a little menthol.  

Read more Dingle Distillery and whiskey news here.