What Whisky/Whiskey are we drinking this month?

mik_da_man

killbillvol2 wrote: »

I've had basil on my shopping list since that tasting. I'm going through s lot of it!

It's that recipe in the thread?

Just sipping away at the recently released Dunvilles 20 y/o here tonight, it's a fantastic dram.

Cazale

mik_da_man wrote: »

It's that recipe in the thread?

Just sipping away at the recently released Dunvilles 20 y/o here tonight, it's a fantastic dram.

Took a snap of the recipe. Bit blurry but hopefully you get the idea.

Mellor

limnam wrote: »

I think I bought my first JLR around 2012. Maybe it's just my tastes changing but what's in the bottle today doesn't seem to be anything near what it used to be in the "old label" It used to be very similar to yellow spot IMO

Does anyone know if anything was changed in the whiskey when the labels were changed?

I've no idea if they've change the recipe, somebody might know. But I do know for certain that tastes change dramatically over a time, especially the deeper you get into something.
The win I like a few years ago is completely different to the wine I like now. To the point where I often don't bother tasting it when its free at the cellar door.

The Inbetween is mine

Having a yellow spot while watching the latest episode of The Grand Tour

BonnieSituation

Mellor wrote: »

I've no idea if they've change the recipe, somebody might know. But I do know for certain that tastes change dramatically over a time, especially the deeper you get into something.
The win I like a few years ago is completely different to the wine I like now. To the point where I often don't bother tasting it when its free at the cellar door.

Completely correct on this!

Technophobe

Cazale wrote: »

Poured myself a massive glass of Ardbeg Uigeadail. One of my absolute favorites. The missus giving off about the smell. It stings the nostrils. In a good way.

How smokey is it?

Cazale

Technophobe wrote: »

How smokey is it?

Peat is measured by phenol count in parts per million (PPM). Octomore is off the charts with some of their whisky going to 258 but they are limited releases. Of the regular released whisky Ardbeg would be up at the top.

Ardbeg - 55

Laphroaig - 40

Lagavulin - 35

Caol Ila - 30

Talisker - 25

Highland Park - 20

Connemara - 13

Cazale

Tried some Tamnavulin Double Cask at a tasting and thought it wasn't bad so when I saw it on offer soon after for twenty pounds I bought a bottle. Went on the shelf to be forgotten about but recently opened it and have been sipping it.

I remember reading a review saying there is no bad whiskey but rather timing, mood or environment can affect the cheapest or most expensive whiskey positively or negatively depending on the circumstance. I found that this rang true until now.

Unpleasant raw alcohol and over oaked from poor casks. This stuff is terrible and it could be the first bottle I don't finish. Even worse I'm thinking of throwing it down the sink.

I tried this originally as a 17.5ml sample. It does illustrate to me how limited sampling of whiskey might not always give a true reflection. Sometimes living with the whiskey for a few nights is the better option.

BonnieSituation

Give it to the FIL

Technophobe

Cazale wrote: »

Peat is measured by phenol count in parts per million (PPM). Octomore is off the charts with some of their whisky going to 258 but they are limited releases. Of the regular released whisky Ardbeg would be up at the top.

Ardbeg - 55

Laphroaig - 40

Lagavulin - 35

Caol Ila - 30

Talisker - 25

Highland Park - 20

Connemara - 13

Very informative, thank you!
Have a bottle of Laphroaig QA cask that I open on a special evening or to finish off a night of good whiskies.

Got a Laphroaig 10 for Christmas and have been working my way through it
Must be getting too used to it as doesn't taste or smell as peaty as first couple of nights
Wanted to sample another peaty one so Ardbeg it will be!

Rounding off tonight by drinking Black Bush which I have not tried in a while and is lovely at room temperature with a tiny splash of water..backs up the statement about timing, environment etc as I don't remember it always tasting this nice..

The Inbetween is mine

Kavalan soloist and Yellow Spot for tonight

DARK-KNIGHT

Have 2 10 off 50 vouchers for Dunnes

I'm thinking powers John's lane for 65 or so what other whiskey should I buy to make up the 100

Cazale

BonnieSituation wrote:

Give it to the FIL

I wouldn't even give it to him. The main concern now is that it might damage the drains when I dispose of it.

Cazale

DARK-KNIGHT wrote:

Have 2 10 off 50 vouchers for Dunnes

Be careful with these. With the new laws on the sale of alcohol they are banning the use of vouchers etc for buying drink. Think it's coming into force next week but some places have already stopped their loyalty/voucher schemes for alcohol already. Not sure what the craic is with Dunnes but I'd check it first.

Beanstalk

Looks like Brexit has put an end to bottle deliveries to the north for now, at least through Amazon anyway...

Mellor

Cazale wrote: »

Be careful with these. With the new laws on the sale of alcohol they are banning the use of vouchers etc for buying drink. Think it's coming into force next week but some places have already stopped their loyalty/voucher schemes for alcohol already. Not sure what the craic is with Dunnes but I'd check it first.

Just run €10 worth of whatever through with it.

Insect Overlord

The terms and conditions for the vouchers are printed at the bottom of the receipt, including the date when they will no longer work with alcohol purchases.

Fionn1952

Had two very different drinks most recently.

A life occasion led to myself and the wife buying a bottle of Redbreast 27, which I can't ever see being surpassed as the finest quality whiskey I've ever had the luck of passing my lips. Still picking out flavour points after the glass was long finished. The ruby port cask finishing is very apparent. Smooth for a cask strength bottling too, and I find myself preferring it without the drop of water I'd usually add to over strengthed whiskies.

I was also gifted a bottle of Laphroaig over Christmas, which lucky for me the wife doesn't like. Couldn't be a more different dram. If the Redbreast was a night of riding, the Laphroaig is a punch in the face; such aggressive smoke/peat. A great one for sitting by the fire when it's miserable out.

On the budget friendly side of things, I was also gifted a bottle of Slane whiskey, which I've yet to open but I'm expecting to use for mixed drinks but I'll give it a taste straight to test the waters first.

L1011

Mellor wrote: »

Just run €10 worth of whatever through with it.

The alcohol doesn't (well, won't next week) exist as far as the voucher is concerned, so you need 50 of non-alcohol products to get the 10 off.

2011abc

Fionn1952 wrote: »

Had two very different drinks most recently.

A life occasion led to myself and the wife buying a bottle of Redbreast 27, which I can't ever see being surpassed as the finest quality whiskey I've ever had the luck of passing my lips. Still picking out flavour points after the glass was long finished. The ruby port cask finishing is very apparent. Smooth for a cask strength bottling too, and I find myself preferring it without the drop of water I'd usually add to over strengthed whiskies.

I was also gifted a bottle of Laphroaig over Christmas, which lucky for me the wife doesn't like. Couldn't be a more different dram. If the Redbreast was a night of riding, the Laphroaig is a punch in the face; such aggressive smoke/peat. A great one for sitting by the fire when it's miserable out.

On the budget friendly side of things, I was also gifted a bottle of Slane whiskey, which I've yet to open but I'm expecting to use for mixed drinks but I'll give it a taste straight to test the waters first.

Careful now or the Celtic Whiskey Shop may not sell to you !There was a right ole hoohaa about people describing whiskey in a sexual context a couple of months ago .(They subsequently refused to sell what is literally the whiskey bible )

lawrencesummers

2011abc wrote: »

Careful now or the Celtic Whiskey Shop may not sell to you !There was a right ole hoohaa about people describing whiskey in a sexual context a couple of months ago .(They subsequently refused to sell what is literally the whiskey bible )

He could have been talking about horses, rollercoasters bicycles or camels!!!

Cazale

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https://www.masterofmalt.com/spirit/bourbon-bourbon/bourbon-bourbon-spirit/

Arnold Layne

Insect Overlord wrote: »

The terms and conditions for the vouchers are printed at the bottom of the receipt, including the date when they will no longer work with alcohol purchases.

Just checked my Dunnes €10 euro off vouchers. They all state exclusion from alcohol purchases from January 11th 2021.

Cazale

Technophobe wrote:

Got a Laphroaig 10 for Christmas and have been working my way through it Must be getting too used to it as doesn't taste or smell as peaty as first couple of nights Wanted to sample another peaty one so Ardbeg it will be!

The Uigeadail and Corryvreckan are the two most interesting I think. The Uigeadail is aged in ex sherry and bourbon and the Corryvreckan is aged in French oak and Burgundy wine.

Fionn1952

2011abc wrote: »

Careful now or the Celtic Whiskey Shop may not sell to you !There was a right ole hoohaa about people describing whiskey in a sexual context a couple of months ago .(They subsequently refused to sell what is literally the whiskey bible )

On the advice of my lawyer and the poster below you, I'm going to claim I was talking about camels!

Would love to read up on the CWS schebango if anyone has a link?

lawrencesummers

Fionn1952 wrote: »

On the advice of my lawyer and the poster below you, I'm going to claim I was talking about camels!

Would love to read up on the CWS schebango if anyone has a link?

Not much to it if you ask me.

Female whiskey writer I think her name is Becky Parkin or something called out the author (don’t know his name) of the whiskey bible for his antiquated and supposedly chauvinistic approach to reviewing whiskey.

I don’t read any of what any of these people say in reviews so could be wrong, but you could look at it as part #metoo part cancel culture or whatever, draw your own conclusions because I never followed what any of them said.

2011abc

You could have a browse round about post #6038 on this thread Fionn

Black Sheep

I think Jim Murray is a tough old coot and will probably be around for a while longer, even after the kicking he got. But I am aware there was quite a bit of upset caused to the small number of people he employs, and I suspect this bothered him more than anything else.

I don't want to rehash what I wrote earlier in this thread - my views haven't changed. If anything I am a little more cynical about what motivated the article now than I was at the time . It seems as if a reputation and niche within the whisky world was carved out by means of this whole episode, and its still being traded on.

Cazale

Here is a review which contains some of his views on women.

2011abc

Cazale wrote: »

Here is a review which contains some of his views on women.

That would mist up the eyes sure enough.

lawrencesummers

Cazale wrote: »

Here is a review which contains some of his views on women.

So I’m not missing anything by missing his reviews. I must say the sexism isnt jumping put at me as much as the general low quality of that as a review, I’ve learned nothing from that review that would help or dissuade me try that particular spirit.

A bit like being a golf commentator It must be a hard job to try and come up with something original to say so often.

Cazale

lawrencesummers wrote:

So I’m not missing anything by missing his reviews. I must say the sexism isnt jumping put at me as much as the general low quality of that as a review, I’ve learned nothing from that review that would help or dissuade me try that particular spirit.

The vast majority of the reviews are standard notes about the whiskey. I think the fact he toasted the life of a woman that clearly had an impact on him with that particular whiskey is a review in itself.

lawrencesummers

Cazale wrote: »

The vast majority of the reviews are standard notes about the whiskey. I think the fact he toasted the life of a woman that clearly had an impact on him with that particular whiskey is a review in itself.

I’m not seeing it.

It’s a whiskey review not an autobiography, but if that appeals to people more power to them.

killbillvol2

lawrencesummers wrote: »

So I’m not missing anything by missing his reviews. I must say the sexism isnt jumping put at me as much as the general low quality of that as a review, I’ve learned nothing from that review that would help or dissuade me try that particular spirit.

A bit like being a golf commentator It must be a hard job to try and come up with something original to say so often.

It obviously went over your head.

Felexicon

lawrencesummers wrote: »

I’m not seeing it.

It’s a whiskey review not an autobiography, but if that appeals to people more power to them.

If you can't understand what his thoughts are on the whiskey from that review you may go back to reading Ann and Barry.

2011abc

That was a VERY exceptional review for him ,usually theyre far shorter ,sometimes he CAN be a bit sexist but it takes all sorts ...

Mellor

2011abc wrote: »

There was a right ole hoohaa about people describing whiskey in a sexual context a couple of months ago

It was sexism not sexual context that caused the hop-haa.
Not being able to tell the difference is essentially the issue.

Edit:
To add, not being able to tell is the issue of his detractors as much as his reviews.

Cazale

Following on from the peat chat the other day here is a list of ppm levels. Good way of starting off and going through them. I must try get a Irish one together.


0 ppm—Hazelburn 10 year old
Pears, toffee, herbal tobacco, cinnamon, vanilla, and cocoa powder.

<1 ppm—Old Pulteney 12 year old
Almonds, honey, and nuts with wood spices.

0.5-2 ppm—Bunnahabhain 12 year old
Nutty, toffee, light molasses, vanilla fudge, citrus, dark berries, and a hint of brine.

12-13 ppm—Ardmore Traditional
Sweet notes of toffee and caramel, damp, earthy peat, and bourbon-like notes.

12-20 ppm—Kilchoman 100% Islay
Smoke, lemon curd, vanilla, allspice, baked apples, dark chocolate, and nutty oak.

15 ppm—Tomatin Cù Bòcan
Lemonade, coconut, malt, and honey, plus cinnamon and cloves.

15-25 ppm—Springbank 10 year old
Citrus fruit, cereal, and mildly smoky oak, as well as vanilla toffee, cedar wood, hazelnuts, and coconut.

20 ppm—Arran Machrie Moor
Peat, spicy malt, toffee, lemon, nuts, and chocolate.

20 ppm—Highland Park 12 year old
Fragrant and floral, with hints of heather and spice, as well as honey, citrus fruits, and malt.

25-30 ppm—Bowmore 15 year old
Lush fruit, raisin, pot-still rum, Heath bars, citrus, and wood spices.

30 ppm—Balvenie Peat Week 2003
Islay-like phenols, sweet floral notes, vanilla, citrus fruits, and honey.

35-45 ppm—Ledaig 10 year old
Ripe barley, honeyed vanilla, black licorice stick, espresso bean, and olive brine.

40 ppm—Port Charlotte 10 year old
Maritime notes, with sweet caramel, coconut, and orchard fruits.

40-50 ppm—Laphroaig 10 year old
Iodine, charcoal, seaweed, black pepper, fruit, vanilla, caramel, and sweet oak.

45 ppm—BenRiach 10 year old Curiositas
Earthy peat, hot road tar, honey, tropical and dried fruits, allspice, and oak.

45 ppm—Glenglassaugh Torfa
Heathery peat with dried fruits, malt, cream soda, ripe peaches, chili, and ginger.

50 ppm—Kilchoman Machir Bay
Smoke, sea-washed rock, light flowers, and hot sand; sweet and smoky, with a chalky edge.

55 ppm—Ardbeg 10 year old
Smoked haddock, citrus fruits, milk chocolate, pipe tobacco, black coffee, and licorice.

80 ppm—Longrow 18 year old
Sweet vanilla, ripe apple, chimney soot, charcuterie, licorice, coffee beans, brine, and chili.

>100 ppm—Ardbeg Supernova
Minty and sweet spice, seaweed, smoked fish, and dried grasses.

131 ppm—Octomore 1.1
Cigar smoke and ash, licorice root, bacon fat, Kalamata olive, orchard fruit, honeyed malt, brine, and soft vanilla.

258 ppm—Octomore 6.3
Coastal brine, mint, thyme, grapes, cherries, chocolate, and oak.

309 ppm—Octomore 8.3
Barbecue smokiness, citrus fruit, earthy peat, full-bodied red wine, milk chocolate, ginger, and chili.

adrian522

Did an bruichladdich tasting there before Christmas, Port Charlotte and a selection of Octomore. The Port Charlotte was more than enough peat for me, 've since picked up a bottle in fact.

The Octomore were also really good but it really is a lot of peat and to be honest I'd have much preferred to have tasted them one per sitting rather than 4 in the one go.

Good distillery though.

Felexicon

Cazale wrote: »

Tried some Tamnavulin Double Cask at a tasting and thought it wasn't bad so when I saw it on offer soon after for twenty pounds I bought a bottle. Went on the shelf to be forgotten about but recently opened it and have been sipping it.

I remember reading a review saying there is no bad whiskey but rather timing, mood or environment can affect the cheapest or most expensive whiskey positively or negatively depending on the circumstance. I found that this rang true until now.

Unpleasant raw alcohol and over oaked from poor casks. This stuff is terrible and it could be the first bottle I don't finish. Even worse I'm thinking of throwing it down the sink.

I tried this originally as a 17.5ml sample. It does illustrate to me how limited sampling of whiskey might not always give a true reflection. Sometimes living with the whiskey for a few nights is the better option.

I think we did the same tasting and the Tamnavulin was a big favourite across the board that night.

Greg81

Good price

Weller Special Reserve Bourbon €40

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/We...?search=weller

Cazale

So I have been researching a bit more on ppm and peated whiskey. Here are some of my notes I took on Scottish peat for anyone interested. I had a couple of glasses of Talisker 10 to keep in with the theme of the thread.

Most Scotch Single Malt is actually made with unpeated barley. Peat is used mainly in the distilleries located in the islands of Skye, Orkney, Mull and Islay.

The ppm values used by the distilleries to promote their product usually refer the concentration of total phenols in the barley and not in the distillate.

Different distilleries measure ppm at different stages. Bruichladdich measure numbers when they read the highest. They have tall stills and run a very slow distillation which cuts down the phenols that make it through the spirit safe.

Terroir. Peat from Speyside has very different composition to peat from Orkney or Islay. Peat coming from different locations contribute to specific flavours.

Water used in distillation may run over peat beds so even many unpeated whiskies still have phenolic character.

The same PPM level can vary widely in flavor profile and smokiness. Not one type of phenol. Certain types of phenols might be more smoky/meaty while others are more medicinal. PPM doesn't differentiate between different types. Doesn't always equate to the actual peatiness of the final product

Double vs triple distillation can make a difference. As do cut points. The lower you cut, the more peatiness remains in the spirit.

That’s partly how Octomore is so drinkable at 200+ ppm at only 5 years of age. High cut points.

Drying the malted barley with peat gives some pleasant smoky flavours to the spirit and allows a better storage than non-peated malt, but might also reduce the yield (number of litres of pure alcohol by tonne of malt).

Distilleries prefer to use the upper part of the cut peat because the top layers are richer and more rooty. The upper peat layer generates more smoke and is ideal for flavouring the barley.

For domestic use, the lower part is preferred; since it will burn better, generate more heat and less smoke.

Depending on the degree of peatiness, peat can be from any time for up to 48h. After 48h, the husk (envelope) of the barley grain will be dry and prolonging the exposure of the barley to the peat smoke will not increase the peaty character of the spirit.

The ppm used for the different distilleries given are usually the concentration of phenol of the barley used by the distillery before milling and distillation.

The concentration in phenols in the distillate flowing out of the still is between 30 and 50 percent of the initial barley concentration.

For example, the barley for Ardbeg is peated
to 54 ppm of phenol and the final concentration in the new make is between 23-24 ppm.

Malt Phenols
Ardbeg: 54 ppm
Bowmore: 25 ppm
Bruichladdich: 3 - 4 ppm
Port Charlotte: 40 ppm
Octomore: 129 ppm
Lagavulin: 35 ppm
Laphroaig: 43 ppm

Distillate Phenols
Ardbeg: 23-24 ppm
Bowmore: 8-10 ppm
Bruichladdich: trace
Port Charlotte: 20 - 25 ppm
Octomore: 46.4 ppm
Lagavulin: 16-18 ppm
Laphroaig: 25 ppm

The peatiness of the barley can be controlled by the amount of peat burnt, the duration of the peat smoke and by the humidity (moisture) of the barley. The optimal moisture is about 25%.

Changing the temperature of the peat fire between 400 and 750°C can significantly modify the balance of phenol

The heavily peated single-malts are made of
barley of more than 30 ppm of phenol, medium-peated barley of about 20 ppm and lightly peated below 15 ppm.

The concentration of phenols contributing to the peaty character decreases with time. For example, Laphroaig’s barley is 40 ppm, the new make spirit is 25 ppm. The phenol content drops to 8-10 ppm in the 10 year old and down to 6 ppm in the 30 year old.

Depending on the structure and the origin of the peat, the duration and temperature of the peat fire, and the distillation, the peaty character might be quite different between the products of two distilleries.

Cazale

As alluded to before I'm gonna launch a blog on.whiskey one day. As part of that I had an interesting chat with the former Distillery Manager at Great Northern and also the owner of W.D. O’Connell Whiskey Merchants on Irish peated whiskey. Some quotes below:

I decided to measure the ppm of the distillate as there wasn’t too much or any current data on triple distilled peated whiskey in Ireland - Allan Anderson former Distillery Manager at The Great Northern Distillery.

PPMs are not an exact science. We don’t check them regularly. The last lab analysis done was in 2019 on the ‘16 distillate [Bill Phil] and it was at 16.7 PPM. A good rule of thumb for triple distillation is 1/3 of the starting point which in this case was 55ppm so it’s pretty accurate - Daithí O’Connell founder of W.D. O’Connell Whiskey Merchants.

I'm gonna try have a conversation with a few others involved in Irish peated whiskey as it's one of my favourite parts of the Irish whiskey revival. Here is a snippet of a draft from a much longer review of Teeling Blackpitts.

Heavily peated malt at 55ppm Blackpitts is distilled from an initial abv of 8% to 82%. The peat is reduced to 15ppm on the third distillation which reduces some of the traditional medicinal character you would associate with double distilled Scottish Peated Single Malt. The triple distillation will also concentrate more fruit notes from the fermentation process and allows the barbeque smoke characteristics to come to the fore.

Teeling were unable to source the 150-200 tonnes of peated malt they require in Ireland. Seemingly no suppliers were willing to risk contaminating barley delivered to Guinness and Heineken so the peated malt comes from Glenesk in Speyside which is a woody turf closest to Irish peat.

Nose – Sweet fruitiness with a hint of barbeque smoke. The smoke lingers rather than the upfront aggressiveness you get from an Islay peat. Chocolate, butterscotch, cloves, resin.

Mouth - Barbequed meats, grilled pineapple, sweet fruits, caramel, honey

Finish – Medium finish of savoury smoked bacon, salted caramel and sweet pineapple

BonnieSituation

That's a great read lad. Cheers.

Just 26 days to go before I can crack open a bottle again...

Cazale

BonnieSituation wrote:

Just 26 days to go before I can crack open a bottle again...

You off the whiskey for the month?

Slattsy

Cazale wrote: »

As alluded to before I'm gonna launch a blog on.whiskey one day. As part of that I had an interesting chat with the former Distillery Manager at Great Northern and also the owner of W.D. O’Connell Whiskey Merchants on Irish peated whiskey. Some quotes below:

I decided to measure the ppm of the distillate as there wasn’t too much or any current data on triple distilled peated whiskey in Ireland - Allan Anderson former Distillery Manager at The Great Northern Distillery.

PPMs are not an exact science. We don’t check them regularly. The last lab analysis done was in 2019 on the ‘16 distillate [Bill Phil] and it was at 16.7 PPM. A good rule of thumb for triple distillation is 1/3 of the starting point which in this case was 55ppm so it’s pretty accurate - Daithí O’Connell founder of W.D. O’Connell Whiskey Merchants.

I'm gonna try have a conversation with a few others involved in Irish peated whiskey as it's one of my favourite parts of the Irish whiskey revival. Here is a snippet of a draft from a much longer review of Teeling Blackpitts.

Heavily peated malt at 55ppm Blackpitts is distilled from an initial abv of 8% to 82%. The peat is reduced to 15ppm on the third distillation which reduces some of the traditional medicinal character you would associate with double distilled Scottish Peated Single Malt. The triple distillation will also concentrate more fruit notes from the fermentation process and allows the barbeque smoke characteristics to come to the fore.

Teeling were unable to source the 150-200 tonnes of peated malt they require in Ireland. Seemingly no suppliers were willing to risk contaminating barley delivered to Guinness and Heineken so the peated malt comes from Glenesk in Speyside which is a woody turf closest to Irish peat.

Nose – Sweet fruitiness with a hint of barbeque smoke. The smoke lingers rather than the upfront aggressiveness you get from an Islay peat. Chocolate, butterscotch, cloves, resin.

Mouth - Barbequed meats, grilled pineapple, sweet fruits, caramel, honey

Finish – Medium finish of savoury smoked bacon, salted caramel and sweet pineapple

Good write up.

I was given a bottle of Blackpitts for Christmas and i didnt like it one bit. Its obviously a very young whiskey with a very artificial and weak peat finish.

Another poor Teeling offering in my opinion. I didnt enjoy the Single Malts or the Brabazon versions they have or the small batch stuff. A brand i just cant get my head around as most people tend to enjoy Teeling.

Edit - i do get a smokey pineapple finish also, so we're not far off there.

Insect Overlord

I'll take the hit if you want to give away the rest of the bottle.

Useful.Idiot

Very fascinating write-up Cazale, thanks!

Slattsy wrote: »

I was given a bottle of Blackpitts for Christmas and i didnt like it one bit. Its obviously a very young whiskey with a very artificial and weak peat finish.

I only had a tasting sample of it but I completely agree. The smoke wasn't well balanced at all but to be honest I don't think I've liked any of Teeling's younger whiskeys. I'm right there with you about Teeling in general; the only whiskey of theirs I've really enjoyed was a seasonal cask malt that you can only get at the distillery.

I'd put the Connemara peated in the same bracket, I think it's just unpleasant to drink.

As regards peated Irish whiskeys I think my favourite I've had so far has been the Dunville's Three Crowns peated cask, where the smokiness comes from the cask instead of the malt, so it's an interesting take on it.

Slightly related, my local distillery (Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk, formerly a Harp Brewery) who usually mostly wholesale whiskey, have a limited exclusive release with Whiskey Factor called An Fear Grinn Against The Grain, which marries a peated malt with a stout cask aged malt. Was gifted a bottle of it and the bottle is a bit weird looking but the whiskey itself is quite nice, the smoke is pretty soft and it's fairly sweet too.

The Two Stacks Smoke & Mirrors sample in December's Three Drams tasting was fairly nice too!

conor678

Just opened a bottle of Sexton whiskey I got for Christmas.

Very nice and as one poster alluded to previously is a lot like Bushmills Black Bush. I am aware that is it Bushmills stock but find it a tad fruitier then Black Bush. Very nice whiskey and not bad for the price.

BonnieSituation

Cazale wrote: »

You off the whiskey for the month?

All alcohol. I do it every January and usually feel the better for it after a typically gluttonous November and December, but this year is a bit different though...

To go from a Dry January after a preceding month in Japan and then into a Pandemic last year was a bit galling it must be said! :(:(:(