What Whisky/Whiskey are we drinking this month?

Cazale

Three Drams have a tasting tonight that they sold over 1,600 packs worldwide for. Some success for them.

lawrencesummers

Cazale wrote: »

Three Drams have a tasting tonight that they sold over 1,600 packs worldwide for. Some success for them.

That’s brilliant. I remember him on the late late, he was saying that he had been working in the middle East, I think as a pilot and setup Irishmalts and three drams when he got let go because of covid.

Fair play to him. I’m signed up and it’s a great way to taste all the different whiskeys that you wouldn’t otherwise

L1011

lawrencesummers wrote: »

Breach it the same way we give multinationals their own tax rate?

We don't, though. There are some disputed tax treatments, at best - it isn't a different tax rate and as of now its not found to be illegal either - EC are appealing.


And anyway, that's not even vaguely comparable to an obvious and blatant breach of Single Market rules.

the beer revolu

lawrencesummers wrote: »

A special duty rate for 100% Irish products would do a lot for local small producers of beer and spirits

Somehow, I think if the French can't offer tax incentives on French wine, I don't think we'd get away with it.
Really, why are we even discussing this?

Black Sheep

BonnieSituation wrote: »

I mulled over that for a long while. What's it like?

It’s special by virtue of what it is, and I enjoyed giving a sample to a Venezuelan friend who is really into rum...

...But in taste terms I prefer what I have had from Appleton, Cacique and Diplomatico. But I’m not a big rum guy, so I make no firm claim about it.

BonnieSituation

Black Sheep wrote: »

It’s special by virtue of what it is, and I enjoyed giving a sample to a Venezuelan friend who is really into rum...

...But in taste terms I prefer what I have had from Appleton, Cacique and Diplomatico. But I’m not a big rum guy, so I make no firm claim about it.

What did the Venezuelan say?

odyssey06

2011abc wrote: »

Once again here to sing the praises of the Tesco Irish Finest Single Malt at €34.43 .It’s a smashing , refined , complex drop .My last post was expressing considerable reservations about the Lidl / West Cork IPA cask Single malt .I definitely think going up (from its €26) to this or ‘down’ to a Bush White at the target €20 is preferable .
I pride myself in learning to differentiate the holy quadrilogy of ‘Irish ‘( Paddy/Power/Jamie/Bush )by taste but as for the nose I wouldn’t have a clue ....THIS Tesco Finest Irish SM I would go so far as to say is the ONLY whiskey that I could detect by nose .It’s that good .
With Tyrconnell and Sexton at 40 and Slane ( fond memories but not within €2 of the Tesco )at 32 this is my current moderately priced star

Have you tried any of the West Cork Small Batch cash finish series?

I've sampled a few rum cask finishes lately and this is very nice.
I would prefer it to the Tesco Finest SM (although for rum finishes I would still go for the Tullamore Dew).

If you are a single malt fan and into WCD would be worth checking out.
Matured in first fill bourbon casks & finished in Consorcio Licorero Nacional Panamanian rum casks. Bottled at 43%.

Delivered nationwide by West Cork for €34 + €5 delivery.
https://shop.westcorkdistillers.com/ie/single-malt/west-cork-single-malt-rum-cask-finished

They also have a miniature set of all 5 cask finishes for €23. Sherry, Virgin Oak, Calvados and Port make up the four other cask finishes from this series.
https://shop.westcorkdistillers.com/ie/home/west-cork-single-malt-cask-finishes-minis

ctlsleh

JJ Corry Clare
Anyone tasted them and have any recommendations?
Slainte!

odyssey06

ctlsleh wrote: »

JJ Corry Clare
Anyone tasted them and have any recommendations?

Lovely, innovative and upfront about their blending but frustrating and a tad pricey.

Frustrating because of their whiskies I have sampled and enjoyed - Gael batch #2, Banner County blend, Sonas, Gold Rush I dont think any are readily available.

Technophobe

Starting with a Nikka Coffee Grain tonight.
Lovely deep taste to it..Nice with a drop of water too, though I think I prefer it without in this case..

dos29

odyssey06 wrote: »

Lovely, innovative and upfront about their blending but frustrating and a tad pricey.

Frustrating because of their whiskies I have sampled and enjoyed - Gael batch #2, Banner County blend, Sonas, Gold Rush I dont think any are readily available.

Someone here posted that Gael batch 2 is back on sale in Celtic Whiskey Shop, and it's still there.

ctlsleh

odyssey06 wrote: »

Lovely, innovative and upfront about their blending but frustrating and a tad pricey.

Frustrating because of their whiskies I have sampled and enjoyed - Gael batch #2, Banner County blend, Sonas, Gold Rush I dont think any are readily available.

The Gael batch 2 and batch 3 are available on their website......are they worth it?

Separate subject......Opened a bottle of Yellow Spot tonight, my Christmas present to myself, it’s good but not sure it’s €80, think Waterford is better for the money.....

newbie runner

ctlsleh wrote: »

The Gael batch 2 and batch 3 are available on their website......are they worth it?

Separate subject......Opened a bottle of Yellow Spot tonight, my Christmas present to myself, it’s good but not sure it’s €80, think Waterford is better for the money.....

The poor "Yellow Spot" hasn't been very well received lately in comparison to the Green Spot ,and as you mention you enjoyed the Waterford range more.I thought it was really spicy,honey,peppery which I liked when I last sampled it.Must try those Gael releases also very soon.

odyssey06

ctlsleh wrote: »

The Gael batch 2 and batch 3 are available on their website......are they worth it?

Separate subject......Opened a bottle of Yellow Spot tonight, my Christmas present to myself, it’s good but not sure it’s €80, think Waterford is better for the money.....

Havent had Batch 3 ... Batch 2 I would go for.
Its a fantastic whiskey. But at that price range a lot will come down to personal taste preference as they are v different types of whiskies. They should all be fine whiskies in terms of quality.

odyssey06

newbie runner wrote: »

The poor "Yellow Spot" hasn't been very well received lately in comparison to the Green Spot ,and as you mention you enjoyed the Waterford range more.I thought it was really spicy,honey,peppery which I liked when I last sampled it.Must try those Gael releases also very soon.

Green Spot chateau montelena cask finish is worth checking out.

spiritcrusher

Any recommendations for someone looking to get a moderately priced bottle this weekend for his birthday? Something in around €60/70 I think. Wouldn't have been a major whiskey drinker until recently but have been enjoying things like Powers Three Swallow and Green Spot recently and am interested in trying some more "decent" whiskies. Been thinking about getting a Redbreast 12yr old for the last while.

odyssey06

spiritcrusher wrote: »

Any recommendations for someone looking to get a moderately priced bottle this weekend for his birthday? Something in around €60/70 I think. Wouldn't have been a major whiskey drinker until recently but have been enjoying things like Powers Three Swallow and Green Spot recently and am interested in trying some more "decent" whiskies. Been thinking about getting a Redbreast 12yr old for the last while.

Cant go wrong with RB12.

A left field suggestion would be to buy the Midleton Pot Still tasting set and another miniature set or glass gift pack. For someone starting out they are good way to sample a wider variety with the pubs closed.

Eg Fercullen / Powerscourt have some nice sets

https://ie.irishmalts.com/single-malt/fercullen-14-year-old-gift-pack-20cl-glass

https://ie.irishmalts.com/home/fercullen-trilogy-gift-pack-3-x-5cl

Quackster

odyssey06 wrote: »

Cant go wrong with RB12.

A left field suggestion would be to buy the Midleton Pot Still tasting set and another miniature set or glass gift pack. For someone starting out they are good way to sample a wider variety with the pubs closed.

Eg Fercullen / Powerscourt have some nice sets

https://ie.irishmalts.com/single-malt/fercullen-14-year-old-gift-pack-20cl-glass

https://ie.irishmalts.com/home/fercullen-trilogy-gift-pack-3-x-5cl

I'd second that.

Dunnes, for example, stocks a number of miniature sets including Midleton, Redbreast, Teeling etc. so you could get two or three of them to the value of €60/€70 and explore a good number of Irish whiskeys.

ZV Yoda

Any ideas where I’d get a bottle of Blue Spot?

I’m curious to try it, but seems to be hard to find.

Insect Overlord

ZV Yoda wrote: »

Any ideas where I’d get a bottle of Blue Spot?

I’m curious to try it, but seems to be hard to find.

I bought a bottle online when it was launched. The downside is the added delivery cost. Looks like it's out of stock now on Mitchell & Sons.

L1011

Best mates birthday last week and mine in the middle of next week, so splitting a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 for some boozier than usual cocktails over the weekend. Not the normal way of handling it for not normal times.

thethinone

ZV Yoda wrote: »

Any ideas where I’d get a bottle of Blue Spot?

I’m curious to try it, but seems to be hard to find.

What part of the country are you in? I saw it in a SuperValu in Waterford in December so I presume it would have been fairly handy to pick one up in most decent off licenses but maybe it’s gone scarce again.

thethinone

spiritcrusher wrote: »

Any recommendations for someone looking to get a moderately priced bottle this weekend for his birthday? Something in around €60/70 I think. Wouldn't have been a major whiskey drinker until recently but have been enjoying things like Powers Three Swallow and Green Spot recently and am interested in trying some more "decent" whiskies. Been thinking about getting a Redbreast 12yr old for the last while.

If he likes the 3 swallows then Powers John’s Lane might do the trick. It goes for about €70.

killbillvol2

ZV Yoda wrote: »

Any ideas where I’d get a bottle of Blue Spot?

I’m curious to try it, but seems to be hard to find.

I got one from a local publican for a reasonable mark up. He wasn't going to be selling it any time soon so it suited us both. Haven't seen it in stock anywhere else recently.

Black Sheep

BonnieSituation wrote: »

What did the Venezuelan say?

He was a bit condescending about it... National pride I think. Said what would Irish people know about making rum

Can’t begrudge him that when I preferred Cacique and Diplomatico myself.

newbie runner

First time having a Fercullen.Really enjoying it.Very smooth to begin with, and spicy fruity notes really kick off at the finish.

ZV Yoda

thethinone wrote: »

What part of the country are you in? I saw it in a SuperValu in Waterford in December so I presume it would have been fairly handy to pick one up in most decent off licenses but maybe it’s gone scarce again.

I’m on the Nth Kildare / Dublin border. I’ve tried our Suoervalu & the local off-licences. None of them have it. Seems to be sold out everywhere online too.

dobman88

Blue spot is in O Briens Ashbourne if you can get across there. North Kildare, Dublin border should have tou close enough.

I know its there cos I walked past the delivery man with his pallet outside during the week waiting for it to open and "spotted" all the spots on it.

Would hardly have sold out already.

Fionn1952

Cracked open a bottle of the Fercullen 18 tonight. Not sold on it at all, massively overpriced to my palate. Way more acetyl flavours than I'd expect from a bottle of that age and price. Genuinely thought it tasted more like a mid priced blended dram than any sort of premium single malt.

FileNotFound

Wandering through the method and madness range.

So far enjoying them.

2011abc

spiritcrusher wrote: »

Any recommendations for someone looking to get a moderately priced bottle this weekend for his birthday? Something in around €60/70 I think. Wouldn't have been a major whiskey drinker until recently but have been enjoying things like Powers Three Swallow and Green Spot recently and am interested in trying some more "decent" whiskies. Been thinking about getting a Redbreast 12yr old for the last while.

At 60 Teeling Single Malt (55)
At 70 Teeling Brabazon 2 (75)

I’m not sure there IS a 60 something sweet spot in my opinion ( JJ Corry Gael2 500ml -best of the three mentioned if you can find it )

Enjoying Tesco Finest Single Malt at €34 this week

2011abc

Fionn1952 wrote: »

Cracked open a bottle of the Fercullen 18 tonight. Not sold on it at all, massively overpriced to my palate. Way more acetyl flavours than I'd expect from a bottle of that age and price. Genuinely thought it tasted more like a mid priced blended dram than any sort of premium single malt.

There are a few brands that seem to have as their only selling point that they’re NOT a big outfit but yet their stuff isn’t even as good as the mainstream players basic stock .I think they’re hoping for a cut of the export/ tourist market

Also unless I’m mistaken the entire process requires serious skill (especially to be above average) and errors can lead to nasty products

odyssey06

Fionn1952 wrote: »

Cracked open a bottle of the Fercullen 18 tonight. Not sold on it at all, massively overpriced to my palate. Way more acetyl flavours than I'd expect from a bottle of that age and price. Genuinely thought it tasted more like a mid priced blended dram than any sort of premium single malt.

Their 10 and 14 are v nice. I think a former Cooley distiller is their main guy working with bought in stock he originally worked with.
Sounds like 18 is a misfire.

Fionn1952

odyssey06 wrote: »

Their 10 and 14 are v nice. I think a former Cooley distiller is their main guy working with bought in stock he originally worked with.
Sounds like 18 is a misfire.

Aye, I was told that it was the Cooley master distiller and he had his choice of casks to take with him.

Looking at reviews online, it seems to be well received so maybe its just me, but it just didn't do it for me.

odyssey06

FileNotFound wrote: »

Wandering through the method and madness range.
So far enjoying them.

Really liked the method and madness single grain spanish oak.
Must get around to sampling some more.

FileNotFound

odyssey06 wrote: »

Really liked the method and madness single grain spanish oak.
Must get around to sampling some more.

Loving them all. Even the accai wood one.

Prices seem to have dropped picked up some in CWS for 70 a bottle.

FileNotFound

spiritcrusher wrote: »

Any recommendations for someone looking to get a moderately priced bottle this weekend for his birthday? Something in around €60/70 I think. Wouldn't have been a major whiskey drinker until recently but have been enjoying things like Powers Three Swallow and Green Spot recently and am interested in trying some more "decent" whiskies. Been thinking about getting a Redbreast 12yr old for the last while.

I think you've mentioned one of the best choices there.

RB12 is rock solid and a lovely tipple. It and Greenspot are my go too's. So much better than most of the overpriced stuff landing everywhere.

dobman88

dobman88 wrote: »

Blue spot is in O Briens Ashbourne if you can get across there. North Kildare, Dublin border should have tou close enough.

I know its there cos I walked past the delivery man with his pallet outside during the week waiting for it to open and "spotted" all the spots on it.

Would hardly have sold out already.

Just popped in.

Sold out. Apparently it got delivered 3 weeks ago. Where did that time go

ZV Yoda

dobman88 wrote: »

Just popped in.

Sold out. Apparently it got delivered 3 weeks ago. Where did that time go

Been offline most of today, only seeing this now. Thanks anyway for checking ðŸ‘

ZV Yoda

I’ve just called 4 different O’Brien’s. None of them has Blue Spot in stock. Same for my local SuperValu and Carry Out.

Ah well... you snooze, you lose!

Effects

Clearly they are restricting Bluespot just to try and get people talking about it.
They can't have had that many issues that they managed to produce way less than demand.

ZV Yoda

Effects wrote: »

Clearly they are restricting Bluespot just to try and get people talking about it.
They can't have had that many issues that they managed to produce way less than demand.

.. well, it worked like a charm!!

Effects

ZV Yoda wrote: »

.. well, it worked like a charm!!

But are people looking to buy it because they cant get it, or would those people be willing to buy it anyway?

I got two bottles when it came out, but haven't opened them yet.

Got a few small sample bottles of it as well, so had been trying those in the mean time.

odyssey06

Tasting Waterford Single Farm Origin Sheestown Edition 1.2 & Waterford Organic Gaia 1.1 with samples from DrinksHero.com in Cork.

I'll crib some tasting notes from here for the Sheestown:
Medium with spices, and more of the oranges, and a hint of mint chocolate. Conclusion: Very nice stuff, not lacking complexity for such a youngster. This one's big on the spice alongside the creamy and fruity notes.
http://www.whiskyisrael.co.il/2020/12/26/waterford-sheestown-1-2/

The creaminess is really the signature note here.
The Gaia has the creaminess also but on the finish has a hit of something like vanilla custard, which is a bit overwhelming.

I wouldn't be coming back to the Gaia, a bottle of the Sheestown would be most welcome but so far the Ratheadon 1.1 would still be my pick of the Waterford releases. Also tasted previously - the Bannow Island 1.1 which I'd rank above the Gaia and maybe on a par with the Sheestown 1.2.

antimatterx

I'm normally a Jameson Original drinker. I think it tastes great and is a good price. What would others recommend if I was to expand my whiskey tasting? (Or If anyone knows of any places selling Jameson cheap rn).

Effects

Try Jameson Stout Cask edition.

odyssey06

antimatterx wrote: »

I'm normally a Jameson Original drinker. I think it tastes great and is a good price. What would others recommend if I was to expand my whiskey tasting? (Or If anyone knows of any places selling Jameson cheap rn).

Tesco have Tullamore Dew 1 litre for €30 if you're looking for quantity.
Also, Dunphys which imo is quite similar to Jameson Original is €21 in Tesco and Supervalu.

Powers Gold, Black Bush from Bushmills Roe & Co and Jameson Crested, Jameson Caskmates Stout would be a step up in quality from the above. Not many offers about at the moment though, in the run up to Christmas you could get Powers for €20, and the others for €25.
* Powers is €23 in Supervalu

A step up again in quality would be Teeling Small Batch, Writers Tears Copper Pot.

2011abc

30 euro a litre is same as 21 euro for 700ml standard bottle .May as well go for what you like from the 20-22 ish price range at that rate .Bush white for me .Not mad about Tullamore

killbillvol2

Effects wrote: »

But are people looking to buy it because they cant get it, or would those people be willing to buy it anyway?

I got two bottles when it came out, but haven't opened them yet.

Got a few small sample bottles of it as well, so had been trying those in the mean time.

I drank the first bottle I got in no time. I'm sparing the current bottle until supply improves.

ZV Yoda

Effects wrote: »

But are people looking to buy it because they cant get it, or would those people be willing to buy it anyway?

I got two bottles when it came out, but haven't opened them yet.

Got a few small sample bottles of it as well, so had been trying those in the mean time.

I can’t speak for anybody else, but I fancy a bottle because I’ve heard good things about it. Simple as that.

You have 2 unopened bottles and samples? Nice. Thanks for rubbing salt in the wounds