Water of Life - Roe & Co.
Despite having more than a weak spot for peated variants, I have always had a failble for Irish whisikies as you would know if you followed this series, with Irish whiskeys being a bit underrepresented yet highly appreciated in the instalments we covered them with.
Needless to say, when Diageo announced four years ago the return to Irish whiskey with the launch of Roe & Co. after they parted ways with Bushmills, I was intrigued.
Roe and Co. is a new Irish blend that set out to do push the boundaries and do something different by employing the services of Master Blender Caroline Martin to create a drop with a distinct Irish profile yet being versatile enough to become a go-to for bartenders the world over.
The pear shaped bottle in itself, being rounded and completely transparent, is a thing of beauty, which bodes well for pale golden liquid.
Clocking in at 45% ABV, Roe and Co’s core expression tickles the nostrils with fruity notes topped by pear highlights, set against a honeyed vanilla backbone and hints of delicate spices.
Texture-wise, what materializes on the roof of the mouth is creamy, bordering on the oily with flavours continuing what the nose promised, i.e. sweet and fruity apple notes and pear nuances mixed with honey, woody vanilla derived from the maturation in first fill Bourbon casks, culminating in more dominant gingery warm spicy flavours, which seamlessly transitions into a nice elongated finish with the sweet notes delicately fading into a peppery crescendo.
Roe and Co’s non-chill filtered core expression is a fine Irish blend of single malt and grain whiskeys set to excite aficiondas and the uninitiated alike as it makes both a nice addition to cocktails as well as a dram to be enjoyed by itself.
Once travel restrictions are lifted, I cannot wait to pay a visit to Roe and Co’s newly opened distillery to try not only their cask strength single malts and grains but their own Guiness Citra IPA cask finished (I am salivating already) and Guiness Antwerpen Stout variants, which are unfortunately currently only available in Ireland.
