Unaware I’d just committed a crime against whiskey at Tigh Neachtain’s – I ambled up the High Street a short while to the lovely inviting entrance of Sonny Molloy’s.
The wooden snugs – lit up whiskey cabinets that encircled the bar and immediate seating area – friendly staff – together with my increasing mellowness brought on by the previous drams – endeared me to yet another special bar on the Galway Whiskey Trail.
An estimated 100 plus expressions on display made it a little difficult for me in my increasing alcoholic fuzz to pick out something I’d not tried before – but eventually a bottle of Tyrconnell Sherry was spotted.
Hailing from my local distillery in Westmeath – Kilbeggan – Tyrconnell is one of the old brands John Teeling revived back in the late 1980’s to build up his whiskey empire.
At 46% – as opposed to the mainly 40% drams I’d enjoyed earlier in the day – there is a much more noticeable spirity kick on the nose. This follows through to the taste before a warm sweet experience from the sherry influence is experienced which mellows the kick into a smooth and satisfying finish. The Sherry Finish is one of 4 Tyrconnell Single Malt releases available. There is the standard Single Malt itself bottled at 40% – and the 3 finishes of Port – Madeira and Sherry all bottled at 46%.
I’m currently working my way through them all and have to say the Port Finish sampled in Kilkenny is currently my favourite – but a blind tasting of all 4 back to back would certainly be an interesting experience if only to be able to discern the different barrel finishes have on the resulting whiskey. Mmm – must work on that one.
Sonny Molloy’s is another one of those establishments – like it’s sister pubs The Dail and Blake’s – that serves a comprehensive food menu and the early evening diners were beginning to come in after finishing their shopping. The atmosphere was warm and inviting and I began to relax knowing that I had enough time to complete my tour of the Galway Whiskey Trail – as well as feeling I wouldn’t keel over anytime soon!
The Saturday papers were scattered on the wooden shelves near the bar where I perched myself to enjoy the Tyrconnell so I fell in to reading them. An article on the reformation of LCD Soundsystem caught my eye. At one time I thought I was abreast of the music scene. Clearly I was now out of the loop as despite enjoying some of their tracks – I was unaware they had even split up in the first place! C’est la vie!
Thankfully I’m of an age the only drunk girls I need to worry about now are my rapidly maturing teenage grand daughters!
Sonny’s also had a fun and informative whiskey leaflet which could be stamped to say you’d raised a glass to Sonny Molloy. How could I resist?
A lovely little souvenir of my time on the trail!
I got chatting to the bar staff and it turns out the whiskey trail has brought a lot of tourists in – especially during summer. A further expansion of the whiskey display cabinets is envisaged to enhance this increased interest. They felt the trail has been a success in raising awareness of the fine whiskey bars present in Galway.
I would certainly concur with this sentiment.
A final sip of Tyrconnell was savoured before I thanked the staff for their time and hospitality – then I headed out for the remaining stops on the trail.
Sláinte,
WestmeathWhiskeyWorld 