Best Irish Whiskey?

IrishWhiskeyCha

Was not overly impressed with the Kilbeggan 15yo either but I think the €95Euro price tag takes the shine off such whiskies ... or maybe the kilbeggan style is not to my liking


Tyrconnell Maderia is one of my top 5 Irish Whiskeys, just an amazingly beautiful whiskey for me too and one that I would reckon is very approachable for many people with the fruity sweetness.

superfurry1

Thanks For the info havent tasted any kilbeggan whatsoever but on a budget at the moment and thinking of trying something different. Probably just get the 12 yr old Jameson for a song or Two:D

Brockagh

IrishWhiskeyCha wrote: »

Was not overly impressed with the Kilbeggan 15yo either but I think the €95Euro price tag takes the shine off such whiskies ... or maybe the kilbeggan style is not to my liking


Tyrconnell Maderia is one of my top 5 Irish Whiskeys, just an amazingly beautiful whiskey for me too and one that I would reckon is very approachable for many people with the fruity sweetness.

I've always liked the Kilbeggan and the Kilbeggan 15 - but it is overpriced, sure enough. I remember a tasting at the distillery I was one of the few that really liked the 15. It's one of Noel Sweeney's favourites too.

Humans eh!

brianthebard wrote: »

Redbreast 12yo is very nice, and is 10% off in Dunnes atm.

Mmmmmm. Cheers.:pac:

buck65

Hello fellow whiskey drinkers. Haven't posted here before but as it's the whiskey season for me (something about those dark nights by the fire demands a good shot of Irish) thought I would add a few things. Really excited about that Redbreast 15 yr. Redbreast is my favourite whiskey looking forward to trying it.
Have any of you tried Clontarf brand? I got a present of a bottle a few years back (Black label) and I have to say it far exceeded my expectations, very decent.
Also bought a bottle of Cask Strength Connemara a few years back and had a glass on Friday. wow what a mouthfull! Brings tears to the eyes I must say - a little strong (57%?) for me.
Visited the Bushmills distillery last summer and picked up a the Reserve looking forward to this maybe this evening!
Anyway great thread and some great info on here.

Brockagh

buck65 wrote: »

Hello fellow whiskey drinkers. Haven't posted here before but as it's the whiskey season for me (something about those dark nights by the fire demands a good shot of Irish) thought I would add a few things. Really excited about that Redbreast 15 yr. Redbreast is my favourite whiskey looking forward to trying it.
Have any of you tried Clontarf brand? I got a present of a bottle a few years back (Black label) and I have to say it far exceeded my expectations, very decent.
Also bought a bottle of Cask Strength Connemara a few years back and had a glass on Friday. wow what a mouthfull! Brings tears to the eyes I must say - a little strong (57%?) for me.
Visited the Bushmills distillery last summer and picked up a the Reserve looking forward to this maybe this evening!
Anyway great thread and some great info on here.

I wouldn't be a huge fan of the Clontarf, but it's years since I tried it and it's popular amoungst whiskey drinkers. It was charcoal filtered, or something like that, but maybe it's not anymore. And I think it may have switched from a Cooley to a Bushmills in recent years.

The Bushmills reserve is very good. One of the best Bushmills, although it may change from year to year.

The Hill Billy

I'd mostly drink Jameson (usually accompanying a pint of Guinness).
At home I usually have Greenore & Connemara Peated Single Malt.
I was given a gift of Midleton VR a few years ago & most of it is still in the bottle. Not my cup of tea at all.

buck65

Brockagh wrote: »

I wouldn't be a huge fan of the Clontarf, but it's years since I tried it and it's popular amoungst whiskey drinkers. It was charcoal filtered, or something like that, but maybe it's not anymore. And I think it may have switched from a Cooley to a Bushmills in recent years.

The Bushmills reserve is very good. One of the best Bushmills, although it may change from year to year.

Yes it is charcoal filtered. Whatever that means:D

Brockagh

They pass it through charcoal. In America they do it a lot. Jack Daniels do it.

There's a few different kinds of charocal. One heated to a greater degree than the other. The Lincoln process is supposed to add something to the whiskey, rather than just filter it.

Blisterman

Just getting into Irish whiskey and Got a nice present of a Tyrconnell sampling pack. It had original Single Malt, 10 year old Sherry Cask and 10 Year old Port Cask.

Wasn't too impressed with the Sherry Cask, but the Port Cask was very nice, and perhaps surprisingly I thought the Original was the nicest Irish whiskey I've ever tried. Interesting mix of lime flavours and vanilla fudge. Will definitely have to get a bottle of it next time I get a chance.

Butch Cassidy

When you take all other factors in to consideration such as availability and price I think either Powers/Powers 12yr or Redbreast 12 are "the best". They are affordable and are bloody great especially if you like the pot stills which is what Irish whiskey used to be well known for. Many people love their Jamesons and while yeah I'm sure the Gold and the 18yr and all the other variations do taste great price is a factor - availability too in most cases.

No bar is worth going to unless there's a bottle of Redbreast there as arrogant as that sounds. It also might seem crazy to mention bog standard Powers in the same sentence as the beloved Redbreast but it's even more affordable (usually cheaper than standard Jameson) and more available than Redbreast.


I'd also give a shout to Black Bush with regards to this criteria though I think on the price side it's slightly overpriced.


So yeah, best Irish whiskey? Depends on what you like as there's oodles that come out of Middleton, a vast array that Bushmills do and then you have Cooley which is a whole other thread in itself but the availability both by single measure and bottle of Redbreast as well as the price (O'Briens did use to have it at €35 even after IDL upped it by a tener) would lead me to call it "the best".

I once asked for a glass of "the best whiskey" in a bar and was handed a drop of Middleton for about 20quid. I was not impressed for that money. In a decent pub 35.5ml of Redbreast shouldn't be too much more expensive than a Jameson.

forumator

I love the irish and scottish whiskeys. When I went to glasgow and visit the whiskey house there I drink now only whiskeys and left drinks like beer. I tried all of them glenfiddich, jameson, teachers. That one was rubbish, but that could be not irish. My friend said Irish whiskeys are the best so I started drink them and now want to visit Ireland to see the culture there.

I seen a video of people ranking the supposedly, the best Irish whiskeys but after watching video I realised they are 2 Americans trying out the whiskeys, so I suppose what do they know.

Mecanudo

You can't beat a good Irish whiskey imho. As a rule they tend to be very different to Scottish whisky.

There are a couple of online retailers based in Ireland to see the full selection. A Google will give you the websites. My recommendation is to start with everyday whiskeys and work your way up to see what your preferrences are.

Best of luck.