The Whistler 16 Year Old Palo Cortado Sherry Cask Finish Single Malt Irish Whiskey 700ml

The Whistler 16 Year Old Palo Cortado Sherry Cask Finish — released under the name 'El Misterioso' — pairs one of Irish single malt's more senior age statements with one of sherry's rarest casks. Palo Cortado is the enigma of Jerez: a wine that begins aging under flor like a fino, unexpectedly loses its yeast veil, and matures oxidatively like an oloroso. Only a sliver of sherry production ever becomes it, and its casks are prized accordingly.

The whiskey beneath earned its place. This single malt spent fourteen years in second-fill bourbon barrels — a slow, low-intervention maturation that preserves spirit character — before roughly two further years in Palo Cortado casks. It is bottled at 92 proof (46% ABV) without chill filtration, keeping its natural oils and full texture intact.

The sherry influence reads savory rather than sweet: fresh fig and dried autumn leaves on the nose, browned butter and toasted nuts across the palate, and a bitter-almond, salted-caramel edge on the long finish — the amontillado-meets-oloroso signature of the cask translated into malt whiskey.

Sixteen-year single malts finished in Palo Cortado are rare from any country, and rarer still from Ireland. Bottled by the Cooney family's Boann Distillery in County Meath, this 700ml release is one to pour neat or with a bare thread of water — ideally alongside a glass of the sherry that shaped it.

• Size: 700ml
• Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
• Age: 16 years
• Origin: Ireland
• Producer/Bottler: Boann Distillery, County Meath
• Style/Class: Single malt Irish whiskey, non-chill filtered
• Composition: 100% malted barley
• Cask/Aging: 14 years in second-fill bourbon barrels, finished about 2 years in Palo Cortado sherry casks
• Tasting Notes: Fresh fig, dried autumn leaves, browned butter, toasted nuts, bitter almond