#BottleKill – Roe & Co, Irish Whiskey

Review – Roe & Co, Blended Irish Whiskey

Our final #BottleKill review of the year is the wonderful Roe & Co, Blended Irish Whiskey. Another introduction from our wonderful Pour & Sip subscription, the Roe & Co blended Irish whiskey was a bit of a surprise to us. We typically lean towards single-malt Scotch, but absolutely fell in-love with the creamy, malty, vanilla notes of this whiskey. At a fabulous price point, you don’t feel guilty when going back for a second (or even third!) dram of the evening.

As with the Drumshanbo single-pot still, this is a great introduction to Irish whiskey, and one we expect to become a shelf regular.

Roe & Co Distillery

Opened in 2017 as part of the revival of Irish whiskey – Roe & Co is a dedication to George Roe, who was a key part of the original golden era of Irish whiskey. Housed in the former Guinness Power Station, Roe & Co consider themselves to be “home of cocktail exploration and modern Irish whiskey”. You don’t need to look much further than their own website to find many different and intriguing ways to use their spirit!

First Impressions and Reflections

A blended expression, aged in ex-bourbon casks. It is non-chill filtered and bottled at 45% ABV. Typically it can be found for roughly £30 – an accessible price, given the current whiskey market! Their website promises …

“refined, elegant, and with remarkable depth, a masterful blend of rich malt whiskey and the smoothest of grain whiskey aged in bourbon casks”

The bottle is pretty and understated. The duck-egg blue and gold colourings evoke thoughts of spring mornings, and lazily flowing rivers.

Nose: oaky vanilla, muddy grass, honey, creamy walnut, buttery shortbread biscuits, milky malt cereal, slight pepperiness, vanilla custard
Palate: light creamy, buttery, soft, sweet, fresh, rich vanilla, stewed fruits and buttercream
Finish: peppery, tart finish like a rhubarb or berry crumble, with underlying flavours of brown sugar, light oak notes

The mouth feel of this dram is EPIC. Very creamy, soft, sweet – coating all corners of your mouth. Exceptionally moorish!

Final Thoughts

We have loved this whisky so much this year that we recommend it to nearly all of our friends – whisky lovers or not! The price point makes it a shelf staple. With the sweet, buttery, creamy vanilla notes making it accessible to even the most dubious of friends it has become a firm favourite in our household.

We haven’t had much Irish whisk(e)y however, this one is simply fantastic and so versatile. Have it neat or in a cocktail and it will be a great addition. Not to mention how great the bottle looks and such a great story behind the distillery certainly one we plan to visit next year.