Limavady Single Malt - July 2024 Irish Whiskey Review

The Limavady Single Malt burst onto the Irish Whiskey scene in 2021 to much fanfare. Limavady's history mirrors many other Irish whiskey brands which flourished until the early 20th century before shuttering due to wars and US Prohibition among other factors. Now back after more than 100 years, the re-launched version brings many unique qualities to the growing Irish whiskey scene.

The Limavady Distillery opened in 1750 in the town of Limavady located between Derry and Coleraine along the Causeway Coast of now Northern Ireland. Known for its single malt, the distillery ultimately closed in 1915. The Limavady name is derived from the Gaelic term 'Leim an Mhadaidh' which means 'Leap of the Dog'. This reference features prominently in the revived brand's labeling and marketing. 

Darryl McNally is responsible for bringing back the Limavady brand in 2021. Darryl worked at Bushmills Distillery for 16 years ultimately becoming Master Distiller. Upon Diageo's sale of the distillery to Cuervo, he left in 2015 to help start up the Dublin Liberties Distillery. After successfully steering one of Dublin's newest distilleries for 5 years, Darryl left in 2020 to re-launch the Limavady brand. Originally hailing from Limavady, bringing back the brand is the first step in Darryl's dream of re-building the Limavady Distillery. 

The Limavady Single Malt has many unique characteristics. The bottle design has a smaller than typical label which highlights the glass. Embossed on the front is a leaping Irish Wolfhound and the year the original distillery was built. 'Limavady' is embossed on one side with 'Irish Whiskey' on the opposite. The final classic touch is the 'blob-top' feature which eschews a cork or cap for the bulbous glass top. 

The whiskey itself is unique as well. The single malt liquid is bottled from one single barrel. Each bottle is labeled with the cask number and bottle number. Each cask produces 846 bottles. While there have been single cask limited editions from other companies, Limavady utilizes this approach for its core expression single malt. Bottlings may vary from cask to cask which makes for fun comparisons. 

For this review, Bottle 236 from Barrel 62 was sampled. The triple distilled whiskey is reportedly non-chill filtered and bottled at 46% abv with no color added. This is a non-age statement Irish single malt putting it into the came category as Dingle, Tyrconnell and Teeling to name a few. Matured initially in a bourbon cask for 4-5 years before final finishing in a Px sherry barrel for ~6 months. The whiskey drinks older than its age. Mild spice provides character to the dried raisin and fruit which is prominent on the nose and tongue. The finish is medium to long with a pleasing warmth. 

The bottle retails in the USA for ~$45. Limavady has wide distribution due to its relationship with the WhistlePig company from Vermont. Makers of premium rye whiskey, WhistlePig provided initial financing to bring Limavady to market. As part of WhistlePig's global portfolio, Limavady also enjoys the benefits of their bottling and distribution network. 

Limavady is worth 'taking the leap'. Sampling different cask bottlings is a fun exercise. An additional tasting comparison can be made with Dingle which is also a non age statement consisting of bourbon and Px sherry single malt.