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Writer's Tears Finish

fruity malty
3.7
(1)€65Ireland, Carlow, Single Malt

Flavours

Whisky character

Fresh
Warm
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Full
Smooth
Spicy

Taste mentions

Facts

In 2019 five Marsala hogsheads travelled from the Florio winery in Sicily to Carlow. They were filled with Irish whisky and then left alone for twelve months. What came out ran to 2,430 bottles and no more. Marsala is a fortified wine, sweet and faintly nutty, and it leaves a clear mark. There is caramelised apple in the glass, wildflower honey, a warm run of spice. The strength is 45%, high enough to keep the wine from taking over. Casks were split between Australia, Dublin Airport and a Dublin specialist shop. Finding a bottle now takes some luck.

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About the distillery

Distillery

Writer's Tears

Bernard and Rosemary Walsh founded their family whisky business in 1999. Years later, they built a working distillery on the Royal Oak estate in County Carlow, Ireland. Writer's Tears is their tribute to a golden era when Irish pot still whisky led the world. That 19th-century style blended pot still and malt whisky in copper stills, a combination once called the 'champagne of Irish whisky.' Writers of the day, among them James Joyce, W.B. Yeats and Oscar Wilde, were known to enjoy a glass in their local pubs. The Walshes revived the old recipe almost a century after it had nearly disappeared. The brand's name comes from an old legend about those literary drinkers. Legend says they loved this pot still and malt whisky so much that when they cried, their tears were made of whisky. Writer's Tears keeps that story alive today, one dram at a time.

3.9Average rating

10Whiskies on Distilld

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About the Writer's Tears Finish

Writer's Tears Finish is an Irish whisky from Carlow, in the south east of Ireland. The liquid joins triple distilled pot still spirit with single malt. This release then spends a further twelve months in Marsala wine casks. It bottles at 45% ABV, five points above the standard Writer's Tears Copper Pot. Nothing is chill filtered, so the whisky keeps its natural weight in the glass. The Marsala casks came from the Florio winery in Sicily, a fortified wine house on the west coast. Only five hogsheads went into this finish. That small parcel is why the release ran to just 2,430 bottles in April 2019. The Carlow team had worked with Marsala once before, back in 2017. Four of the five casks were set aside for named markets, including Australia and Dublin Airport. Marsala is a sweet fortified wine, and its influence shows straight away. First comes golden syrup, then fresh fruit from the orchard. Caramelised apple, wildflower honey and nutty spice fill out the middle. Orange peel lifts it, while the malty base keeps everything grounded. The sugar never turns cloying. A faint sea salt note closes things out. The extra strength gives the sweet notes something to push against. That standard bottling sits at 40% and skips the wine finish. Writer's Tears Finish goes the other way. Twelve months in Marsala hogsheads pushes the fruit forward and thickens the texture. The higher strength stops the wine from swamping the spirit. Only 2,430 bottles were made. Four of the five casks went to set markets, so this was never an easy bottle to track down. Poured neat, the wine influence reads clearly.