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Tullamore D.E.W. 12 Year Old Special Reserve

Tullamore D.E.W. 12 Year Old Special Reserve
Tullamore D.E.W. 12 Year Old Special Reserve
Distillery: Tullamore
Country: Ireland
Abv: 40.0%
Advent Year: 2014
Rating:

It's a source of constant irritation that so many alcohol-oriented websites insist on a (often annoying user-unfriendly) age verification check before allowing to read about their products. There's no legal requirement for this that I can see, and of course there is nothing to stop you lying. I would love to get into their data one day, just to see how many people like me routinely claim to have been born on the 1st January, in some far-distant year.

Curiously at least one site refuses to accept any answer that means you're over 100 years old, which seems a little harsh on booze-loving centenarians.

I mention this because Tullamore's website does something rather odd when it comes to asking you where you live.

A Ridiculous Question

It makes perfect sense to put likely countries near the top of the list. The USA and the UK are two of their biggest markets (although it's a little surprising that their home country is only in the second list) and the Czech love of alcohol is well documented. But is Latvia really such a big consumer of Tullamore?

Tullamore D.E.W. 12 Year Old Special Reserve sounds like an interesting whiskey - a blend of all three types of Irish whiskey (grain, pot still and single malt) that have been matured in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, for 12 to 15 years.

The nose is quite light; lime cheesecake, with a sweet citrus fruitiness and a buttery biscuit base. Watered, the fruit fades and more maltiness comes through but not a great deal more.

In the mouth it's almost delicate; gentle honey sweetness that is slowly joined by woody spices. In the back is a slightly unpleasant bitterness, that's a little like uncontrolled tannins. Water takes away the sweetness, leaving you with an unremarkable, slightly flat spirit.

To be honest, I'm not loving this one - 1.5 stars.



This review was originally published 16th December, 2014. It was last updated 1st June, 2023.