Waterford Gaia: Edition 1.1

Strong cereal notes with fruity hints of pineapple and apple. In addition, a touch of fudge with spicy notes and some wood.

A nice distillate, but overpowered by the wood which gives a sweet, creamy vanilla like taste, accompanied by some spice. Not nasty or bad, but rather simple. I wouldn't recommend this very quickly.

...young, powerful, intense, sweet and very decent for 4 years! [colour:] = straw;

amazing whiskey. Not just for old age, but also like that. Very aromatic and also independent. I really like it. Won't the last Waterford be with me. I'm curious what will come out with a few years of maturity.

N 25 Fruity, orange Honey Fresh wood Sweet dough aroma concluded the nose P 24 Sweet, citrusy, spicy Candied malted barley New oak spice F 21 Mid, dry, young finish Oak spice prevail Some citrusy underlying S 4 Overall, a fruity and spicy dram. Relatively balanced experience for such a young whiskey. Would give it another try if it’s 6-8yo.

Another fine, quite tasty, albeit young whiskey from Waterford. Fits well into the whole row again. Geschmachlich also more like the others. I would probably not be able to distinguish them blindly.

Another beautiful young malt from Waterford

2020 Rating

Dusty, fruity and floral on the nose, with a hint of candy, but also a lovely combination of salt water, earth, hay and spearmint. The taste is soft, creamy, oily with fruits, spices as expected from Waterford, but also werther's originals and almonds.

A great first impression on the nose, then it breaks down. 68 points.

My first Waterford and I have to say I am thrilled. Certainly not a whiskey for beginners or people who prefer a clean spirit and not for barrel aficionados either. You have to bring a whiskey made with a love of distillate. We are really dealing with a distillate with rough edges. So nose, blueberry yoghurt at first, but over time it turns more towards canned peaches, nectarines, apricot jam. But right behind it it gets really malty. Wheat flour, grain rice, bread spices, wholemeal pizza dough, pretzels but also biscuits. The sweetness is clearly a fruit sweetness and together form the association of apricot roulade. Those fruity, malty flavors are then normally broken up by salty and dirty flavors. Anchovies pickled in olive oil, dry seaweed, clay, metal dust, boiled potatoes. The aromas already present in the nose repeat themselves in the taste, whereby the fruit tends to recede. There is also some toasted wooden toasted bread and unsweetened cocoa. The finish is then comparatively long for the age. Really exciting young whiskey! Unfortunately too much terroir marketing and normal bottles would have been enough. It's also really difficult to get the glass cork off. Unfortunately, I'm somehow hooked, even if the prices are really high. It's best to get a sample beforehand. Certainly not a whiskey that will appeal to everyone.

my first waterford. let it sitin the glass for a few minutes before trying. for this age this is a decent dram. does not lack of edginess, while still functioning well. i can imagine this becoming a nice dram with a few more years. given the age it is ok but i would not buy a bottle myself, especially with this price.

I recommend flipping this bottle - upside down over a sink. Not my cup of tea (would rather have a cup of tea).

I have already checked out almost all of Waterford's bottlings and have not even been disappointed so far. This organic whiskey is no exception, it has all the classic attributes of older Irish whiskeys (is a great fruit bomb).

Last time I followed Serge´s recommendation for an Irish whiskey it was quite a disappointment. Let´s see!

I cannot understand the relatively good ratings in any way. I don't like it at all. Here are my brief notes: Very light color, nice bootlegs. Scent: sticky, glue, some fruit, intense sweetness; very unusual, but unfortunately unpleasant smell that somehow reminds of vegetable soup; the alcohol is poorly integrated, there is a hint of mustiness. Taste: Sharp (the alcohol is poorly integrated), sweet, some fruit (difficult to identify), inharmonious, short finish. I am very happy that I only had one sample. I couldn't even finish this. I think sometimes you just have to write 'organic' on it and then it is bought.

Quince Mark Reynier goes further (or is that less far?) than Single Farm Origin. This Gaia, the first in the so-called Arcadian Series, is distilled from barley sourced at different farms. That undoubtedly explains why there are no less than 24.000 bottles on the market. Distilled in July 2016 and bottled in August 2020, so just over four years old. Again it is cut to 50% and bottled in those typical blue bottles. This time not a gold colored glass stopper, but a blue one. It's a matter of making a distinction with the Single Form Origin. Young but pleasant nose on sweet malt and raw barley in combination with some floral notes and chalk. Breakfast cereals galore, upholstered with some vanilla and orange juice. Honey and dried apricots. Summary in fresh. Nicely oily on the palate and immediately honeysweet but also very spicy. Quince, oranges – zest included – and dried apricots are wrapped in a blanket of cloves and white pepper. But it is nicely balanced. The wood makes the medium long finish somewhat drying. It dies a sweet death on pear drops. This is among the best stuff I have tried from Waterford so far (admittedly , I haven't tried that many). Thanks, Benny.

A young tropical whiskey with notes of chemical sweetness, despite all its positive aspects, gives the impression of being somewhat unfinished and unbalanced.

https://whiskeylovingpianist.wordpress.com/2022/04/20/spotlight-on-waterford/ This organic creation – Ireland’s first – and the biodynamic release [up next], are both a part of Waterford’s experimental outlook. Like at Bruichladdich, Reynier’s Waterford Distillery is “pushing the envelope out”. First of all, the fermentation time for this release is a staggering 181 hours – that’s over 7.5 days! Cask-wise, Gaia was matured in: 25% sherry, 19% red wine, and the rest – ex-bourbon or virgin US casks. N: Sweeter, oilier,.. salty, not dissimilar to Bruichladdich’s 2011/2021 10yo Bere Barley [WF90] – with a bottle report to follow in due course. T: Wow yes,… everything from the nose translates on the palate. There’s a “precision”, says Nathan. F: Banana-ey~bourbon-y [little vanillin], cocoa chocolate. C: Compared to the last four, I find this one the most spirit-faithful.

Promising young malt. Not a necessary buy at this age, but it’s solid for what it is.

There's something full-bodied in there, it's very cereal, cereal bar, dried corn, granola, and butter toast, white plum, mirabelle plum, violet in the background, a mineral note, quartz , salt, it seems to me that it is also earthy, dry earth. Silica. In the mouth, still cereals, but it's more easy to drink, vanilla milk and oat flakes, crusty bread, ample spices, milk chocolate. Long finish, grains of wheat, reeds, the earth becomes softer, it is ferruginous, walnuts and hazelnuts, marzipan, dates. When you just taste the product, putting aside all the speeches and principles, you realize that it is very interesting, original, incredibly well done. The youth of the distillate is barely felt, and the influence of organic barley is impressive. https://ilikesky2020.blogspot.com/2024/07/waterford-2016-organic-gaia-11-3-yo.html

COLOR: light gold - a good aromatic fruity single malt - stylish blue bottle, special feature: with glass cork! looks nice, but the taste is not very good outstanding - the approx. 65 - 70€ are definitely too expensive for me

Sometimes not a single farm origin, but a "blend" of different barley - very similar in taste to the single farm origin bottlings, as well as qualitatively. Could they actually save the whole fuss with Teireoir etc. Tastes like that too. ;-) Here, too, it is very pleasantly surprising how far it is in terms of taste with only 3 years, 9 months and 20 days under his belt. And no, I'm neither on you and you with M. Reynier, nor do I hold shares in Renegade Spirits Ireland Limited.

It has a medium viscosity and a strong bouquet. I have aromas of citrus fruit, maritime notes, herbs, vanilla, creme brulee, marzipan and malty sweetness. A still relatively flat malt. Relatively dry in taste. The alcohol is well integrated and it has a relatively heavy body.

Very interesting whiskey. Young, but not raw. My bottle lasted for almost 22 months and the whiskey has developed very nicely during that time. Value wise it is (or was rather given the latest developments in Waterford distillery) on the pricier side but still in line with the other new distilleries.

[August, 2021] The whiskey world turns crazy these days - not just that any older dram fetches prices way north of 200 bucks (and climbing) no matter of its quality but many renowned and reliable whiskey blogger (like Serge) rate under-aged drams with scores above 85 points at the dozens (even from third-tier distilleries). I still did not find any reason for this massive uplift of scores, most probably my taste buds are too dull to find the hidden secrets of today's pre-teen drams but I keep trying... ...and Waterford distillery stands somewhat in the centre of this hype with Serge scoring unbelievable 90 points. To put this into perspective: In 2007 he scored a 30-years old Bowmore from 1957 two points less at 88 and the 42-years old "Black Bowmore" from 1964 just one point better at 91. So, according to these gospels this Waterford must be a flabbergasting "paedophilic" dram... ...to be honest, I am out of this strange youngster's game not knowing what it is good for. Maybe there comes a time when I get bored of all these hyper-complex, super-balanced and delightful treats to my taste buds from old drams which matured a decent time in non-aggressive casks but I doubt this will happen very soon (if ever). I will return to Waterford releases once they become adult - which is around 10 years of age for non-peated and 8 years for peated malts, in my honest opinion.

Fruity, spicy and strong, the alcohol is present and too much in the foreground for my taste. I think it's okay, but maybe today it's not to my liking the way I would have liked.

Nose: tight, concentrated, slightly oily, a good baguette and hazelnut oil. Banana peel. With water: can I find anchovies? And caramel and fudge! Palate: very good, though a little lighter now. Hints of butterscotch (oak, I suppose) and smoked fish. Turmeric, barley. Finish: medium to long, clean with a touch of salt in the aftertaste that brings it home. Flavorful and indulgent. Comments: extremely impressive, and I mean it.

In my opinion this is the same whiskey as the US version. You review the 750ml version.

my first W.

Do you want custard with that? I'm not sure how I feel about all this 'barely legal' whiskey hitting the market. Every other day there appears to be an inaugural release from a new distillery with a young whiskey that tastes of next to nothing. It all feels a little rushed and, I hate to say, boring. But..., but but but, there's always an exception to the rule. I've not had the Raasay young'n but it looks very tasty and there's a few others which are worth a sip to be sure. And The Waterford Gaia 1.1 is one of them. yes it is. To be fair I wasn't expecting too much from this. Like others of a similar age I've tended to see them more as mementos of a special moment in time rather than an actual, drinkable product but this is. On the nose, oof! what a wallop of vanilla and custard and fruitiness and syrups and LOADS or barley. This is porridge and custard. All mixed together with a squeeeeeze of fruit syrup. This is breakfast. Warm gristiness, bready notes. The wood from the sweet wine barrels is there making it feel like sunlight is shining on it. I'm a little taken aback. I was expecting something far more woody and stark and something far nearer to new make, than this. It's very creamy on the nose too. Some sort of slightly aromatic spice, a handful of sage leaves, a little earth and a little citrus peel. I like it. The lesson, never prejudge something. So, in the mouth. Thick, custard and vanilla are right up front, it really coats the mouth, the creaminess in the nose translates directly to the palate. Spiced custard all over a warm porridge. A teaspoon of apricot jam is in there somewhere, the fruitiness is really nice. The sweet french wine barrels are apparent but not dominant. I am loving the custard. Custard, who doesn't love custard? This is comfort food merged with booze and bottled with sunshine. It's light but full and that mouthfeel is excellent, it really does blanket the tongue. There's a slight building of citrus notes in the mix, some old barley sugar sweets (haven't had any of those in a long time!) and little brittle toffee and stale chocolate. Marzipan - I was never a fan, maybe more frangipani, either way there that in the mid palate and I actually quite like it, sweet almond paste. Mmm. Spicy on the swallow. Well. Bloody Hell. That was pretty good. The finish isn't huge, but how could it be? But it is full and creamy. It kind of holds onto the porridge notes and it goes out sweetly, no bitter notes. A creamy, honeyed, dryish finish. Ginger and wood spice. I just want to keep sipping this. So, it;s pretty good. Way better than I was expecting. This is going to be pretty spectacular in years to come as long as the barrels don't swamp the character. This sunny, sweet porridge is delightful. I want to get another at 5yo or 8yo and then see how it's going. I get the feeling that this is going to be one of those whiskies that will help rewrite the Irish whiskey landscape in years to come.

Lots of biscuits and cereal, both nose and taste

This is also very successful. Light and fresh with an attractive, pleasing aroma. Here, too, all the flavors play well together, namely in the spectrum fruity - vanilla - spicy. I notice it positively because of its particularly tingly mouthfeel, so I probably won't need a piccolo in the future!

Powerful dram, fresh and fruity, with in the body some whiffs of mustiness as well. But pleasant for sure.

Type in code OR01E01-01 after clicking on "Terroir" on the waterford website for every single nerdy detail of this bottling including 10+ min. soundtrack on what the barley heard on the field while it grew...

Most of the time this is a very young malt. Often reminiscent of high-quality "Korn" (grain spirit). Still, it has a little surprise at the end. Not bad. Full review, alongside five other Irish: https://keinehalbendrinks.de/2022/03/23/sechs-irische-whiskey-am-st-patricks-day/

The youth is mostly noticeable on the somewhat aggressive palate, but otherwise this is another well-rounded, impressive showing from Waterford.

A young, obstinate whiskey, with a complex character and honey bias.

Butterbombe