Roe & Co Coffee Stout Finished Irish Whiskey
Roe & Co Coffee Stout Finished Irish Whiskey
Roe & Co is one of Dublin’s newest Distilleries. Opened by Diageo in 2019, with absolutely no expense spared, their beautiful visitor centre based in an old Guinness factory power station, quickly won the Trophy for the Best Distillery Tour at the 2020 International Spirits Challenge. I shortlisted their initial whiskey release for the Irish Whiskey Trail Whiskey of the Year in 2017. Their whiskeys had been released two years before the distillery opened its doors.
An old file photo of me shortlisting Roe & Co for The Irish Whiskey Trail Whiskey of the Year on 30 Nov 2017
Located in the heart of Dublin’s distillery district beside the Guinness Campus in James’ Gate, visitors at Roe & Co Distillery are treated to a range of interesting and intimate whiskey tour and tasting experiences focusing on cocktails and blends. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the distillery on several occasions and it really is a very high quality experience in relaxed and plush tasting rooms.
The PR team at Roe & Co Irish whiskey contacted me a few days ago about the launch of an exciting new small batch release – Roe & Co Coffee Stout Cask Finish from the Cask & Keg series. The culmination of an experimental flavour collaboration between Roe & Co Irish whiskey and its Diageo stable mate and Dublin neighbour, The Guinness Open Gate Brewery just across the road from the distillery. What’s Coffee Stout? Well put simply, it’s Guinness Stout which has had coffee added to the brewing process. It’s an unusual and unique take on a Pint of Plain, but if you like Guinness and you like coffee, well, this is a drink for you. My only advice on coffee stout from personal experience is that it has to be drunk when really cold to enjoy it best.
According to the distillery press release,
“One for whiskey collectors and aficionados’, Roe & Co Cask & Keg Stout Cask Finish edition sees age-old friends’ whiskey and beer, come together for another taste exploration in Irish whiskey. This delicious whiskey sees the flavour note impact on the whiskey’s signature 106 blend finished for 11 months in casks that previously held Guinness Open Gate Brewery’s Coffee Stout.
The result is a rare complex discovery for the senses – notes of creamy vanilla and cacao on the nose, full bodied with a touch of sweet molasses and subtle wood spice on the palate, finishing with a creamy mouth coating and subtle roasted malt taste, all pinned with underlying notes of coffee grounds from the stout and spiced orchard fruits from the core blend”.
Roe & Co Irish whiskey recommends that the whiskey is best served neat or with ice, however the underlying coffee notes imparted by the stout offer an intriguing cocktail base for a twist on the traditional espresso martini. This would concur with my suggestion that Coffee Stout is best enjoyed very cold.
Head Brewer, Peter Simpson, commented:
“We first experimented with Cask & Keg with our Antwerpen Stout and Citra IPA – both of which produced taste experiences unique to the partnership between the Roe & Co Distillery and the Open Gate Brewery at St. James’ Gate. Building on this success, now we’re taking experimentation one step further and looked to deepen the blend between whiskey and stout. Focusing only on stout, this year’s Cask & Keg release is the result of the 11-month finishing of Roe & Co’s blend 106 in barrels which previously matured coffee infused stout. The result is a coffee stout finish with undertones of cream soda, subtle soft wood spice and tropical fruit.”
They are sending me a tasting sample, but until then, the tasting notes from the distillery are:
Nose: Creamy vanilla, hints of chocolate coated honeycomb, sweet caramel, cacao, fruity confectionery candied ginger and tropical fruit background of distant dried mango and hessian sacks.
Taste/palate: Full bodied smooth slow drip coffee and sweet hard toffee/tablet and a very slight hint of molasses with some fruit there behind the freshly ground coffee/toffee notes – pineapple and pear, cream soda and subtle gentle herbal/soft wood spice – thyme, allspice, mace.
Finish: Creamy vanilla and hazelnut mouth coating with a gentle lingering of subtle roasted malt/coffee grounds acidity taste.
Bottled at 46% ABV and non chill filtered (because there’s no need at that ABV), Roe & Co Coffee Stout Cask Finish can be purchased for €60 from the Roe & Co. website: https://shop.roeandcowhiskey.com/products/roe-co-cask-keg-coffee-stout-finish or from the Celtic Whiskey Shop and Online Whiskey Store in Dublin. It’s available from October 1st – International Coffee Day.
Roe and Co Distillery have created a new Coffee Stout Cask experience at their Distillery visitor centre in Dublin which they say is:
“a sensory journey through the rich history of brewing and distilling in Dublin 8, embodied in our Coffee Stout Cask Finish collaboration with Guinness Open Gate Brewery. The “On Common Grounds” experience at Roe & Co begins with a sparkling Roe & Co whiskey cocktail, followed by a deconstructed tasting of our signature 106 blend and limited-edition expression of Roe & Co. You will be taken on a food and whiskey pairing that celebrates the broad spectrum of flavour found in beer, whiskey & coffee. Create your own blend from our stocks of premium Irish whiskey, then continue to our Flavours Workshop, our cocktail lab, to mix up your blend into a delicious drink, inspired by your own unique recipe. Finish with an exciting twist on the Irish Coffee and a glassware gift set to take your memories home with”.
I don’t see this experience listed yet on their Distillery website, but I’ll add a link here as soon as I see it there.
Roe & Co Coffee Stout Irish Whiskey is available in limited quantities, and for purchase at The Roe & Co Distillery and here on the distillery web shop.
Stuart McNamara (@WhiskeyBlogger) is an international Whiskey Blogger who edits several International Whisk(e)y and Whiskey Tourism sites including IrishWhiskey.com and WhiskeyBlogger.com. He is Chair of the Irish Craft And Artisan Distilleries Association (ICADA) and is an elected member of the National Council of ISME, the Irish SME Association. He is also the creator and editor of International Irish Whiskey Day which is celebrated on 3/3 or 3rd March each year and had a global social media reach in 2021 of over 20 Million. He is a Director of Portmagee Whiskey and has also acted as both a brand and product development consultant to several other Irish Whiskey and other spirits producers.
