Hinch Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

A lovely Irish Pot-stilled dram with a creamy palate made possible by a dash of oats in the mash.

Terry Cross is not just a serial entrepreneur, he is also a bit of an Irish living legend. He built a print and packaging business from the ground up. During that time, he rescued Château de La Ligne — a vinyard in Bordeaux, France. He sold the printing and packaging business in 2016 and immediate set his sights on Irish Whiskey, purchasing set of aging casks. He named the business Hinch after the local town of Ballynahinch, just south of Dublin in Northern Ireland. And they are nearly done with a new, 30k sq/ft distillery and visitor center on his estate there where they will produce their exceptional line of Irish Whiskies, their award-winning Ninth Wave Gin, and whatever else they come up with.

Hinch Single Pot Still Whiskey is a lovely dram with a twist. As one would expect, this triple-distiller baby is made from a mix of malted and un-malted barley in an unstated ratio. But in order to add creaminess to the mouth-feel, they add a small amount of oats. We’d guess somewhere between 3% and 5%, so just enough to get that sweet texture. The resulting Spirit is aged mostly in ex-Bourbon casks, but again a small amount is aged differently — in ex-Sherry casks to add a bit of rancio and Wine spice — and it’s bottled at 43% ABV.