Now I wish I could find it near me. But in my neck of the woods there are not that many whisky geeks and the supply is somehow limited. Excellent video production! Thank you!
Interesting talk. Biggest surprise was hearing about the red wine headache. It is why I stopped drinking it. Never bought any red/white for more than $25 US. Heading over to your wine channel to get more info. Thanks.
I love the way you go on and on and on. Your reviews have so much information that a relatively newby like me can use to enjoy the spirit. And the experience of nosing and tasting. Thank you for that. Keep on keeping on brother
A lot of this video was out of my wheelhouse but I enjoyed it just the same. Your videos bring a lot to the table and regardless I appreciate the information and it’s entertaining. Your wine sommelier background definitely brings a validity to your thoughts. Pretty cool if you ask me.
Finding balance between information and entertainment is a difficult task. But "info-tainment" is the magical formula that will keep people watching. Most channels lean more towards entertainment, I lean more towards information.
A very interesting and different video. A bottle of this and the 1.2 appeared on the online store I was browsing shortly after I made an order and I thought, hold on, isn't this the distillery that Daniel and Rex...? And sure enough. Very cool concept even if I don't fall into that whiskey nerd category this caters to.
Really want to try this whiskey. I love the concept. Like you said, most people don't care but there are vintages and variations in whisky and companies make up for that by chill filtering and adding color. I hope this ultra transparency becomes more common in the spirits industry as a whole! 🤞
Once again Erik a wonderful, in depth, review. Haven’t found any in California yet. Don’t know if I want to pull the trigger on this yet seeing I’m just getting into Irish. Keep these informative videos coming!
It is so many things that can affect a whisky. For example I am making mead at home using three ingridients, Honey, Yeast and water. I can use for example like 20 different kind of honey, ten different kind of yeat and then different concentration of honey and water. So many different permutations and then in whisky you have even more permutations due to distilling and then oak storage, So hard to know where the taste comes from. But I noticed when I aged my mead the effect of yeast got less strong as the mead aged and oxidised a bit.
Totally agree Erik, WATERFORD at this point is for those hyper-interested in "the making" of whiskey. Personally, I have had a bottle and samples at various tastings and I get a consistent varnish note across all of them. I feel a slight bit more time in the barrel and that will be eliminated and the full barley character enabled to shine. SLÁINTE Mike
Hi Erik. Superb video. I do think that the terroir conversation has a place in spirits. I'm more of a rum drinker, and to me, terroir is apparent in rums, especially Jamaican rums, Barbados Rum, AOC Marinique rum agricoles or the the rum agricoles from different locations (production methods have their impact too, of course). Also, many rum producers will use wild yeasts or proprietary yeasts they've cultivated from the country in which they're produced. I've heard that Scotch-whisky producers will use generic yeasts. All of it makes a difference, in my opinion. Thanks for the video. I really enjoyed it. Might get one of those books. Take care. -Alex
Good review, Erik. You have presented geeky terroir details well. I have tasted Bannow 1.2 and Ballykilcavan 1.2. I thought the whisky was too sharp and new make-y. I wished they waited few years before bottling. whiskyfun scored first 4 UK releases at 88 points each. Reviewer started raving about Waterford from the get go and gave 90 points to a 3 year old sample received from Waterford. I wonder if Waterford filled reviewer's pockets with enough terroir to help with scoring. I will keep buying relatively easy access whiskies and stay away from Waterford for a while. I leave Waterford terroir nectar for those palates that can break whisky down to its molecular level and pick all kinds of stuff.
Everything has an influence, is just a matter of percentages. Unless I could taste the mash and new make that went into this bottle I could only guess. I'd say the unique spirit makes up at LEAST 50% on this bottle but that would diminish if it were aged longer. But that is just an estimation based on previous experience tasting other new makes.
I have mix feelings on Waterford. I do believe there is Terroir, but you'll never see it in "whiskey" because of the affects of a barrel. You'll only really see it in the new-make. Really whether or not these bottlings will be different will come down to barrel quality (as they each influence the new-make differently and they won't select crap barrels), barrel selection, and blending percentages. THe Terroir will be flushed out by these subsequent and more affecting elements. The 2 I had were good, but not for the price (or for the added shipping to get them to the US). I'm going to give props to their blenders. I want them to be older, but I would also like to see Waterford to send 3cl to 5cl samples of the new-make, so when we get the different farms, we can compare. Just my opinion
Hi Erik I can't find the Waterford Dunbell in the UK I can only seem to find the Ballymorgan, Sheestown, Bannow Island and Ballykilcavan 1.1 versions from the single farm origin releases? Is this a U.S only release?
lucky you - just buy the Dunbell 1.2 & 1.3 & 1.4 and you will experience the development of that year's barley aging. Dunbell 2.1 + 2.2 + 2.3 +2.4 will then be the barley from the next year - so this is always a vintage whisky
To find out if Terroir “survives” the distilling process, I would like to have the Whiskies at Waterford treated really similarly. I find the idea of Terroir a great thing and I have no issues with experimenting - if the outcome is good. But the way Waterford presents its stuff, they should try to be more comparable: They use different kinds of barley as well as different casks - which makes comparisons less valid in my view. Otherwise: That the Waterford stuff is not bad - ok. But is the value really there? At this moment I doubt it. Relatively young Whisky at that kind of price is really debatable.
The high cost of overhead and production has to be taken into consideration in the price of the whiskey. Machine harvested and processed grapes make cheap wines. Hand harvested, hand sorted, grapes that are meticulously handled in fermenting and aged in expensive new oak casks result in very expensive wines. The same goes for whiskey as well.
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies It is always a question for the individual customer: Do I get enough enjoyment for the price - and do I want to support the distillery with my purchase. If the answer to one or both of them is yes - go ahead. It is also a question of the size of your purse ...
$90 is mighty expensive for a 4 y/o whisky. It might be better to wait a few years until they release some 8 y/o. This whisky will develop a cult following which might not necessarily be a good thing. For starters it will keep the price high.
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies I do hope that you remember to publish your review of the $200 Waterford. Reading a TH-cam review is as close as I will ever get to a $200 whisky.
My local snobby shop has three in stock for $95. Thanks to the website. I don't have to actually walk in to "see" the bottles. And not buy them. They stock theDunmore, Rathclough and Gaia. (They have the slimiest hand sanitizer and are quite padantic about it.) It's not the geek factor that turns me off, it's the price for a young whiskey. Actually they also left out the "e" in whiskey. That's a little pretentious. Even if it's single malt it's still Irish.
Adding the 'e' to Whiskey in Ireland itself was the pretentious act - calling Waterford that for taking it back out again is a wonderful irony. Poor Ireland...
I like seeing the "no e" on American single malt. I think it's a nod to Scotch. Speaking of distillers new to the market, I'd gladly spent $40 for an intergity bottling of Wolfburn, 3 year old. Lovely new make spirit. Now that I'm a fan I would effortlessly grab anything else from them.
@@paulcaswell2813 I think the single malt scene may also have 1 or 2. Daniel and Rex just did a FANTASTIC video on Waterford. A proper exploration. I think I agree with myself from five months ago that this is a good opportunity for whisk(ey) clubs to play with the different bottlings but I'm not dropping a C-note on 3 year old malt. Perhaps the powers that be will allow us to join a club soon
Good review 👍
Glad you liked it
Now I wish I could find it near me. But in my neck of the woods there are not that many whisky geeks and the supply is somehow limited. Excellent video production! Thank you!
Interesting talk. Biggest surprise was hearing about the red wine headache. It is why I stopped drinking it. Never bought any red/white for more than $25 US. Heading over to your wine channel to get more info. Thanks.
I love the way you go on and on and on. Your reviews have so much information that a relatively newby like me can use to enjoy the spirit. And the experience of nosing and tasting. Thank you for that. Keep on keeping on brother
Thank you so much!
A lot of this video was out of my wheelhouse but I enjoyed it just the same. Your videos bring a lot to the table and regardless I appreciate the information and it’s entertaining. Your wine sommelier background definitely brings a validity to your thoughts. Pretty cool if you ask me.
Finding balance between information and entertainment is a difficult task. But "info-tainment" is the magical formula that will keep people watching. Most channels lean more towards entertainment, I lean more towards information.
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies agreed. I think in the long run this will give your channel longevity and success.
It is EXTREMELY cool that you give props to the other channels!! Thank you for another INFORMATIVE video!!
A very interesting and different video. A bottle of this and the 1.2 appeared on the online store I was browsing shortly after I made an order and I thought, hold on, isn't this the distillery that Daniel and Rex...? And sure enough. Very cool concept even if I don't fall into that whiskey nerd category this caters to.
Really want to try this whiskey. I love the concept. Like you said, most people don't care but there are vintages and variations in whisky and companies make up for that by chill filtering and adding color. I hope this ultra transparency becomes more common in the spirits industry as a whole! 🤞
Springbank has always been different bottling by bottling. The last great Scotch distillery in my view.
Very interesting video Erik, thanks for that. Cheers.
Great review 🤘🏻 was unsure about that one - so a big thank you 😄
Picked up the Organic Gaia 1.1 and loved it! Their website is also amazing!
Great to hear!
Pretty Proud of the fact his Is happening in my home town. They Just released a completely organic Whiskey which I'm going to get my hand on!
Once again Erik a wonderful, in depth, review. Haven’t found any in California yet. Don’t know if I want to pull the trigger on this yet seeing I’m just getting into Irish. Keep these informative videos coming!
It is so many things that can affect a whisky. For example I am making mead at home using three ingridients, Honey, Yeast and water. I can use for example like 20 different kind of honey, ten different kind of yeat and then different concentration of honey and water. So many different permutations and then in whisky you have even more permutations due to distilling and then oak storage, So hard to know where the taste comes from.
But I noticed when I aged my mead the effect of yeast got less strong as the mead aged and oxidised a bit.
Totally agree Erik, WATERFORD at this point is for those hyper-interested in "the making" of whiskey. Personally, I have had a bottle and samples at various tastings and I get a consistent varnish note across all of them. I feel a slight bit more time in the barrel and that will be eliminated and the full barley character enabled to shine.
SLÁINTE
Mike
Hi Erik. Superb video. I do think that the terroir conversation has a place in spirits. I'm more of a rum drinker, and to me, terroir is apparent in rums, especially Jamaican rums, Barbados Rum, AOC Marinique rum agricoles or the the rum agricoles from different locations (production methods have their impact too, of course). Also, many rum producers will use wild yeasts or proprietary yeasts they've cultivated from the country in which they're produced. I've heard that Scotch-whisky producers will use generic yeasts. All of it makes a difference, in my opinion. Thanks for the video. I really enjoyed it. Might get one of those books. Take care.
-Alex
Good review, Erik. You have presented geeky terroir details well.
I have tasted Bannow 1.2 and Ballykilcavan 1.2. I thought the whisky was too sharp and new make-y. I wished they waited few years before bottling.
whiskyfun scored first 4 UK releases at 88 points each. Reviewer started raving about Waterford from the get go and gave 90 points to a 3 year old sample received from Waterford. I wonder if Waterford filled reviewer's pockets with enough terroir to help with scoring.
I will keep buying relatively easy access whiskies and stay away from Waterford for a while. I leave Waterford terroir nectar for those palates that can break whisky down to its molecular level and pick all kinds of stuff.
Not a lover of Dunbell 1.1. Going to wait and buy a 1.3 in the future. Tnks for the review
Would love to buy two bottles near me to compare, but they are selling for $90 each here in IL. Makes me wish Waterford had made sample bottles.
Me too! I'd like smaller bottles as well as new make in a bottle to do a side by side comparison.
Erik, what has more influence on the final product. The terroir or the number of different cask's used?
Everything has an influence, is just a matter of percentages. Unless I could taste the mash and new make that went into this bottle I could only guess. I'd say the unique spirit makes up at LEAST 50% on this bottle but that would diminish if it were aged longer. But that is just an estimation based on previous experience tasting other new makes.
I have mix feelings on Waterford. I do believe there is Terroir, but you'll never see it in "whiskey" because of the affects of a barrel. You'll only really see it in the new-make. Really whether or not these bottlings will be different will come down to barrel quality (as they each influence the new-make differently and they won't select crap barrels), barrel selection, and blending percentages. THe Terroir will be flushed out by these subsequent and more affecting elements. The 2 I had were good, but not for the price (or for the added shipping to get them to the US). I'm going to give props to their blenders. I want them to be older, but I would also like to see Waterford to send 3cl to 5cl samples of the new-make, so when we get the different farms, we can compare. Just my opinion
Hi Erik I can't find the Waterford Dunbell in the UK I can only seem to find the Ballymorgan, Sheestown, Bannow Island and Ballykilcavan 1.1 versions from the single farm origin releases? Is this a U.S only release?
Yes, this is a USA release only.
lucky you - just buy the Dunbell 1.2 & 1.3 & 1.4 and you will experience the development of that year's barley aging.
Dunbell 2.1 + 2.2 + 2.3 +2.4 will then be the barley from the next year - so this is always a vintage whisky
I think the song that little girl might have been singing was Little Einsteins theme song and maybe not got directly from listening to Mozart😆
To find out if Terroir “survives” the distilling process, I would like to have the Whiskies at Waterford treated really similarly. I find the idea of Terroir a great thing and I have no issues with experimenting - if the outcome is good. But the way Waterford presents its stuff, they should try to be more comparable: They use different kinds of barley as well as different casks - which makes comparisons less valid in my view.
Otherwise: That the Waterford stuff is not bad - ok. But is the value really there? At this moment I doubt it. Relatively young Whisky at that kind of price is really debatable.
The high cost of overhead and production has to be taken into consideration in the price of the whiskey. Machine harvested and processed grapes make cheap wines. Hand harvested, hand sorted, grapes that are meticulously handled in fermenting and aged in expensive new oak casks result in very expensive wines. The same goes for whiskey as well.
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies It is always a question for the individual customer: Do I get enough enjoyment for the price - and do I want to support the distillery with my purchase. If the answer to one or both of them is yes - go ahead.
It is also a question of the size of your purse ...
$90 is mighty expensive for a 4 y/o whisky. It might be better to wait a few years until they release some 8 y/o. This whisky will develop a cult following which might not necessarily be a good thing. For starters it will keep the price high.
Oh yeah, it will DEFINITELY develop a huge following and I would expect a 10 year to sell for $200+.
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies I do hope that you remember to publish your review of the $200 Waterford. Reading a TH-cam review is as close as I will ever get to a $200 whisky.
The first cuvee is already selling for £1400 at auction
My local snobby shop has three in stock for $95. Thanks to the website. I don't have to actually walk in to "see" the bottles. And not buy them. They stock theDunmore, Rathclough and Gaia.
(They have the slimiest hand sanitizer and are quite padantic about it.)
It's not the geek factor that turns me off, it's the price for a young whiskey. Actually they also left out the "e" in whiskey. That's a little pretentious. Even if it's single malt it's still Irish.
I've been told the "e" is more of a Dublin thing.
Adding the 'e' to Whiskey in Ireland itself was the pretentious act - calling Waterford that for taking it back out again is a wonderful irony. Poor Ireland...
I like seeing the "no e" on American single malt. I think it's a nod to Scotch.
Speaking of distillers new to the market, I'd gladly spent $40 for an intergity bottling of Wolfburn, 3 year old. Lovely new make spirit. Now that I'm a fan I would effortlessly grab anything else from them.
@@jackthepickledhound Isn't Maker's Mark the only Bourbon that calls itself 'Whisky'?
@@paulcaswell2813 I think the single malt scene may also have 1 or 2. Daniel and Rex just did a FANTASTIC video on Waterford. A proper exploration.
I think I agree with myself from five months ago that this is a good opportunity for whisk(ey) clubs to play with the different bottlings but I'm not dropping a C-note on 3 year old malt.
Perhaps the powers that be will allow us to join a club soon
Great video. Sounds interesting and I know age isn’t everything. But a 3 year old Irish for $100 seems like a cash grab.
Figure out the overhead and production costs and then try to figure out how much they MUST sell it for to at least break even.