Review #936 - Fercullen 15 Year Single Grain
Fercullen's 15 Year Single Grain was named the world's best single grain whisky at both 2025 and 2026 at the World Whiskies Awards; it's a Madeira wine cask-finished whisky, and as Fercullen as a brand/distillery isn't actually 15 years old yet, we know that this is a sourced whisky. In fact, it comes from Cooley, one of the longest established distilleries in Ireland.
This grain whisky is made using a mashbill of roughly 95% corn and 5% malted barley; in a way, it's almost akin to a high-corn bourbon in that way. Before that Madeira finished is used, they first mature this whisky for 15 years in first fill ex-bourbon casks.
In the end, they bottle it at a strength of 41.5% ABV, and they state on the label that it isn't chill filtered, and there's no color added.
Fercullen 15 Year Single Grain
Ireland - Single Grain
Price: USD 75 (2026)
Age Statement: 15 Years
Strength: 41.5% ABV
Cask Makeup: First fill ex-bourbon casks, finished in second fill Madeira casks
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 2 years; bottles at 60% and 50% fill levels at times of review, and tasted once (blind) from a sample. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Orange cream, lots of bready grains, creamed corn, and a hint of ethanol; baked goods like croissants combine with olive oil, dandelions, crisp pear, and a hint of perfume. There's a very subtle savory side in the background.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thin. Vanilla, cinnamon, milk chocolate, and white chocolate - lots of baking notes. Orange and lemon bring some citrus, and we also get brown sugar, leather, and wood spice. Fresh oak gives way to hints of darker fruit like plum and prune.
Finish: Tart orange and some plums, sweet and tart candies; it's a bit mild overall, and we get some white bread, grain, and a bit of cinnamon spice. There is some decent oily texture on that lingers; it's a medium-short finish.
Final Note: Well, in line with those bourbon-like production methods, we indeed found that this single grain Irish whisky shared a lot of flavors with typical bourbons. For that reason, we think it could be a solid choice for a bourbon drinker looking to try more Irish whisky - it provides a nice middle ground with some familiarity, but also some nuance from those Madeira finishing casks. It's a solid single grain overall with a decent range of flavors, but it's also a bit mild at times due to that lower bottling strength.
In terms of value, it's decent, around average in our books. A price of about $75 is not bad for a whisky with a 15 year age statement, and this one is interesting enough to come back to several times.
Our Rating: 6.6 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.31
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
