Irish Distillers launches Mulberry Wood whiskey

Irish Distillers has expanded its Method and Madness range with the launch of a new single pot still Irish whiskey finished in virgin Mulberry Wood.

In a world first for Irish whiskey, the limited-edition release has been finished in White Mulberry Wood felled in central Hungary, where the local climate creates the perfect growing conditions. The wood is then harvested and air-dried for two years at the Kádár sawmills in Tokaj before being transferred to a cooperage in Budapest. The relatively high porosity and medium toasting of the exceptional Mulberry Wood casks impart elevated flavours of wood spices and enhanced toffee sweetness, along with a natural golden hue to the whiskey.

The new release was born out of trials dating back to 2019, when Midleton’s Wood Planning and Maturation Team Lead, Finbarr Curran, sourced the rare Mulberry Wood casks from Budapest.

Back in Ireland, the team at Midleton experimented with different whiskey styles and maturation times for the perfect marriage between liquid and cask. Just 50 litres in size and conducive to accelerated maturation, given the large surface-to-volume ratio, the Midleton Masters and Apprentices kept a close eye on the whiskey before finally settling on a finishing period of between three and eight months for a perfectly balanced wood contribution.

The whiskey, a single pot still distillate, was first matured in a combination of first fill and re-fill American Oak barrels, before being left to finish in 50-litre Mulberry Wood casks. Bottled at 46% ABV, the resulting whiskey is complex with notes of smoked paprika, flavours of sweet toffee apple and a freshly cut wood character imparted from the virgin Mulberry Wood.

“So far, our commitment to wood experimentation and maturation has taken us all over the world and led to the development of some of the most exquisite Irish whiskeys,” says Finbarr Curran, Wood Planning and Maturation Team Lead. “It’s been a joyous journey of discovery and we look forward to continuing this exploration as we keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in Irish whiskey.”

“With its unusual wood structure and small cask size, there’s no doubt that Mulberry Wood presented its challenges, with early trials failing,” reveals Anna Lazaridou, Maturation Research and Innovation Technologist. “But in the ethos of the Method and Madness range, our relentless dedication to trial and error has produced a beautifully balanced whiskey.”

www.methodandmadnesswhiskey.com