Waterford Whisky – The Cuvée
100 proof (50% ABV)
Aged 4 years 5 months
Nose: Fresh bread, apple, fresh grain.
Palate: Cereal, honey, shortbread cookies, earthy.
Finish: Olive brine, baked bread.
At Waterford Distillery, it’s all about the barley. Waterford’s obsession with the highest quality barley is the driving force behind their whiskies. Founder Mark Reynier opened the distillery with the goal of crafting whiskies by focusing on sourcing the highest quality barley and showcasing the terroir of Ireland and the natural flavors of the grain. They actively seek organic and biodynamic farmers who focus on growing different varietals of barley with traditional farming methods that maximize the flavor of the barley.
The provenance of their barley is central to what they do. All of the grain is carefully traced from each individual farm where it’s grown all the way to the bottle. To achieve this, the distillery built a custom-made grain warehouse, where barley from each farm is stored in separate stalls. Each individual lot of barley is then malted, distilled, and barrel-aged. This allows Waterford to create single-farm, single malt whiskies, displaying the unique terroir of each farm with every bottle. For the whisky drinkers who want to know more about their bottle, the distillery includes a “TÉIREOIR code”, that when entered, pulls up a webpage that describes exactly where the grain was grown, fermentation time, and what types of casks it was aged in.
Waterford’s flagship offering is The Cuvée. The Cuvée is a combination of 25 different single-farm whiskies aged for a minimum of 4.5 years and combined to create a complex melange that acts as a showcase of Waterford’s barley-first, terroir-driven approach. The nose has hints of bread and straw, with a hint of fruit. It’s clear that the malt is taking center stage with this whisky. The palate reveals a honey-like, apple sweetness that is bolstered by earthy cereal grains and buttery shortbread cookies. A surprising yet slight salinity here adds to the complexity and depth. The finish is long and oily with hints of brininess and freshly baked bread.
Waterford’s flagship, The Cuvée, is a bold and complex whisky. Its short maturation allows the complexity and quality of the Irish barley to shine. This bottle is for people who like to be surprised and challenged by their whiskies. The Cuvée is a great introduction to Waterford’s ethos and where they are at this point in their journey. Along with the Cuvée, Waterford has a full line of organic and single-origin whiskies. They have also produced the world’s first fully biodynamic whisky, the Biodynamic Luna, which is distilled from barley sourced from three different biodynamic farms.
