Kinahan’s is a brand of Irish whiskey with a long history. Daniel Kinahan opened a wine and spirits enterprise in Trinity Street, Dublin in 1779. He quickly made a name for good whiskey.
In 1807, Charles Lennox, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, was so impressed with this whiskey that he ordered all barrels at the Kinahan family cellars to be kept exclusively for his private use, marking each cask with “L.L.” This mark still adorns each and every bottle.
The company merged and the brand disappeared but the Kinahan’s LL brand was relaunched in 2015. While Kinahan’s isn’t producing its own spirit yet, it is offering a Small Batch Irish Whiskey (6 years old, formerly names Blended Irish whiskey) and this 10 Year Old single malt. It is matured in ex-bourbon barrels and bottled at 46%, but sourcing for these bottlings is undisclosed.
Kinahan’s 10 yo
(46%, OB 2016, Batch #03)
Kinahan’s 10 yoNose: clean and fairly rounded, with lots of red apples, malty notes and some hints of tangerine. Overripe pineapple. Vanilla and peppery notes too.
Mouth: fairly rich with a spicy attack and quite a hot middle, with the same combination of toasty malts, peaches and citrusy notes (tangerine and oranges). A little honey. Black pepper, nutty notes and soft herbal touches towards the end.
Finish: medium, with drying notes. Cocoa, charred oak and a little mint.
A nice composition, rather full-bodied with a decent smoothness. Not exactly a game changer but still worth a look if you find it at a good price. Pricing seems to vary, I’ve seen € 55 in Holland and up to € 100 in Ireland.
Score: 84/100