Writers Tears was created by Bernard and Rosemary Walsh in 2009, a tribute to the Irish literary tradition and the writers — Joyce, Yeats, Wilde, Beckett — for whom whiskey was inspiration, consolation and occasionally the cause of all their problems. The blend is unusual: rather than mixing malt with grain whiskey, it combines single malt with single pot still, making it a true 100% pot still creation.
Bottled at 40%, it is gentle by design but never thin. The nose is unmistakably Irish — honey, ripe apple, vanilla — with the pot still character giving it a softly creamy cereal warmth that grain blends can't match. On the palate it is smooth and rounded, orchard fruit and vanilla cream balanced by a touch of barley spice and the faintly oily texture that pot still imparts.
The finish is clean and lightly spiced, leaving honeyed sweetness behind. It is an exceptionally easy whiskey to like — approachable enough for a newcomer, characterful enough for an old hand — and at its price one of the most consistently rewarding everyday Irish bottles on the market. A drink for evenings with a book, ideally one written by someone who knew where to find a good bottle.
