What Whisky/Whiskey are we drinking this month?

dobman88

Some good discussion/debate so far. Great to get different opinions on it.

If it makes any difference my own favourites would be Black Barrel, Roe and Co, both aged in Bourbon casks and the Crested 8 degrees, aged in stout casks I think.

If that makes a difference for a Scotch recommendation towards my preferred tastes.

PokeHerKing

How would Talisker 10 compare to glenfiddich 15? I mostly drink Irish but love the glenfiddich 15 I was gifted.

Bought a bottle of JWB from tesco the other week and wasn't completely sold. I'll get through it though don't worry 😉

odyssey06

PokeHerKing wrote: »

How would Talisker 10 compare to glenfiddich 15? I mostly drink Irish but love the glenfiddich 15 I was gifted.
Bought a bottle of JWB from tesco the other week and wasn't completely sold. I'll get through it though don't worry ��

Talisker 10 would be a very different whisky to Glenfiddich.
It's peated, I think more so than JWB so probably not for you if that's what put you off it.
Glenfiddich is from Speyside which imo is the region closest in flavours to Irish whiskey, a lot of sherry influence also.
Cardhu 12 is €30 in Tesco at the moment, might be a safer punt.
Or if you can pick up a bottle of Kilbeggan single grain in ALDI, that to me has some of the same grassy flavours as Glenfiddich.

L1011

Vast amounts of Talisker - and Bushmills 10 - for 30 in Tesco Maynooth. Was in a hurry and couldn't see Cardhu or JWB.

Weepsie

Talisker makes the absolute best hot Toddie you will ever have, if you like hot whiskeys, which are particularly wonderful this time of year.


My mini whiskeys went down a treat with wedding guests (easy to do with so few guests), and have somehow ended up with more whiskeys in my collection

janiejones

Finished my Kilkerran 12 tonight. Had a real love hate relationship with it. There's a taste of rubber bicycle tyres off it but in a weirdly enjoyable way. But not quite enjoyable enough to go again

Doctor Jimbob

Talisker was the first Scotch I tried after drinking mostly Irish whiskey and I loved it. At 30 euro it's well worth a punt. Very different, but very enjoyable.

newbie runner

Tonight I'm going through those Mitchel & Sons Pot still 50ml samples that were suggested previoulsy.

At the Yellow Spot level now, and it's is a single pot still Irish whiskey which has been matured in three types of cask: American bourbon cask, Spanish Sherry butts and Spanish Malaga casks, and in fairness is just so sweet, that one would wonder why everyone (including myself) hasn't it as a must have in the cabinet.Yummy, bring on the Red and Blue Spot before 11pm.

KnicksInSix

the beer revolu wrote: »

How do the 2 compare?
I haven't had the tullamore but I think the Puca is really rummy!

Of the two I prefer the finish of the Púca, as you said very rummy but quite smooth too and really easy to sip neat. The Tullamore is a nice drop with a bit of a smokey edge with a less rummy finish. It almost tastes like fruity liqueur.

Cazale

Weepsie wrote:

My mini whiskeys went down a treat with wedding guests (easy to do with so few guests), and have somehow ended up with more whiskeys in my collection

Congrats on the wedding and more importantly congrats on the additional whiskey.

Cazale

odyssey06 wrote:

Black Art 25yo (rrp £300!) and Port Charlotte MRC for me... amnt one for peat monsters but thought the 40ppm MRC was tamed and it worked well in the MRC wine cask finish.

odyssey06 wrote:

As you noted, you can certainly see the influence of Mark Reynier of Waterford Distillery with the emphasis on terroir, use of Islay and Scottish grown barley.

Yeah obviously Bruichladdich did it first but I have watched and read so much about Waterford that it felt like Deja vu. Those two were nice too. I wouldn't turn down any of them.

newbie runner

newbie runner wrote: »

Tonight I'm going through those Mitchel & Sons Pot still 50ml samples that were suggested previoulsy.

At the Yellow Spot level now, and it's is a single pot still Irish whiskey which has been matured in three types of cask: American bourbon cask, Spanish Sherry butts and Spanish Malaga casks, and in fairness is just so sweet, that one would wonder why everyone (including myself) hasn't it as a must have in the cabinet.Yummy, bring on the Red and Blue Spot before 11pm.

OK, now that France put the hammer down on Italy,I opened the Red spot and the Blue Spot cask strength sample.

Red spot was lovely,and definately want more (although found it hard to distinguish verses the yellow spot)

The Blue spot to me is so musky, murkey, dusty,old house,carpet, on the taste, sorry, but not for me......I'm not unhappy, but expected something different

Black Sheep

Master of Malt bourbon advent calendar

Basil Hayden - even for a 40% abv bourbon, this is thinner than a 90s Jarvis Cocker. Those who habitually add water to every whisky or bourbon they have, no matter the abv, will end up finding themselves drinking ... Well, something like bourbon-flavoured water, haunted by Jim Beam's disembodied ghost.

Michter's US 1 - A more offbeat but still approachable bourbon. Not even the heftiest at 47.5%, but following on from the Basil Hayden it delivers a vastly more satisfactory body and mouthfeel. Hardly as chewy as some other bourbons but it's fine.

oleras

Bowmore 12 and Aberlour 10 last night.

My first Islay Whisky and was not a massive fan of the Bowmore, love smoked food but the peat was very there both in taste and finish, not so much on the nose, and to be honest felt a little chemically. By the third glass i had become somewhat accustomed, unfortunately it was also the time i was eating chili sensation nuts, opened the peat back up 10 fold. This is considered mild ?

The Aberlour was much more my taste, enjoyed that a little too much...

Black Sheep

oleras wrote: »

Bowmore 12
My first Islay Whisky and was not a massive fan of the Bowmore, love smoked food but the peat was very there both in taste and finish, not so much on the nose, and to be honest felt a little chemically. By the third glass i had become somewhat accustomed, unfortunately it was also the time i was eating chili sensation nuts, opened the peat back up 10 fold. This is considered mild ?
.

For an Islay whisky, I would say the Bowmore 12 is mild in terms of peat, yes.

But I don't think it would be considered mildly peated in terms of Scottish whisky in general... I think by that yardstick it would be considered quite peaty, which then only reflects how peaty many Islay whiskies are, I guess, if it's 'mild' by Islay standards.

2011abc

Tesco ( Maynooth ) had a single bottle of Drumshambo pot still last night at 50 (‘reduced’ from just under 60 )a rare beast I haven’t seen before and could be tempted with due to Oloroso cask finish and Bushmills Malt 10 at a VERY keen 30 ( rrp 40-45ish) .Left with only wine for Mrs but could be tempted back this afternoon .Lidl def have a fair few options but Aldi selection is poor .

1901Rory

Got a Whisky Tasting Collection (12 World & Special Whiskies) set as a gift a while ago. Might make another dent in it tonight.

2011abc

2011abc wrote: »

Tesco ( Maynooth ) had a single bottle of Drumshambo pot still last night at 50 (‘reduced’ from just under 60 )a rare beast I haven’t seen before and could be tempted with due to Oloroso cask finish and Bushmills Malt 10 at a VERY keen 30 ( rrp 40-45ish) .Left with only wine for Mrs but could be tempted back this afternoon .Lidl def have a fair few options but Aldi selection is poor .

Went back tonight and bought both .The Drumshambo is a nice drop got a bit of pot still peppery bite AND Sherry cask sweetness , pale in colour and despite being 43% you can sense the ‘watering down’ ( admittedly with very pure water !But I think I’d probably prefer - who wouldn’t -the 46% Initial Release but wouldn’t want to pay anymore than the €50 I did for this .In fact OBriens have Teeling single Malt for €46/48 ish at moment and would prefer the stronger malty bite and complexity of that )

On balance I would say I like the Drumshambo and would far sooner buy a thirty something euro whiskey for €50 than a forty something for €70 ( as seems to be alas a new trend )


A TINY bit of peat coming out of the Drumshambo after a good few tastes ? ( And the Sherry influence fading ?)


For comparative purposes I had some of the Bush SM 10 and it’s not as nice .Both ( maybe just my mood/‘palate state ‘ ?) feel light and watery rather than oily and mouth feely .The Bush is far darker and packs the malty peppery punch with tongue burning and ( nice enough ) Smokey finish but there’s little else going on .Even Black Bush has more Sherry /Oloroso influence than this .Still if this was 30 euro all year round it could be my daily drinker .

Went back to a drop of the Drumshambo and it tasted ( and even smelled ?!) like a ‘glass of fruit and nut ‘by comparison

Ivefoundgod

2011abc wrote: »

Went back tonight and bought both .The Drumshambo is a nice drop got a bit of pot still peppery bite AND Sherry cask sweetness , pale in colour and despite being 43% you can sense the ‘watering down’ ( admittedly with very pure water !But I think I’d probably prefer - who wouldn’t -the 46% Initial Release but wouldn’t want to pay anymore than the €50 I did for this .In fact OBriens have Teeling single Malt for €46/48 ish at moment and would prefer the stronger malty bite and complexity of that )

On balance I would say I like the Drumshambo and would far sooner buy a thirty something euro whiskey for €50 than a forty something for €70 ( as seems to be alas a new trend )

I've a bottle of the inaugural release in the press but not opened it yet, not sure why but I think I just like admiring the packaging Well give it a go over Christmas though.

Insect Overlord

Did anyone here try the Thomond Gate cask strength single pot still when it came out last year?

They're trying to drum up interest in pre-orders of this year's release. I dunno if I want to commit to it.

Hogzy

Nine.........hundred..........euro

MVR2020 at IWA just now :eek::eek::eek:

oleras

Hogzy wrote: »

Nine.........hundred..........euro

MVR2020 at IWA just now :eek::eek::eek:

Was it a "distinctive" bottle number ?

edit, just checked...wow

2011abc

Ivefoundgod wrote: »

I've a bottle of the inaugural release in the press but not opened it yet, not sure why but I think I just like admiring the packaging Well give it a go over Christmas though.

The packaging on the Drumshambo General Release is AMAZING!The Tesco staff struggled to get the security collar off .It is hard to believe the box doesn’t have copper / metal in there it’s so heavy .And there’s a nice metal badge glued onto the glass . I’d sooner they just made it €5-10 cheaper and kept the extras though.I guess it’s part of the upping of the price to match Scotch strategy :-(

Effects

oleras wrote: »

Was it a "distinctive" bottle number ?

Nah, seems to be a bunch of them selling at around that price. I don't get it.

Also, someone bid €130 for a bottle of Blue Spot!

Hogzy

oleras wrote: »

Was it a "distinctive" bottle number ?

edit, just checked...wow

I wonder how many will be in the next auction. Id say upwards of 20 or 30. It'll be just like the Waterford Bannow Island and Ballymorgan. There was an IWA auction where one or two got in to the auction just in time and made serious money. Then the next auction there was LOADS of them and the value plummeted.

Durag

Knappogue Castle 14 year old (my current favourite whiskey) and Connemara original.

On the note of Knappogue Castle, recently bought their distilled in 91, bottled in 98 release and it was far too sweet for me, not enough kick.

Cazale

Hogzy wrote:

MVR2020 at IWA just now

Madness!

Hogzy

Cazale wrote: »

Madness!

To think people are willing to pay more for a MVR than a Dreamcask 20 or 28.

Its akin to paying 500k for a one bed apartment in Spencer Dock in 2016:







:pac:

Dtp1979

Finished my first Spanish whisky snd just after opening a 10 year old ardbeg

1901Rory

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Finished my first Spanish whisky snd just after opening a 10 year old ardbeg

Out of interest, what’s the Spanish one and was it good?

Cazale

Hogzy wrote:

I wonder how many will be in the next auction. Id say upwards of 20 or 30. It'll be just like the Waterford Bannow Island and Ballymorgan. There was an IWA auction where one or two got in to the auction just in time and made serious money. Then the next auction there was LOADS of them and the value plummeted.

The Waterford bubble burst fairly quick. The pilgrimage (1,100-1,200) and Ratheadon 1.1 (200+) seem to be holding their value. All the other 1.1/1.2 are losing money. For example the sheestown 1.1 and Ratheadon 1.2 only going for around €50-60 which when you include auction charges is a big loss.

Rathclogh and Dunmore which are US only releases went for 190-200.

The new Micro Cuvee Lómhar Bottle went for €500+.

Dtp1979

1901Rory wrote: »

Out of interest, what’s the Spanish one and was it good?

It’s called Mentidero. It’s ok. Nothing to write home about

Hogzy

Cazale wrote: »

The Waterford bubble burst fairly quick. The pilgrimage (1,100-1,200) and Ratheadon 1.1 (200+) seem to be holding their value. All the other 1.1/1.2 are losing money. For example the sheestown 1.1 and Ratheadon 1.2 only going for around €50-60 which when you include auction charges is a big loss.

Rathclogh and Dunmore which are US only releases went for 190-200.

The new Micro Cuvee Lómhar Bottle went for €500+.

I bought a bottle of the Lomhar this week on ebay. Was less than 500 but more than 400. TBH im just going to try offload it or lotto it if I can. Dunno why I bought it! Complete impulse purchase. No interest in the waterford stuff. :rolleyes:

Ivefoundgod

2011abc wrote: »

The packaging on the Drumshambo General Release is AMAZING!The Tesco staff struggled to get the security collar off .It is hard to believe the box doesn’t have copper / metal in there it’s so heavy .And there’s a nice metal badge glued onto the glass . I’d sooner they just made it €5-10 cheaper and kept the extras though.I guess it’s part of the upping of the price to match Scotch strategy :-(

It seems to be a big thing for them overall, their gin is also in really nice bottles and they have special edition ceramic bottling as well.

I think at €50 its not a bad price but there's a lot of competition in that range so not sure I'd go back much. The standard Teeling range is all around that price, Green Spot and RB12 when on offer are there or thereabouts too.

Effects

Cazale wrote: »

Ratheadon 1.2 only going for around €50-60 which when you include auction charges is a big loss.

You can still get Ratheadon 1.2 in off licences!

Hogzy

Effects wrote: »

You can still get Ratheadon 1.2 in off licences!

Id say people are hoping that off licenses in foreign countries dont stock it and so it might attract foreign buyers.

The 1.2's and Sheestown/Ballymorgan 1.1's are very much available in many many countries.

Cazale

Effects wrote: »

You can still get Ratheadon 1.2 in off licences!

One went for €52. It would cost about €6 in fees and charges. It would also cost you a bit to post it to them. So for a bottle that cost €75 the seller got about €36-40.

Effects

Better off just drinking it!

Butson

Anyone seen Makers Mark on offer of late?

Thanks.

Tom Dunne

Butson wrote: »

Anyone seen Makers Mark on offer of late?

Thanks.

Tesco have it for €35, it's usually around the €45 mark (pardon the pun).

Butson

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Tesco have it for €35, it's usually around the €45 mark (pardon the pun).

Cheers Tom

Cazale

Muff Irish Whiskey has launched. The missus loves their potato gin. I'm thinking it's great northern sourced with the descriptions. €51 a bottle. As an aside I don't like their company name 'Muff Liquor company'. Nobody will take that serious in the whiskey world and it detracts from the product. They are based in Moville which is a 20 minute drive from Muff so no need for it.



Muff Irish Whiskey is a 5- part blend of Irish Malt and Grain Whiskeys, each one bringing an individual element. These combine to give multiple layers of flavour on the nose, middle-palate and end of the tasting experience.

- Irish triple distilled grain whiskey in a virgin cask will get a very dark color from the heavy char toasting and give sweet vanilla note.

- Irish triple distilled grain whiskey matured in ex-American bourbon casks will give a light, sweet note to the mix.

- Sherry matured triple distilled malt whiskey gives a body to the drink.

- Double distilled Irish malt whiskey will have fruity-esters present.

- Peated triple distilled malt whiskey is again matured in ex-American bourbon casks and will bring a smoky flavour and long finish.

irish_goat

Cazale wrote: »

Muff Irish Whiskey has launched. The missus loves their potato gin. I'm thinking it's great northern sourced with the descriptions. €51 a bottle. As an aside I don't like their company name 'Muff Liquor company'. Nobody will take that serious in the whiskey world and it detracts from the product. They are based in Moville which is a 20 minute drive from Muff so no need for it.

I live just outside Muff village and I find the brand really embarassing. If they at least were from here I'd get it but the branding and social media posts are sort of thing you'd expect a bunch of teenagers to come up.

The whiskey seems expensive for a non-age statement blend as well and the description reads like they chose the components from a catalogue. Will give it a taste if it appears in the bars here but I'm not expecting it to be worth €51 a bottle.

BonnieSituation

There's a bang of "me too" off it.

The choice of Muff was so painfully deliberate.

Cazale

irish_goat wrote:

I live just outside Muff village and I find the brand really embarassing. If they at least were from here I'd get it but the branding and social media posts are sort of thing you'd expect a bunch of teenagers to come up.

Her sister lives in Quigley point and her aunt is in Culmore so we have had 4-5 bottles of the gin as presents. I wouldn't be shocked if a bottle or sample of the whiskey comes my way. I'll report back here if it does.

irish_goat

Cazale wrote: »

Her sister lives in Quigley point and her aunt is in Culmore so we have had 4-5 bottles of the gin as presents. I wouldn't be shocked if a bottle or sample of the whiskey comes my way. I'll report back here if it does.

I'm in Culmore, tell your aunt to drop a sample round. :pac:

rob316

I pretty much drink green spot all the time but I'm looking for something new. Recommendations?

L1011

Did anyone who managed to get in on the Bushmills tasting offer last week get the box yet?

My slots not til Thursday so plenty of time left.

irish_goat

L1011 wrote: »

Did anyone who managed to get in on the Bushmills tasting offer last week get the box yet?

My slots not til Thursday so plenty of time left.

I was supposed to be on Thursday's but ended up not being able to do it. Didn't get an email either though. Might just join this week instead and get the Zoom link off my brother.

BonnieSituation

L1011 wrote: »

Did anyone who managed to get in on the Bushmills tasting offer last week get the box yet?

My slots not til Thursday so plenty of time left.

My slot's on Thursday as well and not received anything just yet.