Tasting

Taste a Single Pot Still from Cork for the first time, and it's usually the texture you notice first. It feels oily, almost creamy, with a spicy sharpness that recalls green apple and freshly ground pepper. That comes from the unmalted barley in the mash. No other whiskey style in the world tastes quite like it.

Redbreast, for decades the style's best-known ambassador, shows this especially clearly: sherry cask, ripe fruit, and that signature spice on the finish. Green Spot, by contrast, matures in bourbon casks, coming across lighter and brighter. Even so, it shares the same underlying structure, just seen from a different angle. Both are distilled at Midleton, even though the name and label tell different stories.

Taste a whiskey from Waterford instead, and you should watch for something else entirely. Two bottlings from neighbouring farms, made from the same barley variety in the same year, often taste surprisingly different here. That's the whole point of the project. The farm is meant to show up in the glass, not just on the label.

For tasting, a simple glass with a slightly closed tulip shape is all you need, with a splash of water on the side rather than in the glass. Nose it first, without holding your nose too close to the glass. Then take a tiny first sip, followed by the rest. With pot still, it's worth pausing briefly between sips, since the spicy side often only unfolds a few seconds after it hits the mouth. That's exactly why the patience pays off.