Whiskey News: New Killowen Txakolina Acacia Release

Key Details

• Whiskey Name: Killowen Bonded Experimental Series: Txakolina Acacia
• Distillery: Killowen Distillery
• ABV: 55.8%
• Age: 10 years
• Type: Bonded Irish Whiskey
• Bottles: 490 x 50cl
• Website: www.killowendistillery.com
• Price: €93 on Irish Malts (at time of writing)
• Unique Selling Point: Finished in a Txakolina wine cask with the barrel heads (the lids, as I like to call them) made from virgin Acacia wood

Killowen have come out with some interesting stuff recently, and I’ve had the pleasure of trying the previous release in this bonded series, the Jamaican Rum cask. This exploration of wood and different casks is what makes whiskey so interesting, and it gives Irish whiskey the flexibility to try different things without too much regulation getting in the way.

Killowen does a great job with its packaging. It’s very clear that this series is not their own liquid, but bonded and blended to their idea of perfection, and you have to applaud that. This is released tomorrow, the 11th of Feb, and is available to preorder now from the link above. It’s definitely on my list to try.

Full press release below.

Press Release

This is a Txakolina Acacia Cask finished, small batch (490 bottles), cask strength, non-chill filtered, no colouring, 10 year old blend with transparency and integrity at its core.

Since the inception of Killowen Distillery, we have been carefully sourcing whiskeys that are a minimum of ten years old from different distilleries all across Ireland. Throughout this time we also hunted the globe for the finest casks to complement certain flavour notes in the blends.

Amongst the vibrant blended whiskey culture in Ireland, the Killowen series stands out with its unique ratio of malts and grain whiskeys, the blend is then finished with a dominant yet balanced cask influence. This allows the consumer to enjoy an educative experience while drinking which is enhanced by extensive production transparency on the bottle labeling.

Killowen hopes to be an exemplar for industry progression, with their integrity bottlings, quality spirit and transparency at its core. The packaging provides the consumer with all details regarding sourcing, blend ratio and finish.

The fact that it is not Killowen distilled spirit but rather, as the name suggests, a blended/bonded spirit is clearly set out. Providing the consumer with all the information allows for a deeper understanding of the flavour breakdown.

This whiskey is the second of a set of different whiskeys that will be released over a two year period. The creators have advised the whiskey can be slightly diluted to suit the consumer. Finishing only 490 no. 50cl bottles, the Basque Txakolina Cask was specifically chosen for its smell and freshness. This, coupled with virgin Acacia heads, creates a unique small batch spirit with a full bodied experience as follows:

Nose

Intense varietal aromas on the nose, with notes of white fruit, (pear and apple) citrus, (grapefruit) and stone fruit, (peach) with a mild spice towards the end of the arrival.

Palate

A marriage of apricot, apple and pear flesh from the start with a slight bitter varietal character, creating a fresh mineral balance alongside vanilla wood-spice.

Finish

A long vanilla wood-spice finish with grapefruit and apple. Returning to stone fruit from the spirit balanced with stone fruit from the wine cask.

While tasting, add half tea spoons of un-chilled water until the consumer’s ‘sweet spot’ is found.

Note

Continuing with the discipline of this series, all bottles are at cask strength, there has been no chilled filtration or added colouring. The spirit has come straight from cask to bottle, is full of flavour and high in alcohol content. The wine cask is lightly charred and so the unfiltered spirit is relatively free of char.

Killowen Distillery believe a whiskey should be enjoyed at cask strength then diluted by the consumer for a more intimate and educative drinking experience.

The consumer will notice the flavour profile of the spirit change as it breathes. Different fruit and spice notes become apparent as the spirit is carefully diluted and begins to open up.

Killowen Distillery press release, February 2020

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