Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 93 |
| Style |
Irish Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In | Ireland |
| ABV | 47% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $199.00 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Reviewed | 2025-06-27 |
Garavogue 20-Year-Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey Review
While Sazerac is perhaps best known stateside for its portfolio of American distilleries — including Buffalo Trace and Barton 1792 — the spirits conglomerate has been pushing further abroad in recent years. In 2022, the company acquired Ireland’s Lough Gill Distillery. Three years later, the facility has been rebranded as Hawk’s Rock Distillery, with an inaugural release that features an eye-catching age statement.
Dubbed Garavogue, this first release is a limited 20-year-old Single Malt Irish Whiskey matured across a variety of cask types. Around a decade ago, the former Lough Gill acquired barrels of Irish single malt from another (undisclosed) Irish distillery. That whiskey was aged for at least 14 years in ex-bourbon barrels before being transferred to age across other casks that formerly held a wide variety of wines and other spirits.
When it came time to develop this first Garavogue release, master blender Helen Mulholland (formerly of Bushmills) pulled whiskey from Muscat, Sauternes, PX sherry, and Barbadian rum casks to complete the batch. According to the brand, each bottling in the Garavogue line will be unique and “experimental in nature, exploring different ages, maturation techniques and possibly even different types of Irish whiskey.”
This first Garavogue whiskey is bottled at 94 proof. Let’s see how it tastes!
Garavogue 20-Year-Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey: Stats and Availability
According to Sazerac, Garavogue Whiskey will be distributed across the United States, Ireland, the U.K., and select duty free stores. Some will also be available via Legacy de Forge, “a new Sazerac branded global platform powered by Blockbar.”
This batch of Garavogue carries an MSRP of $199 for a 700-milliliter bottle. At a recent launch event, Sazerac reps confirmed that this particular batch is a one-time, limited release that will number in the thousands of bottles both in the U.S. and international markets.
Garavogue 20-Year-Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
The nose starts off tart and fruity, with gummy peach rings as an especially strong initial aroma. That initial fruit extends throughout and eventually broadens into tart apple, sparkling white grape soda, and apricot. Vanilla extract and a waft of underlying butterscotch combine into something close to bubbly cream soda. By the third or fourth sniff, things take a decidedly floral turn, with dried lilac, lavender, and even saffron joining white pepper and layered atop the fruit-forward base. The initial scents are fun and bright, but what impressed me more was the surprising depth lingering just below, particularly in the realm of spice.
Taste
A first sip brings a big pop of orange sherbert, followed by vanilla soft serve and peach syrup; early flavors are in line with the nose, though perhaps heavier on citrus. (Candied orange, grapefruit, and lemon peel are all discernible.) The whiskey isn’t terribly viscous at 94 proof, but it coats the palate well, lending some warming caramel, refined molasses, and oak along a mid-palate that leans sweeter as flavors develop beyond the mildly bitter citrus. The back palate evolves further into grape must, peeled apple skins, nutty malt, and lightly drying sherry.
Finish
Both fresh white grapes and golden raisins lead on the finish, along with more PX sherry influence. Hints of coffee, roast nuts, and malt lend some balance to an otherwise grape-forward last act, alongside small doses of tropical fruit. Overall, the finish reminds me of some more delicate column-distilled rums, a noteworthy twist for an Irish single malt.
Garavogue 20-Year-Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey Rating
93/100
Recap
Hawk’s Rock comes out swinging with a memorable first Garavogue Whiskey. There’s a touch of unknown here, particularly the origin of the single malt itself. But the final result is undeniably tasty, leveraging a combination of flavors and finishes that elevate each while rarely distracting from a central narrative. That sort of tinkering gets me genuinely excited for other releases in the lineup. Time will tell on those, but this first bottling has already proven worth its weight.
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