Irish Whiskey | 40% ABV

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*When 40% isn’t actually 40%*

It could’ve been peanut butter whisky

I am starting to come to grips with life in North Carolina. My wife and I are still pinching ourselves that, in February, we are able to walk on a beach during the evenings when it is 10ºC (50°F). The people we have met are wonderful, and the pace is much more relaxed than in the northeast from which we came. To say that we are not regretting the move is an understatement. All of the stress, labours, and steps needed to make it happen, now, are all worth it. And yet – as many of you are correctly anticipating - a “but…”

At this juncture, there are some items that are not ideal. For example, my wife is a vegetarian, and ‘round here carnivores still steer the ship. Want bacon added to your meal? White sausage gravy on that? Delicious options for many, but Mrs. Shaw has a harder time. And worse, of course, there is this glaring dearth of single malt options.

I have previously touched upon, and therefore complained about, the lack of craft Scottish single malts available here. The ABC stores here carry the usual suspects: Diageo, Macallan, Glenfiddich. For the show-and-tell portion of this piece, let me show you the entire “Scotch” section of one of the larger ABC stores near me; the front and the back of a single long shelf.

For a whisky botherer, it is more than a bit disconcerting. I thoroughly enjoy my whisky bottle hunts and this new reality has placed a rusty and broken monkey wrench in my whisky gears. Certainly, and I fully appreciate, this is a first world problem. I am not sure how much of this single malt ignorance or absence is attributable to the ABC system, but I would confidently wager the ABC system is a significant reason. You’re not going to have guacamole if you can’t buy avocados. You can’t enjoy and share that which you cannot obtain.

Enough of my rant. I try to find the positive in things, and I have already started to plan and plot different ways to get my hands on those interesting and less ubiquitous bottles. When faced with a hurdle, we don’t stop, we find a way over, around, through, or under.

In the meantime, as I plot my means and ways to get my hands on those lesser-seen bottles, I come home to my shelf of dwindling options. Back in Connecticut I had a good whisky ebb and flow that worked well for me. My whisky rotation ran through a whisky cabinet. It was large enough to hold 33 bottles. A handsome selection, for sure, but still self-limiting as I would not buy more than could fit in that whisky cabinet. The cabinet is now gone and I have moved the remaining malt stash from Connecticut to our rental accommodation. My bottles have been placed on a shelf between our kitchen and living room area. Over the past two months the Shaws have rinsed seven of these bottles without any meaningful replenishment.

Due to the dearth of local options, sadly, pockets of empty space now appear on the shelf. The collection is not only dwindling, but out in the open. Unlike the old cabinet in which bottles could be shoved in corners or hidden in the back, everything is in clear sight from the shining beacons to the *ahem* less stellar offerings. So, for every Kilchoman Sanaig or Glen Garioch 1999 Vintage, we have a Buchanan’s Master or Old Pulteney 12.

In looking at my collection – again, now that it’s all out in the open – I recognise that there were certain bottles, such as my Buchanan’s, that never really saw the light of day. And, as I am staring at these bottles, I realise I ought to be familiar with them all. There are two of these bottles of which I am unfamiliar, as they were stashed in the back of my whisky cabinet quite some time ago. One bottle will be the subject of a future review, but the other is today’s.

Mrs. Shaw and I had a barbecue cookout at our house more than a year ago. For that event, a great friend brought a bottle knowing I was a whisky guy. He brought this bottle of Writers’ Tears. After the event, I noticed he had left it at our house. The next day I reminded him that he had left his bottle, and he graciously said that he bought it for the BBQ cookout festivities and intentionally left it for me. He insisted I keep it. He said he liked it and thought I would, too.

With these memories in my head, I reach for the bottle. It’s been over a year since I last examined it. This bottle has escaped my scrutiny for long enough. Now it’s time to become familiar with the bottle and its liquid.

Review

Writers’ Tears Copper Pot, Irish Whiskey, 40% ABV
£40-45 and wide availability, gifted bottle.

Nose

The first waft brings a soapy element. Pine needles. Cereal and oats. The nose is soft, nothing strong or overpowering here. Honey. Sweet from the honey but also tart. Tart coming from Granny Smith apples. Vanilla. Hint of green banana and some juniper. Very faint lemon-lime soda. All of these notes have taken time to discern as this really is a soft nose.

Palate

Initially sweet and grassy. Toffee. Green apple. There is a honey sweetness that builds through the tasting. Vanilla and oak. Buttery. Cashews and a malty nougat. This tasting is really quite nice. Nothing here is bold or complex, but it is delicious. I do detect a pot still profile here. The finish has some length to it. As it winds up, there is a menthol sensation rising from the sweetness which is rather nice. Aside from the flavours, the body of this dram belies its 40% ABV and soft nose; there is some body to this liquid. I had expected a thin dram, and this is certainly not. To be sure it isn’t oily, but it doesn’t align with the noted ABV. I am impressed.

The Dregs

I must admit that I went into this tasting having no positive expectations. Yes, my buddy said he enjoyed this expression, but then again his whiskey of choice is Skrewball peanut butter whiskey, so… yeah, there’s that. Perhaps you can understand the reticence I had?

This whiskey surprised me by how good it is. Within its tasty flavour profile is a reminder that this is Irish pot still whiskey. Well, as I found out, this is not completely a pot still whiskey. I did a little digging, as the bottle doesn’t exactly bristle with helpful information. Writers’ Tears is a blend of Irish single malt and Irish single pot still whiskies, derived from both malted and unmalted barley. This Copper Pot expression is triple distilled and aged in charred American oak casks. One outlet online mentioned that the vatting is a blend of 40% triple distilled Irish single malt most likely from Cooley Distillery (though the author admits there is no confirmation of that) and 60% triple distilled Irish single pot-still whiskey from Midleton. Moreover, this online source states that Writers’ Tears is bottled without chill filtration. If true, this would help explain the body that remains on the palate, despite the whiskey being diluted down to 40%

It would be lovely if there was something on the Writers’ Tears website that would confirm any/all of this information. I have to say that the pot still aspect and triple distillation profile here with my Writers’ Tears bottle is reminiscent of a Green Spot offering. It isn’t a mirror, but you can tell they are related.

Some more research on this whiskey reveals there are eight different Writers’ Tears expressions. They are: Copper Pot; Double Oak; Red Head; Single Pot Still; Cask Strength; Japanese Cask; Marsala Cask; and Inniskillin Ice Wine Cask expressions. I know that more recent releases have their bottling strength bumped up to 45% or 46% and even, as listed, a cask strength. Given this Copper Pot is this good at 40% ABV, these higher strength versions certainly catch my curiosity.

Frankly, I have seen Writers’ Tears on the shelves over the years but never availed myself of a bottle. More than likely two factors would make me veer off. Usually I have a certain bottle or type that I am looking for and that, coupled with seeing a 40% ABV on the label, would make me less than interested. But, as I come to learn and remind myself over time, there are unexpected lovely drams where you least expect them. Keep an open mind, and you are more likely to discover them. This bottle is a case in point.

Certainly, with the value proposition as it is, this is a solid 6/10 on the Dramface scale, and when this bottle is gone, I very well may be looking to replace it. Most outlets I have examined have this bottle between $35 and $45 USD, though there are some outliers marking this up to $52. If you can get it in that $35-$45 range, this is a no-brainer. It is a very pleasant sipper, and I am glad to finally recognise a good whiskey that was hidden in the back of my old cabinet.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t touch upon the name – it’s low-hanging fruit. The name “Writers’ Tears” is an homage to the Irish writers of lore such as George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, etc. The Writer’s Tears website says:

[This type of whiskey – the blend that now is Writers’ Tears] was enjoyed by many of the great Irish writers of the day[.] . . . It was said that they enjoyed it so much, that when they cried, their tears were of whiskey.

That they cried tears of whiskey is more than a bit problematic, and perhaps someone should have suggested they try a “dry January”, or some other intervention. Nonetheless, I can see how this style of whiskey would certainly be a favourite – whether for a literary master or otherwise.

This is good stuff, despite the recommended by someone who favours peanut butter flavoured ‘whiskey’.

Score: 6/10

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. OS

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