"In 1966, Mark Edwin Andrews purchased Knappogue Castle, a 15th century castle in Ireland, which was then in ruins. He and his wife, a prominent architect, then embarked on an ambitious program of restoration, in an effort to return the structure to its original state of glory and grandeur. It was around this time that Andrews began buying casks of fine pot still whiskey from top distilleries in the country. The casks were further aged and bottled under what is now the Knappogue Castle label. His last bottling, a 1951 vintage aged 36 years, is revered by connoisseurs as the oldest and rarest commercially available Irish whiskey on the market. Many years later, his son, Mark Andrews III, would bring Knappogue 1951 and his father's legacy to the United States and other international markets."
Tasting Notes
Color & Consistency: Dried straw, thin and quick legs.
Nose: Cherry with a minor hit of alcohol, spice & vanilla.
Taste: Underlying sweetness, fruit & grass notes. Cherry flavor follows from the nose and clean mouth feel.
Finish: Medium & clean not oily. Decent spice.
Conclusion: It's an Irish for sure but kinda run-o-the-mill if you ask us. We weren't able to discern many unique flavors or characteristics to set it apart from other similarly aged Irish selections. Yes, it's clean, smooth, refined and has all of the great things you would expect from an aged selection out of Ireland maybe 5-10 years ago, but with all of the good competition recently attacking this price point it really seems hard to justify the purchase. We would prefer other options in the $20-49 dollar range and as such had to knock it on the glass rating but you won't be breaking the bank if you decide to pick one up for you or a friend to try.