|
Tasting Room Location:
Slane Castle Demesne, Slane, Co. Meath, Ireland Hawaii Distributor: Youngs Market Company of Hawaii Supplier: Brown-Foreman |
Company Background
Slane co-founder, Alex Conyngham, grew-up in his ancestral home of Slane Castle, Ireland and eventually made his way into the Irish Whiskey industry as a brand ambassador for another company. However, the castle from which Conyngham’s father turned into a successful concert venue in the 1980’s, needed an upgrade after three decades of success. Per the suggestion of his father, Alex made plans to transformed an old stable into a Irish Whiskey distillery and pursued a partnership with Brown-Forman for funding this endeavour. This refurbishment totaling $50 million included: three copper pot stills and six column stills crafted by McMillan of Scotland and traditional Larch wood wash backs (vats used by the brewing and distilling industries to ferment wort) built by Joseph Brown of Dufftown.1 Buildout was finally completed in 2018 and represents Brown-Forman’s entry into the Irish Whiskey world.
THE PROCESS
Over the next few years, Slane’s production will evolve. The distillate in the first iteration is sourced from another distiller and then aged in Slane’s “Triple-Casked” process. According to Slane, this means aging distillate in:
The casks are then blended together to create the final product.
Slane co-founder, Alex Conyngham, grew-up in his ancestral home of Slane Castle, Ireland and eventually made his way into the Irish Whiskey industry as a brand ambassador for another company. However, the castle from which Conyngham’s father turned into a successful concert venue in the 1980’s, needed an upgrade after three decades of success. Per the suggestion of his father, Alex made plans to transformed an old stable into a Irish Whiskey distillery and pursued a partnership with Brown-Forman for funding this endeavour. This refurbishment totaling $50 million included: three copper pot stills and six column stills crafted by McMillan of Scotland and traditional Larch wood wash backs (vats used by the brewing and distilling industries to ferment wort) built by Joseph Brown of Dufftown.1 Buildout was finally completed in 2018 and represents Brown-Forman’s entry into the Irish Whiskey world.
THE PROCESS
Over the next few years, Slane’s production will evolve. The distillate in the first iteration is sourced from another distiller and then aged in Slane’s “Triple-Casked” process. According to Slane, this means aging distillate in:
- Virgin Cask to produce charred, toasted oak and vanilla notes.
- Seasoned Casks of former American Whiskey barrels to produce banana, butterscotch and plum notes. We suspect these barrels include Jack Daniels and Woodford Reserve as both are also produced by Brown-Forman.
- Sherry Casks of Oloroso sherry butts to produce notes of raisin and spice.
The casks are then blended together to create the final product.
TASTING NOTES
BOUQUET
Jack Daniels upfront, and then an Irish malt on the back. It is naturally reminiscent to Jack Daniels due to its aging process in the former Jack Daniels Cask. The back end is more Irish due to malted barley being the predominant element in the mash bill instead of the corn in Jack Daniels.
PALATE
Honey upfront, and then it transitions into cereal and butterscotch notes that later dissipates into a cinnamon and raisin finish.
COCKTAIL APPROACH
Hawaii Beverage Guide Commentary
Slane is to Brown-Forman as Bushmills is to Becle-Cuervo, and Jameson is to Pernod Ricard as Tillamore D.E.W. is to William Grant. Given the similar price point of all four brands, and that there is not a Irish Whiskey that is particularly better or worse in this group, this becomes personal preference.
BOUQUET
Jack Daniels upfront, and then an Irish malt on the back. It is naturally reminiscent to Jack Daniels due to its aging process in the former Jack Daniels Cask. The back end is more Irish due to malted barley being the predominant element in the mash bill instead of the corn in Jack Daniels.
PALATE
Honey upfront, and then it transitions into cereal and butterscotch notes that later dissipates into a cinnamon and raisin finish.
COCKTAIL APPROACH
- METHOD: Neat, Rocks, Shaken, or Stirred
- SUGGESTED PAIRINGS
- Black tea, brown sugar, chocolate, cider, cinnamon, clove, Coca-Cola, coffee, cranberry, ginger, grenadine, honey, lemon-lime soda, lime, mint, orange, orange bitters, pink peppercorn, stone fruit, vanilla
- Sample Flavor Combo: Slane + ginger + orange + chocolate
- AVOID
Overly sweet juices which can become artificial tasting.
Hawaii Beverage Guide Commentary
Slane is to Brown-Forman as Bushmills is to Becle-Cuervo, and Jameson is to Pernod Ricard as Tillamore D.E.W. is to William Grant. Given the similar price point of all four brands, and that there is not a Irish Whiskey that is particularly better or worse in this group, this becomes personal preference.
RSS Feed