Supermarket Whiskeys

redlead

Has anyone tried the Tesco Special Reserve Irish Whiskey? It says on the back that is made from the spring water of county Louth and matured for a minimum of 3 years blended with malt and grain. It is clearly made by Cooley in that case. It is only priced at €15.99. Is this essentially the no age statement Kilbeggan or is it a different blend they make? The Kilbeggan costs €24.

If anyone follows Ralfys whisky reviews on youtube you will see that he reviewed the Sainsburys Irish single malt Whiskey a few years ago and thought that it was great. The reason being that he deiscovered that it was infact basically the forerunner of Tyrconnel. Is the above Tesco whiskey a bargain?

Cavehill Red

I think the current consensus is that the Dun Leire whiskey sold by Sainsbury's is the top end of Irish supermarket whiskeys. It's been winning awards and has gained some acclaim on the Irish Whiskey Society forum.
I personally wouldn't be expecting much from a 3 year old (barely legal!) Cooley blend, much as I like their spirit.
The Kilbeggan blend itself is not exactly Cooley's finest hour, in my opinion. And I reckon it's somewhat older than 3 years old, and likely has a higher malt content than any blends that Cooley might be supplying to supermarkets.

shanel23

I've had the Dun Leire and it is a cracker of a whiskey - I think it was £16.99 in the UK - well worth it . Another supermarket one to try is the Superquinn own label ( again a Cooley ) and at €17 it's an eye opener for that price .

IrishWhiskeyCha

Basically any Supermarket branded Irish Whiskey will be a cooley creation.

Most are cheap and cheerful creations. And all will be slightly different from one another but should be light, sweet and easy drinking. However at the end of the day you get what you pay for.

If your looking for something to mix with nothing wrong with most of these but as a straight whiskey not the most challenging drinks.

Brockagh

IrishWhiskeyCha wrote: »

Basically any Supermarket branded Irish Whiskey will be a cooley creation.

Most are cheap and cheerful creations. And all will be slightly different from one another but should be light, sweet and easy drinking. However at the end of the day you get what you pay for.

If your looking for something to mix with nothing wrong with most of these but as a straight whiskey not the most challenging drinks.

Yeah. IDL used to do a few, like Kilkenny, but not sure if they do any more. A pity.

They'll be along the lines of the Kilbeggan. I think this is a very nice blend, personally, but many think it's a bit uninteresting.

The other supermarket offerings might be along the lines of the Locke's blend and the Locke's malt.

irish_goat

I was never a scotch fan but Tesco Finest 12 Year Reserve (think that's what it's called) is really nice.

ntlbell

Sainsbury’s Dún Léire Aged 8 Years Single Malt won whiskey of the year in Jim murrarys whiskey bible for 2011

I'm not sure if you can still get hold of a bottle or not, I wouldn't mind tasting it's/was very reasonably priced.

(sorry, missed the post on this all ready )