Woodbrook, Co. Wicklow

Arcadian barley, from our secret garden of delights, explores the natural flavours, intensity & honesty of old ways. Out of necessity since the dawn of time, peat has been the primary fuel source in rural Ireland, with its sweet pungency familiar to generations gathered around the ancient hearths of thatch-roofed blackhouses. Farmer, & often illicit distiller, dried barley over peat smoke infusing the same heady aromatics, an ancient custom that died out from the 1850s. With this Single Farm Origin’s barley, Irish grown & Irish peated, we return to the earthy, wild & raw tradition rooted in the distant past.

However, one of the more curious notes about this bottling is that it uses barley grown on fields that no longer exist – indeed, these fields are now occupied by a modern housing estate, such is the need for progress. We’ll never have barley from here again. Therefore Woodbrook represents our first “lost” Single Farm Origin – hopefully there won’t be too many more.

Appearance: Pale straw with oils that are in no hurry.

Nose: Lemon skins, beeswax and recently-extinguished candles. Freshly-torched crème brûlée. Very fresh, with meadow flowers and hemp alongside a light, complex touch of medicine cupboard.

Taste: Dry spices, dry rub and shortbread biscuit. The ashes of a beach campfire. Preserved lemons and Lapsang Souchong tea. Very citrusy – lemon oils and thick-cut lime marmalade.

Finish: Long with more of the spices and comforting bonfire tones emerging.