Review: Waterford Distillery Cuvee Koffi

Waterford first established its reputation producing whiskeys made with barley drawn from individual farms in Ireland, creating a brand new whiskey category: “Single Farm Origin.” Then, in 2020, they produced their first blend, Organic Gaia 1.1, and in 2022 The Cuvée. Today we try their newest blend, which their website notes is “the apogee of our range, our new flagship single malt, our oldest and most complex possible whiskey – our lodestar.” Lofty aspirations. The whiskey is named for the French artist that designed the attractive label on the bottle and the box in which it is sold, Nathanaël Koffi. The whiskey is a blend of two dozen Single Farm Origin single malt whiskeys, each of which has been aged a minimum of six years. It includes no artificial coloring. That’s a promising start. Let’s give it a try.

When opening this bottle, it is important to give the whiskey time to settle in the glass. When first poured, the whiskey revealed rough, unpleasant aromas of harsh earth and young cereal grains. With a bit of time, however, the nose changes significantly, and the light-caramel colored whiskey offers gentle, inviting notes of mature cereal grains coupled with soft earth, vanilla, caramel, and a touch of raisin.

Taking a sip, the whiskey gets even better, presenting bold yet balanced notes of raisin, rich caramel, and gentle cereal grains along with lemon, black licorice, black pepper, and vanilla. The flavors play together beautifully. This a single malt, but there’s a bit of Single Pot Still character to the whiskey’s delightful spiciness and creamy mouthfeel. Altogether, this is an excellent whiskey that is reasonably priced, and it may be my favorite release from Waterford to date.

100 proof.

A- / $93 / waterfordwhisky.com

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