| Whisky | The Sexton Irish Whiskey |
| Region | Ireland |
| Style | Single Malt |
| ABV | 40% |
| Price | £28 |
The Sexton Irish Whiskey - Bored of Scotland Already?
I’m not that familiar with Irish whiskey. I’m definitely not familiar with Irish single malt whiskey. I’ve tried Jameson, Bushmills and…. that’s that. The Sexton Irish Whiskey is a new one for me. I think it’s a bit of an odd choice choosing an Irish single malt for my second review, especially as my blog will mainly focus on single malt scotch, but it was the next bottle in my cupboard. The shape of the bottle is very eye catching, and the branding is also a nice touch. I think it’ll make a nice makeshift lamp once the bottle is empty. It’s worth mentioning that the Irish call whisky ‘whiskey’ so you’ll see it spelled like that on the bottle and on the internet. Although lovely to look at, the bottle is horrible to pour, as the spout is so short and the body so stubby. Ha – there might be a joke in there. Perhaps I should write comedy instead. No. Bad Idea.
What's the Craic then?
I’m already conflicted about my earlier statement: In hindsight, it may be worthwhile reviewing this whisky now before coming back to it again in a few months time – if only because it’s a fairly generic taste profile that I can use to benchmark more interesting single malts against. Yep, I’ll stick with that viewpoint. Let’s get on to the real review then:
The price point of this whisky means it’s very accessible – it’s also available in your local supermarket if you live in the UK. There is no age statement on this single malt, and it definitely looks to have had caramel colourant added. It’s bottled at 40% ABV which means I’ll be drinking it neat, without any water, and it’ll likely be chill filtered to be bottled at this low alcohol percentage.
Does that mean to say it’s a bad ‘whiskey’? Well I don’t want to ruin it, but sort of…
Nose
A lot of ethanol – strong ripe banana, red apple, a hint of peppermint, toasted cereal. I even pick out a very slight hint of synthetic raspberry
Palate
It opens up slightly woody, with the tiniest hint of smoke. The ethanol/banana carries through on the taste slightly, but not unpleasantly or even full bodied. The red apple does come through, especially red apple skin.
Finish
There’s no real flavour after the initial two dimensional hit; the taste experience lasts four seconds or so before completely disappearing. Nothing lingers other than the alcohol burn.
Overall Impressions
It’s hard to tell you much that I enjoy about The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey because it just feels a bit middle of the road. It’s perfectly pleasant, smooth, smells good and tastes okay I can’t help but think that it’s a bit boring. To me, it tastes like Jameson but with the rough edges sanded away. It’s a young spirit, and it takes all of its flavour from the casks (which is lovely), but there’s no longevity or depth or even any real character that I can take away from it. It reminds me somewhat of my experience with Penderyn Madeira Finish which you can read about here.
Final Verdict
4/10
The strengths of The Sexton Irish Whiskey lie in its ability to be sipped by a new whisky drinker completely neat without a single wince. That’s good – but surely there should be more to sing about?
