Slane Special Edition: The Legacy of ’81 represents an interesting proposition in the evolving Irish whiskey landscape.
Nose
Dark amber, tending toward orange. Thin, watery legs on the side of a Glencairn. The Special Edition is aged with a higher percentage of new American Oak and a lower percentage of the recycled barrels and Oloroso sherry casks than Slane’s flagship triple-casked release. In the mouth, it is very clearly an Irish whiskey – even if it wasn’t immediately evident in the nose. It brings to mind s’mores, cranberries, nutmeg, and a spicy, earthy flavor reminiscent of ginger root.
Palate
Sea-salt caramels, over-ripe pears, and vanilla extract. You can detect the Irish whiskey in there, but it smells sweeter and softer than you find in many releases. Slane Irish Whiskey opened its own stills on the castle grounds (the former stables) in 2017. The current releases are still made entirely from sourced whiskeys. The Special Edition is not particularly complex – certainly not as exciting as a concert with 80,000 of your closest friends – but it’s a perfectly fine Irish whiskey. It’s affordable and comes with an interesting backstory, and you could do worse than to pour yourself a tumbler of this on the rocks and dial up your favorite music on the Spotify or Pandora.
Finish
Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by Whiskeyful or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.
Verdict
Slane Special Edition: The Legacy of ’81 is a modest offering that serves its purpose without distinction. Those seeking depth or complexity may wish to look elsewhere in this price bracket.
