The Waterford Cuvée Koffi

The Waterford Distillery is aptly named, not just because of its location, but because it has arguably been making 'waves' since its opening in 2015. Founded by maverick Mark Reyneir, Waterford Distillery has been breaking boundaries and challenging traditional norms in the Irish Whiskey industry ever since.

From the beginning, Waterford espoused the idea of terroir in whiskey, a concept traditionally used for wine. Trumpeting the use of Irish barley, Waterford created a plan utilizing a vast network of Irish farms to produce unique Irish single malt whiskey. This plan was met with some skepticism as others championed the importance of wood in the whiskey making process. Many whiskey makers claim that the vast majority of flavor is derived from the cask, either wood type, previous contents, or time spent aging. Conversely, touting the significance of the liquid created from locally grown barley took a somewhat unique approach for the emerging distillery. 

Waterford implemented its plan with the release of several single farm origin Irish single malt whiskeys in 2020. The process utilized not only different farms, but different harvests and soil locations within the farms. The whiskeys showed promise, whether they made convincers out of the skeptics that doubted unique barley traits could survive the distillation process. Comparing and contrasting the different farm based whiskeys was just the lead up to the grand plan of vatting them together into a combination or Cuvée single malt release.

The Waterford Cuvée Koffi is the core expression for the US market. Released at the beginning of 2024, the single malt consists of 6-7 year old Irish whiskeys from 24 different farms across southeast Ireland. The Cuvée Koffi is the oldest release from Waterford Distillery to date. Similar to previous releases, the Koffi single malt was bottled at 50% abv with no coloring or chill-filtration. Also consistent was the cask maturation which utilized four types: 36% First Fill American Oak, 17% Virgin American Oak, 21% Premium French Oak and 26% Vin Doux Naturel. 

Given its unique approach to whiskey making, it is no surprise that Waterford would also utilize a packaging concept that differentiated it from others. Bottled in striking dark blue glass, the whiskeys stand out on store shelves. This style goes against convention as most use clear glass so consumers can see the color of the whiskey. Waterford also uses different colored glass stoppers instead of caps or corks. For the Cuvée Koffi, a pink colored glass stopper with the Waterford logo sits atop the bottle. The bottle contains a multi-colored mosaic label, designed by French artist Nathanaël Koffi, which represents the complexity and diversity of the components that made the whiskey. 

With all the effort that went into making and packaging the Cuvée Koffi, how does it taste? 

[Head Distiller's Tasting Notes

Appearance: Amber gold with light like a coral sunrise and thick oils that slowly descend the glass, with a stop or two on the way.

Nose: Interesting combination of red apple on homemade brown bread, washed down with a cup of tea, delish! Three peel marmalade, white pepper tingle, mixed dry herbs, cola cubes and sherbet sweets, light lavender in fresh soil.

Taste: Spices gently dancing on my tongue, lemon and strawberry shortbread biscuits, black pepper, grapefruit, chilli chocolate, oyster crackers, barley sugar, summer fruit compote, liquorice allsorts sweets.

Finish: Long and dry gentle spiciness that lasts and leads to mouth-watering with dried fruits which all meanders on.]

The Cuvée Koffi certainly achieved Waterford's objective of creating a unique single malt Irish whiskey. The nose of apple orchards and buttered toast lingers long and continues on the tongue with some gentle spice. Many other single malts contain heavy wine influence from cask aging. The Koffi is liqhter, more barley forward with less cask influence. For some it might come off as lacking due to not being heavily finished in wine or peated. By highlighting the barley, patience is required to appreciate the nuances separate from the cask influence.  I say patience because many single malt drinkers may be expecting the initial burst from the cask that dominates other offerings. This cuvee of 24 farms has achieved a very balanced whiskey that drinks below its higher abv. 

Similar to the unique Dingle malt characteristic, the Koffi has a distinct Waterford distillery note that differentiates it from others. Irish whiskey fans have had limited access to Irish single malt variety with the style dominated by Bushmills and Cooley. It will be exciting to see how the new distilleries are embraced as these initial expressions offer a different profile than what many Irish drinkers have become accustomed.

Waterford cannot be accused of any lack of transparency. While other industry brands are sometimes misleading about having a distillery or where the liquid is from, Waterford goes the extra mile. Technology and tracking by Waterford allow consumers to know the exact farm, soil location, and harvest among other pieces of information for each of their products. In one last nod to being un-traditional, Waterford labels their single malt whisky without the 'e'. 

I do appreciate the transparency and information available for avid whiskey drinkers. It remains to be seen to what extent drinkers prioritize the process over the final product. For many, they ultimately care most about how the whiskey tastes and less about how it was made. Whether Waterford achieves their plan for establishing terroir remains to be seen. In the meantime, their progress to date has produced an Irish Single Malt worthy of closer inspection. I look forward to see how this progresses with further aging but am more than content to savor the current edition until more Cuvees are released. Given its flavor and bottle design, this would be a perfect companion for autumn outdoors while enjoying the foliage or picking apples.      A.D Oct'24