Waterford Distillery launches its oldest ‘unearthed farm by farm’ whisky
17th May 2024
Waterford Distillery, a maker of agriculturally produced and naturally flavoursome single malts, has launched its oldest whisky to date, The Waterford – Cuvée Koffi.
The producer said that in The Waterford – Cuvée Koffi’s natural flavour, unearthed farm by farm, is layered together to create the distillery’s most complex single malt experience.
Inspired by the greatest Bordeaux châteaux and Champagne Grande Marques, the whisky’s distinct and natural profile has been curated through layering together 24 individual single farm origins of between six and seven years of age.
Each of them was distilled separately, using 100% local Irish barley grown on individual terroirs across the south east of Ireland.
Overview of journey from barley to bottle
Free from artificial colouring, additives and chill-filtration, bottled at a robust 50% ABV, The Waterford is an assemblage created from four distinct cask types: 36% First Fill American Oak, 17% Virgin American Oak, 21% Premium French Oak and 26% Vin Doux Naturel.
At six years of age, this release marks a new era for the terroir-driven producer.
The Waterford also includes the brand’s signature Téireoir code, providing drinkers with an unprecedented transparent and traceable overview of each whisky’s journey from barley to bottle.
To complement the whisky’s complex flavours, the rising star of the French art scene, Nathanaël Koffi, collaborated with the brand to create a striking label and packaging design.
The producer explained that the vibrant, multi-dimensional colours and patterns reflect the complexity of each bottling: the component terroirs, the diverse cask profile, and assemblage, in which “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.
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Agricultural produce
Mark Reynier, CEO and founder of Waterford Distillery, said: “Our years of natural flavour exploration have led us to this momentous bottling.
“The Waterford – Cuvée Koffi is no ordinary whisky. It’s our lodestar. Made from Irish-grown barley that is harvested, malted and distilled separately, then layered together one after another, to achieve the most natural, complex, flavoursome single malt.
“Our whisky has the audacity and generosity to actually taste of barley – ours is agricultural produce, not a manufactured product.
“Our vision from the start has always been to challenge the whisky status-quo and show how whisky’s core ingredient, the barley, is responsible for its natural flavours, and Cuvée Koffi is further proof of that concept.
“The Waterford now becomes the apogee of our portfolio and the benchmark for future cuvée concepts we will bring to market later this year.”
Tasting notes by Ned Gahan, head distiller at Waterford Distillery:
Appearance: Amber gold and thick oils that slowly descend the glass.
Nose: Interesting combination of red apple on homemade brown bread, washed down with a cup of tea, delish! Three peel marmalade, white pepper tingle, mixed dry herbs, cola cubes and sherbet sweets, light lavender in fresh soil.
Taste: Spices gently dancing on my tongue, lemon and strawberry shortbread biscuits, black pepper, grapefruit, chilli chocolate, oyster crackers, barley sugar, summer fruit compote, liquorice all sorts sweets.
Finish: Long and dry gentle spiciness that lasts and leads to mouth-watering with dried fruits which all meanders on.
The Waterford Cuvée: Koffi costs about £73 and can be found here.
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