What Whisky/Whiskey are we drinking this month?

johnnyskeleton

picachu wrote: »

D7

Duck into L Mulligan Grocers for a quick nip of RB21 on the way home so!

Effects

lawrencesummers wrote: »

I could be wrong but I think neiphin were offering half casks.

Their coopers seemed to be flat out working on casks for various distilleries during the summer. Can't see them making half casks or it being that profitable.

ZV Yoda

Bushmills 21 down from €175 to €150 at Celtic Whiskey Shop.

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/irish-whiskey-home-page/irish-whiskeys-from-a-to-z/bushmills-21

Felexicon

Had the Kilbeggan Single Pot Still last night and was quite impressed.

Very appley on the nose and a nice light, crisp taste followed by some spiciness.

At €55 a bottle its excellent value in my opinion

Hogzy

Felexicon wrote: »

Had the Kilbeggan Single Pot Still last night and was quite impressed.

Very appley on the nose and a nice light, crisp taste followed by some spiciness.

At €55 a bottle its excellent value in my opinion

Better than Teeling SPS? Not sure if you've tried it but id be interested to know what people think between the two. I was personally disappointed with the first batch of Teeling SPS. Haven't tried any of the other batches tho

Felexicon

Hogzy wrote: »

Better than Teeling SPS? Not sure if you've tried it but id be interested to know what people think between the two. I was personally disappointed with the first batch of Teeling SPS. Haven't tried any of the other batches tho

Haven't tried Teeling SPS so can't compare. But would not discourage anyone buying the Kilbeggan

thethinone

Hogzy wrote: »

Better than Teeling SPS? Not sure if you've tried it but id be interested to know what people think between the two. I was personally disappointed with the first batch of Teeling SPS. Haven't tried any of the other batches tho

I tried the Teelings single pot still at whiskey live last year. They told me that it was their own spirit from the Dublin distillery which would make it relatively young and tbh, you could taste that it needed a bit more time in the barrel. It wasn’t great. I went to the teelings stall after the midleton one, so it might have suffered in comparison to what I had just sampled.

Mellor

thethinone wrote: »

I tried the Teelings single pot still at whiskey live last year. They told me that it was their own spirit from the Dublin distillery which would make it relatively young and tbh, you could taste that it needed a bit more time in the barrel. It wasn’t great. I went to the teelings stall after the midleton one, so it might have suffered in comparison to what I had just sampled.

The initial batch was a 3 year old, if I recall. That was a 2018 release. So I imagine it will get it will get incrementally older as the batches progress.

paddyh117

Felexicon wrote: »

Haven't tried Teeling SPS so can't compare. But would not discourage anyone buying the Kilbeggan

It’s on special in CWS for €45. Might try it

Rows Grower

Not too shabby at all...

Panda Killa

Tonight's tipple methinks!

Lab_Rat

Came on here to find a review like this and BOOM found it. Thanks - on offer now from CWS at €45.

2011abc

Recent purchases and thoughts:

I would consider myself a ‘sherry bomb’ malt fan

Powers Johns Lane €55 OBriens Wont get it much cheaper .Peppery pot still with a nice bite but not sure I’d buy another bottle even at this price .( despite it being second behind the Barry Crockett in the Potstilled minis quartet-leaving the Greenspot and Redbreast far behind - I prefer Teeling SM )

Lidl DunDealgan €19 varies from ‘Hey this is just as good as Black Bush and not a million miles behind Powers Johns Lane’ to ‘Meh’ (still nowhere near as nasty as the old Pricess Margot 3 year old (€13) which could put you off whiskey for life .)A bottle of this in the press at all times is bound to make nicer stuff last longer ...

Black Bush Tesco €25 cant go wrong but never soars much above it’s price point

JJ Corey The Gael2 €60 for 500ml .I ordered this and the next two fromIrish Malts (€5 Post and the packaging is rock solid !) I was disappointed when I realised I’d ordered a’smaller’ 500ml bottle realising I could have got a Teeling Brabazon for a similar per ml price .I wasn’t disappointed when I tasted it !!!!Boys , oh boys !This has hints of Barry Crockett(€260!!!) about it !!!!.It contains a small but significant percentage of 27/29 year old spirit .Oh man !!!Youtubes Whiskey Ralf called this the Irish Whiskey of 2019 and I couldn’t disagree


West Cork Cask Strength €48 cheapest cask strength , doesn’t taste like 62% alcohol, ( more refined than Glenfarclas 105 which DOES taste like 60% and is €75 a litre ) goes down a treat !

West Cork Sherry Cask €39 not as good as their Dha Chasca which is 2-5 euro cheaper .Thoughts vary from ‘solid / honest ‘ to a bit meh / more light Maideira than rich dried fruit Sherry ?!’ ( mildly disappointed but sure as heck won’t be going down drain)

actuar90

2011abc wrote: »

Recent purchases and thoughts:

I would consider myself a ‘sherry bomb’ malt fan

Powers Johns Lane €55 OBriens Wont get it much cheaper .Peppery pot still with a nice bite but not sure I’d buy another bottle even at this price .( despite it being second behind the Barry Crockett in the Potstilled minis quartet-leaving the Greenspot and Redbreast far behind - I prefer Teeling SM )

Lidl DunDealgan €19 varies from ‘Hey this is just as good as Black Bush and not a million miles behind Powers Johns Lane’ to ‘Meh’ (still nowhere near as nasty as the old Pricess Margot 3 year old (€13) which could put you off whiskey for life .)A bottle of this in the press at all times is bound to make nicer stuff last longer ...

Black Bush Tesco €25 cant go wrong but never soars much above it’s price point

JJ Corey The Gael2 €60 for 500ml .I ordered this and the next two fromIrish Malts (€5 Post and the packaging is rock solid !) I was disappointed when I realised I’d ordered a’smaller’ 500ml bottle realising I could have got a Teeling Brabazon for a similar per ml price .I wasn’t disappointed when I tasted it !!!!Boys , oh boys !This has hints of Barry Crockett(€260!!!) about it !!!!.It contains a small but significant percentage of 27/29 year old spirit .Oh man !!!Youtubes Whiskey Ralf called this the Irish Whiskey of 2019 and I couldn’t disagree


West Cork Cask Strength €48 cheapest cask strength , doesn’t taste like 62% alcohol, ( more refined than Glenfarclas 105 which DOES taste like 60% and is €75 a litre ) goes down a treat !

West Cork Sherry Cask €39 not as good as their Dha Chasca which is 2-5 euro cheaper .Thoughts vary from ‘solid / honest ‘ to a bit meh / more light Maideira than rich dried fruit Sherry ?!’ ( mildly disappointed but sure as heck won’t be going down drain)

I got the Gael 2 delivered this week too and agree it's a great dram, especially for the price, makes a great drinking whiskey. I'd say the same about the Brabazon you mentioned though!

I got miniatures of most of the West cork range and have been working my way through them. I don't have the cask strength one but the rest of the ones I have tasted really do taste very young and I don't think I'll be trying their stuff again for a few years.

odyssey06

2011abc wrote: »

Lidl DunDealgan €19 varies from ‘Hey this is just as good as Black Bush and not a million miles behind Powers Johns Lane’ to ‘Meh’ (still nowhere near as nasty as the old Pricess Margot 3 year old (€13) which could put you off whiskey for life .)A bottle of this in the press at all times is bound to make nicer stuff last longer ...

If you want to continue your adventures in cheap whisk(e)y there is Tesco Scots Club for €15, produced in Scotland, but so mild it seems to be coloured vodka. Not nasty so much as mediocre.
Will have to see if I can rescue it with some cointreau, vermouth or bitters.

2011abc

odyssey06 wrote: »

If you want to continue your adventures in cheap whisk(e)y there is Tesco Scots Club for €15, produced in Scotland, but so mild it seems to be coloured vodka. Not nasty so much as mediocre.
Will have to see if I can rescue it with some cointreau, vermouth or bitters.

As it’s generally a lot less value than Irish , cheap Scotch is generally the devils work !’Coloured vodka’ is a good description but no doubt with notes of caramel coloring and floor polish

GY A1

Anyone tried aldi’s Clontarf 1014

odyssey06

GY A1 wrote: »

Anyone tried aldi’s Clontarf 1014

IS that the one they have for about €19 - €20, been part of their range for a good few years now?
I had it a while back, grand for that price but I'd prefer basic Jameson.

There's also recent addition, Ardfallen for about same price, think that's from West Cork Distillers.
Haven't tried that yet but if you're limited to ALDI check it out.

2011abc

I’d guess that DunDealgan and Clontarf are the same (‘Cooley’) spirit .Yes The Ardfallen is West Cork I think sweet vanilla bourbon casked .

GY A1

Yes think it’s €19
Reviews Of the dundalgan don’t seem great.
Was hoping the clontarf might be bit better
Worth a try for €19

odyssey06 wrote: »

IS that the one they have for about €19 - €20, been part of their range for a good few years now?
I had it a while back, grand for that price but I'd prefer basic Jameson.

There's also recent addition, Ardfallen for about same price, think that's from West Cork Distillers.
Haven't tried that yet but if you're limited to ALDI check it out.

odyssey06

GY A1 wrote: »

Yes think it’s €19
Reviews Of the dundalgan don’t seem great.
Was hoping the clontarf might be bit better
Worth a try for €19

Actually, does it have to be Irish? If you are in ALDI, their Highland Black 8yo blended scotch is probably superior to the above. It's not peated.

And in LIDL if they still have any of the Queen Margot 8yo for under €20 better still...

Darc19

odyssey06 wrote: »

Actually, does it have to be Irish? If you are in ALDI, their Highland Black 8yo blended scotch is probably superior to the above. It's not peated.

And in LIDL if they still have any of the Queen Margot 8yo for under €20 better still...

Most aldis have standard Bushmills at €20 (I think that's the price). Decent enough for the price and quite easy on the palate

Cazale

Blue Spot will be returning soon. 7 years old at 59.2%.

L1011

Cazale wrote: »

Blue Spot will be returning soon. 7 years old at 59.2%.

That has the potential to be either quite nice (based on pedigree); or basically paintstripper at that %.

Rows Grower

L1011 wrote: »

That has the potential to be either quite nice (based on pedigree); or basically paintstripper at that %.

Very true, I brought back a few bottles of Tatratea from Bratislava last year that are 57% just for the novelty factor and they are actually quite pleasant to sip.

I was fully expecting them to be very harsh.

Some of the cask strength whiskey's recently released local enough to where I live and attracting a premium price are dog rough in comparison.

L1011

My sister worked in Oregon for a while and used to bring me back bottles of the local Big Bottom 111, which was 55.5% and the strongest I've had that still managed to hold its own flavour/taste/etc wise without dilution - most other similarly high/cask strength product I've tasted has needed to be diluted down before you don't get overwhelmed.

Brand seems to be dead now - as far as I remember they were cask finishing MGP product back then but had their own stock aging; but they were bought out and it seems the brand was killed last year.

Wailin

L1011 wrote: »

That has the potential to be either quite nice (based on pedigree); or basically paintstripper at that %.

If that's the case then RB cask strength should be paint stripper but it's the best of the RB range. Whiskey at cask strength is always more flavoursome compared to watered down 40% stuff. It's how it's meant to be.

Rows Grower

Wailin wrote: »

If that's the case then RB cask strength should be pain stripper but it's the best of the RB range. Whiskey at cask strength is always more flavoursome compared to watered down 40% stuff. It's how it's meant to be.

100% disagree.

Wailin

What's your thoughts on regular RB 12 compared to the RB 12 CS out of interest? Same whiskey except the abv percentage. It is after all the perfect comparison of how the abv affects flavour.

the beer revolu

The "it's how it's meant to be" comment is rubbish.

Whiskey is watered down before it goes into cask.
Most so-called cask strength is watered down to its bottling strength - it's not actually the strength it was in the cask - it's diluted for consistency. There are exceptions to this.

So, all whisky is watered down at some stage - there is no "proper" presentation.

Stronger abv spirits will tend to have more flavour - just because they are less diluted.

To me, it just seems silly to be drinking cask strength whiskey without a drop of water
- but, whatever floats your boat.

Wailin

Yes of course all whiskey is watered down, some more than others eg 40% instead of 58% etc. But the comment above that high abv whiskey is usually paint stripper is just plain wrong. And as I said, the RB 12 comparison is the perfect example.

Btw, your jumping to conclusions there with the last comment. I'd always add a drop of water, but that's it, a drop. People can drink cask strength whiskey without water and it doesn't mean they are "silly".

the beer revolu

Wailin wrote: »

Yes of course all whiskey is watered down, some more than others eg 40% instead of 58% etc. But the comment above that high abv whiskey is usually paint stripper is just plain wrong. And as I said, the RB 12 comparison is the perfect example.

Btw, your jumping to conclusions there with the last comment. I'd always add a drop of water, but that's it, a drop. People can drink cask strength whiskey without water and it doesn't mean they are "silly".

I wasn't responding to the paint stripper comment, I was responding to the "it's the way it's meant to be" comment - suggesting that cask strength is somehow, inherently better.

Anyone can drink whiskey however they please.
I will continue to have my own opinions on how it's best for me.
I didn't jump to any conclusions - why would I care how you drink your drink?

2011abc

Rowing in here on behalf of Team Cask Strength ! Generally the dearer the ( certainly Irish )whiskey the stronger it is !

Wailin

the beer revolu wrote: »

Anyone can drink whiskey however they please.
I will continue to have my own opinions on how it's best for me.
I didn't jump to any conclusions - why would I care how you drink your drink?

And where exactly did I force my opinion on you on how to drink whiskey?

Your comment about being silly by not adding water is certainly one that implies you care how I drink my whiskey.

the beer revolu

Wailin wrote: »

Your comment about being silly by not adding water is certainly one that implies you care how I drink my whiskey.

Trust me, I don't.

We are talking about cask strength whisky, l made a comment about adding water, generally. Not everything is about you.

The only thing I took you up on was, as I've said twice already, was your, "it's how it's meant to be", comment,which you haven't tried to defend.

This conversation has run its course. I shan't be playing anymore.

Wailin

the beer revolu wrote: »

The only thing I took you up on was, as I've said twice already, was your, "it's how it's meant to be", comment,which you haven't tried to defend.

Sorry your honour I didn't realise I was on trial!

Rows Grower

Wailin wrote: »

Sorry your honour I didn't realise I was on trial!

You weren't, you were just called out on a statement you made which was incorrect.

EagererBeaver

Wailin wrote: »

But the comment above that high abv whiskey is usually paint stripper is just plain wrong.

That's not what was said though, was it?

Wailin

L1011 wrote: »

That has the potential to be either quite nice (based on pedigree); or basically paintstripper at that %.

The implication I got from that statement was that anything at a high abv, ie cask strength, is basically undrinkable paintstripper. Which is definitely not the case.

But apologies if I took that up wrong folks

EagererBeaver

Wailin wrote: »

The implication I got from that statement was that anything at a high abv, ie cask strength, is basically undrinkable paintstripper. Which is definitely not the case.

But apologies if I took that up wrong folks

So you completely ignored the first part of the statement that said it had the potential to be quite nice? A tad strange, no?

ZV Yoda

Sometimes a bowl of milk is more appropriate than a glass of whiskey.

Then again, that might start a “full fat vs. skimmed” debate.

Wailin

EagererBeaver wrote: »

So you completely ignored the first part of the statement that said it had the potential to be quite nice? A tad strange, no?

Absolutely no need to jump on the bandwagon, as is your want Eagerbeaver. Not for the first time either.

Panda Killa

Hose arrest getting to you all?
Glenfiddich 18yo small batch reserve here... cheers!

Wailin

Panda Killa wrote: »

Hose arrest getting to you all?
Glenfiddich 18yo small batch reserve here... cheers!

Would that be cask strength now or 60% water? :pac:

EagererBeaver

Wailin wrote: »

Absolutely no need to jump on the bandwagon, as is your want Eagerbeaver. Not for the first time either.

What bandwagon? You could just answer the question if you wanted.

sceach16

Looks like things are getting in on a few people.


I am happier seeing recommendations / evaluations than storms in tea cups.:mad:

Felexicon

So what is in everyone's press to get through the lockdown

I have

RB 12 x 2.5 bottles
Connemara
Ardbeg 10
RB 21 (unopened)
Glendalough
Roe & Co
Knappogue Castle French Oak Cask
Few different Teeling sample sizes

Mellor

Wailin wrote: »

The implication I got from that statement was that anything at a high abv, ie cask strength, is basically undrinkable paintstripper. Which is definitely not the case.

But apologies if I took that up wrong folks

I think you may have misread.

I took it as 7yo is on the young side for a CS, so could be rough. But the pedigree of the spots would suggest its a getting in more flavour with a good quality base.

odyssey06

Felexicon wrote: »

So what is in everyone's press to get through the lockdown

Jura 10 year old Journey
Glenlivet 12 year old
Kilbeggan Single Grain Small Batch (unopened)
Sainsburys 12 year old Calvados 50cl (not whiskey but on same shelf)

For mixing:
Teachers Scotch
Dunphys Irish Whiskey (was on offer for €20 and at least as nice as standard Jameson)

For hot whiskies \ mulled recipes:
Powers gold
Tesco Scots Club whisky

Wailin

Mellor wrote: »

I think you may have misread.

I took it as 7yo is on the young side for a CS, so could be rough. But the pedigree of the spots would suggest its a getting in more flavour with a good quality base.

Yeah possibly. Lagavulin have an 8 year old 48% that's a very popular release. Even more so than their 12 year old cask strength (Finished a bottle of that a few weeks back and it was top class.). Although it's not cask strength, it's still high for a young whisky. I'm looking forward to seeing how this Blue Spot is received.