J.J. Corry X Mr. Lyan Fierfield Birch

A collaborative release from bartending extraordinaire Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr. Lyan) and Irish whiskey bonders J.J. Corry, bringing together Irish whiskey with ingredients from the Irish landscape. Fierfield Birch is a fragrant, elegant, warming spirit that has been made with Irish butter, toast, dog rose, clover, nettle, and the eponymous birch. The nose has apples and plums with a touch of crumble topping – vanilla-sugar-dusted biscuits and a touch of butter. The fruitiness almost hides the spiced toffee of the underlying whiseky, and gets peachy and slightly sour as it develops. Spicy whiskey kicks things off on the palate before we dive into toffee and hay sweetness, spiced apple sauce and red-wine-poached pear. Plummy fruit wraps everything with jamminess and carefully balanced acidity. A burst of apples appears at the end along with sultanas and raisins. Sweet and sour fruit on the finish with candied peel, sweet pears, sharp apple sauce and a squeeze of lemon.