Drumshanbo Tawny Port Cask Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey Review (2025)

 

The Shed Distillery was founded in 2014 by PJ and Denise Rigby at Drumshanbo in Ireland’s western province of Connacht. PJ spent 30 years creating brands for other distillers before opting to concentrate on doing his own.  

 

Drumshanbo is a tiny village of 800 with a 25% unemployment rate for about two decades. So, you can imagine how appreciative everyone was when a new business opened. Today, Drumshanbo is the largest employer, with over 100 employees.

 

“It was during the solar transit of the Winter Solstice sun in 2014, that saw the revered tradition of distilling Irish Whiskey, return to the Western province of Connacht. During this 21st of December, PJ and Denise Rigney, along with their dedicated team of distillers, laid down the first whiskey in Connacht in over 101 years. In fact, the distillation began even before the building of new distillery was even completed – PJ & Head Distiller, Brian Taft, have always been incredibly passionate and dedicated to their endeavours. With this, the Shed Distillery of PJ Rigney was born, and PJ, always true to his endeavours, began his quest to distil only the most premium of Irish Spirits.” – The Shed Distillery

 

Arnold Holstein of Germany made the copper stills. The Shed employs five pot stills: three pot stills for Irish whiskey, two for Irish gin, and two column stills for Irish vodka. It is the largest family-owned gin distillery in the world!

 

Its head distiller and general manager is Brian Taft, who constantly checks on its aging whiskey, at least monthly and sometimes weekly.

 

I reviewed Drumshanbo Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey in March and found it outstanding. As such, when The Shed Distillery sent me a sample of Drumshanbo Tawny Port Cask in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review, I was excited.

 

Before I #DrinkCurious, it would be helpful if everyone was on the same page as to what Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey is because that’s a regulated category. First, Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey must be made at a single distillery from a mash of malted and unmalted barley. It can also include oats or wheat. The kicker is that distilling must occur in a pot still. The other all-encompassing Irish whiskey guidelines apply.

 

Now that you know the background, let’s get on to the tasting!

 

• Whiskey Type: Irish Single Pot Still
• Distiller: The Shed Distillery
• Age: NAS
• Mashbill: Malted and unmalted Irish barley, Irish Barra oats
• Cooperage: Tawny Port Casks
• Alcohol Content: 43% ABV (86°)
• Price per 700mL: $79.99
• Non-Chill Filtered, Naturally Colored

 

Appearance: I used a Glencairn glass to explore this whiskey neat. The bright, gold liquid created a medium rim with slow and massive tears.

 

Nose: I ignored the whiskey for about ten minutes to allow it to breathe before bringing the glass under my nose. As I inhaled the aroma, there were plums, cherries, pineapples, chocolate, and almonds. Drawing the air into my mouth revealed English toffee.

 

Palate: Drumshanbo’s texture was thick and creamy. On the front of my palate, I encountered tastes of apricots, cooked peaches, and ripe plums. Vanilla custard, toffee, and spiced nuts rolled past my mid-palate. Nutmeg, baker’s chocolate, and old leather formed the back.

 

Finish: What remained included nutmeg, old leather, dried apricots, spiced nuts, clove, and a passing slap of chocolate. It was a very slow-building finish that peaked, then, almost as leisurely, fell off. The last to exit was the clove. I timed it at 2:02, classifying it as a long duration.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: The Tawny Port Cask was, in many ways, similar to Drumshanbo’s flagship whiskey. It is perfectly proofed; anything higher would likely have been too spicy, and anything lower would have potentially lost character. It was fruity and flavorful.

 

In other ways, it was not. It was a drier sipping experience that pulled moisture from my mouth. The clove was more pronounced; the chocolate and toffee made for nice additions.

 

I’ve had very expensive Irish whiskeys that aren’t as interesting as Drumshanbo Tawny Port Cask, and if you believe that Irish whiskeys are too light or soft, this one will change your mind. There is a lot to enjoy and nothing to dislike. As such, it earns every bit of my Bottle rating.

 

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.