What drives innovation in any industry? How doe you come up with a new idea that breaks norms, and can potentially push things in a new direction? These are a couple of questions I started pondering as I sipped on a dram of a new series from Talnua Distillery, the Aries Series.
Talnua has an entire page, written by the Master Distiller and Founder Patrick Miller, on the ideas behind this bottle to launch the series, and the process followed to create this particular whiskey. It is a fascinating read that I would recommend checking out. However, it definitely got me thinking about how much is just repeated and even refined processes that don’t change a fundamental level of the project. This project does in fact change a fundamental level of the peat and smoke flavor process. Instead of peat smoking the malted barley, the staves of the barrel themselves are cold smoked to gather the flavor that is imparted upon the finished spirit. This was forced out of necessity, making Patrick and Talnua look for a new way to get that Scotch peat smoke flavor without a barrel that had already aged a peated Scotch Whiskey.
I highly recommend reading the entire article, written out in what appears to be the scientific method that my middle and high school math teachers would be disappointed in me for not remembering. You can read the entire post on Talnua’s site here:
Aries Volume 001
If you want a condensed version of the experiment, Patrick took a former bourbon barrel, soaked it and then cold smoked it with Irish Peat turf. The barrel was then filled with Continuum Cask Whiskey that had an 18 month age statement. It was tasted every 9 months, until they found it had the flavor they were looking for. I highly recommend reading the entire post from Patrick and Talnua, it’s not too long but has a ton of information on the process.
In the Bottle:
Mashbill:
50% Malted Barley
50% Un-Malted Barley
Age:
18 Months in the Continuum Cask
3 Years 4 Months in an Irish Peat Cold Smoked Former Bourbon barrel
Total Age 4 years 10 Months.
(Bottled 10-20-2023)
Proof:
110 Proof (55% ABV)
In the Glass:
Color:
Remarkably dark, especially for under 5 years. The liquid in the bottle reflects the packaging it comes in, deep dark brown, almost like coffee. It looks clear like it has been chill filtered.
Without Water:
Nose:
Oily and grainy notes right away, cereal grains and vanilla. Without overpowering, a lot of peat and smoke notes come through as well, almost like a mix between Scotch Peat smoke and pipe tobacco. Definitely reminiscent of Scottish peat smoke but just…different.
Palate:
The mouth feel was the first thing that jumped out at me on this. Oily and thick, it completely coats the mouth, and really lets you experience the whiskey in all parts of the the palate. Up front, sweet cereal grains and a little bit of vanilla. The mid palate has baking spice and even a small pepper note, and definitely some of the peat smoke with a lot of earthiness and dry tannins.
Finish:
Dry tannic oak, and earthy peat smoke. It hangs on for a long time, and honestly leaves a little bit of the pleasant feeling of just having finished a cigar in your mouth. The earthy and tannic notes play well together, and I think the oily nature is what lets it linger for as long as it does.
With Water:
Nose:
The vanilla and sweet cereal notes come through a lot more. The peat smoke does fade a bit, but is still very noticeable behind the grain. There’s almost a bright fruity note as well.
Palate:
Following suit with the nose, the sweet notes come out more, a little more vanilla and sugar. I really feel like a small amount of bright, light fruits comes through as well. The mid palate is still a wonderful blend of earthy, dry tannins, some spice, and peat smoke.
Finish:
Continuing with the increased sweetness, the finish adds more of that as well, reminding me of a whiskey soaked cigar quality. The dry tannins blend into the sweet smoke, and make a crisp but more succinct finish. The peat smoke again never overpowers but is always present.
Final Thoughts:
There is something that is uniquely Talnua with this bottle. It gave brought back memories of cool nights camping in the mountains of Colorado, but also of being in a more humid northern environment like Maine in the winter with an outdoor fire keeping you warm. I have to imagine this is a lot of the Irish peat turf, and that just hammers home the point to me that I need to visit Ireland in the not too distant future. When talking to Patrick at the release, he said that burning the peat reminded him of an Irish Hearth with the fire going, and I believe that’s what I am getting through every step of this whiskey. Much like Talnua itself, this whiskey is warm, inviting, and has a ton of depth. All of this together makes the Aries Volume 001 a beautiful representation of Talnua – Gaelic Tradition Met with American Pioneerism.
Sign Up for our Newsletter!
Coming out about once a month to start, coinciding with our podcast episodes. We’ll include events that concluded in the last month, upcoming events, releases, reviews, links to the podcast, and other happenings in Colorado! I look forward to expanding the content from the site to bring even more Colorado Craft right to your inbox.
Consider helping us keep the lights on, servers up, and the whiskies pouring! You can do so by clicking and shopping through any of our affiliate links, donating with Paypal directly, or purchasing our swag from our shop!
