Back in April 2019 I had the chance to participate to a J.J. Corry Tweet Tasting, before Julien and I started this blog. It was for me the discovery of both J.J. Corry themselves and their Irish Whiskey, and the Tweet Tastings, as it was the first one ever I was selected to. Since then, I had the chance to join many other Tweet Tastings and I honestly cannot get bored or saturated of them, as they’re always great evenings tasting whisk(e)y and engaging with the brands, either distillery or bottlers (or bonders!), surrounded by people from the whisky community, exchanging tasting notes and having fun together. A bit more than a year and a half later, time for another Tweet Tasting with J.J. Corry, and I’m happy to see that I’ll be able to taste the newest batch of The Gael, as the first batch of this blend was part of the initial TT back in April 2019. But since this first J.J. Corry Tweet Tasting was before the birth of this blog, it means I didn’t introduce them yet, so let’s do that right now before reviewing the four samples we received.
J.J. Corry Irish Whiskey
J.J. Corry is an Irish whisky bonder founded by Louise McGuane, daughter of Irish farmers from the west coast of Ireland in County Clare. The farm has been in the McGuane family for generations, and her parents still manage this farm. However, McGuane was not a farmer and left her home twenty years ago to have a career in the drinks industry. Her career made her move every few years from one country to another, from New York to Europe and Singapore, from a multinational to another, until in 2012 she got married and decided it was time to stop leaping from country to country. She then decided to walk away from her global corporate career, took some time off and went back to Ireland. McGuane wanted to secure the future of her parents’ farm, but neither a brother nor her were farmers. She then decided to use a drinks industry experience and founded The Chapel Gate Irish Whiskey Company in her parents’ farm, ensuring the future of the farm for at least another generation, but this time by ageing, blending and finishing whiskey.
Chapel Gate Irish Whiskey is not a distillery, though, but a whiskey bonding company. I won’t paraphrase what bonding is but leave you to go read their website to learn more about it right her. The tl;dr is that in the 19th century, Ireland had hundreds of distilleries running but very few had their own brand at the time. They would, however sell their new make to bonders who would fill it to their own cask, mature it, blend it and sell it. The name J.J. Corry comes from a bonder established 3 miles from McGuane’s farm back in the late 1800s, bonding whiskey and selling many other products coming from many other countries.
J.J. Corry Tweet Tasting
Participants of this Tweet Tasting received a beautiful pack from Chapel Gate containing 4 small bottles that can do a beautiful Christmas Tree decoration if your tree’s branches are solid enough to support their weight. The four minis include the following expressions: The Gael, The Flintlock batch 2, The Banner Blend and The Hanson. As usual, I want to emphasize the fact that those were received for free but that does not change that I will write what I really think of these whiskies. However, I’ll let you know that I do own a bottle of the first batch of The Gael, and one of The Hanson, paid with my own money.
J.J. Corry The Hanson batch 1
This first review is of a dram that wasn’t in the Tweet Tasting but coming from my own bottle, as during the Tweet Tasting we were able to taste the batch 2. That way, we should be able to see if there were any differences. This is a blend of three casks of bourbon matured Irish grain whiskeys, between 4 and 10 years old of age. This first batch was released in May 2020. Bottled at 46%, it was so without additional colouring nor chill filtration. The name of this expression comes after J.J. Corry’s son-in-law who was a revenue man in the early 1900s known locally in Cooraclare as “The Gauger Hanson”. I paid 54€ in June 2020 for a 700ml bottle and Irish Malts still has it in stock at this price.
Colour
White wine
Nose
Rum raisin ice cream, honey, spices with cinnamon, allspice, fresh straw, cereals, sweet popcorn still hot, lemon and orange juice.
Palate
Slightly spicy arrival, a wee bit salty and fizzy on the tongue, like some kind of unsweetened lemonade. Lime ice cream. A gentle bitterness of grapefruit and oak coats your tongue, dark chocolate, a woodiness is quite present but not overpowering.
Finish
Medium to long with citrus notes and chocolate, tea leaves and again this fizzy sensation on the tongue.
Comments
A lovely summer dram, with an enticing nose and a palate reminding you of summer with lemonade and lime ice cream. Almost ideal for the kids except they’ll have to wait for the legal age, too bad for them!
Rating: 83/100
J.J. Corry The Hanson batch 2
The Hanson batch 2 is this time a blend of 4, 9 and 10 Year Old Irish grain whiskeys from different distilleries, which were matured in ex-bourbon barrels. Like the first batch, it is bottled at 46%, natural-coloured and non-chill filtered. You can find it for €50 on the Celtic Whiskey Shop in Ireland, or in England for example at £48.95 at The Whisky Exchange, while Master of Malt will ask you £49.95 for it.
Colour
White wine
Nose
Honey, rum raisin ice cream, some spices, fresh straw, cereals, sweet popcorn and a splash of lemon juice.
Palate
Fresh, slightly spicy and sweet. Fizzy on the tongue, almost like Orange Fanta, lemon juice over an apple & rhubarb pie, milk chocolate, rum raisin ice cream like on the nose, some freshly cut wood.
Finish
Medium in length, spicy, woody, with some dark chocolate and coffee grounds.
Comments
The palate is fresher while the nose feels less “rich” than the batch 1. Though slightly different, they’re still very similar. Citrusy fruits are present on both, but maybe slightly more bitterness on the batch 2. Both very likeable. Can’t decide which one I like the most. It seems to be slightly less expensive than batch 1, it’s rare enough to be mentioned.
Rating: 83/100
J.J. Corry The Banner batch 3
The Banner is a blend comprised of 70% 9-year-old grain distilled in 2010 and matured in ex-bourbon casks, 20% of 2006 13-year-old malt, also matured in ex-bourbon casks, and 10% of a 2016 3-year-old malt matured in… you guessed it, ex-bourbon casks. This expression was named so in honour of J.J. Corry’s home county, County Clare, and is dedicated to their friends, neighbours and supporters in The Banner County. Like the two Hanson, it is bottled at 46% without colouring nor chill filtration, and is available exclusively to specialist retailers in County Clare, Ireland, at a recommended retail price of €65.
Colour
Pale straw
Nose
The nose is reminiscent of a Hot Toddy that would have gone cold and without the cinnamon: lemon, honey, tea, spices, and of course, whiskey. There are also toffee, orange marmalade, hay bales and some fruits with pineapple and grapefruit.
Palate
A sip immediately welcomes you with lots of fruits, peaches and pear dusted with white pepper, freshly made lemonade, and some wood. There are also some bitter notes of grapefruit, burnt toast and coffee grounds.
Finish
The finish leaves you with wood spices, grapefruit juice and burnt toast notes that linker on the tongue with a nice warmth in the throat, slowly fading away.
Comments
Too bad this blend is only available in County Clare, because I wouldn’t mind a bottle of that in the cupboard. It’s delicate, bitter and sweet, once again really likeable, and another dram that quickly evaporates from the Túath glass.
Rating: 83/100
J.J. Corry The Gael batch 1
The Gael is the first blended Irish Whiskey J.J. Corry released, named after a bicycle invented by J.J. Corry. The bonders (the current ones, obviously!) sourced young and old Irish whiskey and blended them into this expression, at first without additional maturation in their farm. This recipe of this blend consists of 5% of 26yo single malt from an ex-Sherry butt, 27.5% of an 11yo single malt, 27.5% of a 15yo single malt, and the last 40% come from a 7yo single grain. It is bottled at 46% abv, uncoloured and without chill filtering and had an outturn of 7000 bottles. You can still buy the batch 1 at Irish Malts for €88.32 for a 750ml bottle (yes, 750, not 700ml), €65 for a smaller 500ml bottle at the Celtic Whiskey Shop, or £76.95 at Master of Malt. I had the chance to buy mine on offer at Topmalts.be and paid only €57 instead of the usual €70 they ask for it.
Colour
Pale straw
Nose
Poached pears and peaches immediately appear on the nose. Bay hales, lime and pineapple juices, apples that fell on wet grass, then vanilla and honey, and an ever so slight hint of wood.
Palate
Pears and green apples, lemon and blood oranges, lychee, there’s something fizzy once again. Spices are here too with a pinch of black pepper, cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg. A very slight salinity too, and maybe an ever so slight touch of pineapple in the back.
Finish
That salinity gets a little bit more noticeable on the finish, with very dark chocolate and some oak.
Comments
I love this whiskey and that’s why I bought a bottle of this first batch. This blend if perfect both for a relaxing dram on the evening after a long day at work, sipping it and enjoying it without trying to pick everything there is to pick, but also for an enthusiast wanting to pick out those notes one after another, maybe even with like-minded friends and comparing… notes. This first expression released by the then newly established bonder Louise McGuane hit the bull’s-eye on their first try.
Rating: 87/100
J.J. Corry The Gael batch 3
The Gael is the first blended Irish Whiskey J.J. Corry released. They sourced young and old Irish whiskey and blended them into this expression, at first without additional maturation in their farm. While the batches 1 and 2 were 60% malt and 40% grain, the balance has changed for this third batch. This blend is comprised of 50% grain, with 4 and 10-year-old grain whiskeys all matured in ex-bourbon casks, and 50% malt, with 14 and 18yo malts matured in ex-bourbon cask and a little bit of a 29yo single malt from an ex-Sherry butt. It is bottled at 46% abv, uncoloured and without chill filtering. You can buy the batch 3, now in usual 700ml bottles, in Ireland from the Celtic Whiskey Shop for €85 or €88 at IrishMalts, while Master of Malt has the previous releases between £77 and £80, The Whisky Exchange having only the batch 2 for £79.95 too. Unfortunately, there’s no distribution yet in France (but it’s coming soon as far as I know!)
Colour
Pale straw
Nose
The nose is a festival of orchard fruits: pear, peaches, apples, then a couple spices mix in for additional complexity (nutmeg, ginger, peppercorn). There’s a pleasant minerality in it that I cannot exactly pinpoint and some flint too (I so hope there will be some flint on the next dram!)
Palate
Citrusy arrival, caramel, wood, some spices too with ginger, and cracked pink peppercorn. Jaffa cakes, pineapple, lychees, peach, you name it you get it.
Finish
Woody chocolate, pepper, medium in length.
Comments
Batch 3 feels a bit sweeter but also maybe a bit more bitter on the palate than batch 1, probably the 10 additional percent of grain whiskey, but without any harshness, even though these grains are young. The nose is richer, there’s a likeable minerality to it. But is it better than batch 1? I don’t know. Slightly different, but as good. Yeah, if you wanted to know which one to buy, sorry I’m useless. Buy the one you can get your hands on. Whatever the batch, you’re definitely not going wrong.
Rating: 87/100
J.J. Corry The Flintlock batch 2
The last dram of the Tweet Tasting was The Flintlock batch 2, a 14-year-old Irish Single Malt Whiskey (batch 1 was a 16-year-old single malt). It was assembled from three ex-bourbon single malts from the same distillery, aged for 14 and 18 years. As usual, it is bottled at 46% abv, uncoloured and non-chill filtered, and it will be available later next week from Master of Malt and The Whisky Exchange for an RRP of £145. If you can’t wait, TWE is selling 3cl samples of this second batch for £10.25 each.
Colour
Ripe corn
Nose
Fruits and fruits again. Mango, papaya, pineapple, apples, and cedar wood. Vanilla, wet grass, and some malt in the background.
Palate
Spicy arrival with a tang, stone fruits, dark chocolate, sandalwood, cigar box, old leather saddle, tobacco leaves, this is glorious.
Finish
Copy/paste the palate, you’ve got the finish. It just won’t stop.
Comments
This is a very good Irish single malt, no question. An explosion of fruits, some rich notes of sandalwood and leather and cigar box on the palate, a great nose, this is delicious. Is it £145 delicious? Maybe not, I find the price a bit steep, but that’s the problem with all old Irish whiskeys unfortunately, with age their price skyrocket. If the price is no trouble for you then go for it, it’s a belter.
Rating: 88/100
But don’t take our word for it…
As usual, these reviews are the author’s opinion and his alone. Every palate is different, so where I like or don’t like something, others may have a completely different take. So if you were a part of this Tweet Tasting and wrote reviews, or even if you reviewed some of this drams outside this tasting, don’t hesitate to send me links to your reviews in the comments.