What whisk(e)y are we drinking? (Part 2)

ZV Yoda

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120669126#Comment_120669126

Yeah, I've done that in the past. I do buy CS from time to time, just not generally a fan. TBH, if I'm going to water something down, I'd rather just by the standard version. I tried Redbreast CS back to back with the standard RB 12. I preferred the 12 against straight CS and watered down CS. At the end of the day, all the distillery do is add distilled water to reduce the ABV anyway.

That said, I love Blackbarrel CS, so bang goes my argument!

Tech_Head

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120669431#Comment_120669431

Did you have Black Barrel Proof or Black Barrel CS? There’s two versions that are stronger than the normal one. Proof was about €60 and CS was about €100-110

Black Sheep

If CS is being watered down to 40-46% ABV then yes, that does defeat the purpose. But I'd have thought most people are going lighter with the water, for example, 50-60% ABV, or perhaps sometimes not adding water at all. Otherwise I do struggle to see why someone would bother buying CS at all.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120670211#Comment_120670211

Unless you add water to all/most whiskies. This idea, I think, stems from the idea that putting water in any whiskey is, essentially, a bad thing. This is a notion that just won't go away.

Insect Overlord

Redbreast 12 Cask Strength is probably my all-time favourite. Better than the 27, even.

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120670997#Comment_120670997

So, how much water - if any - would you tend to add to CS?

Might be a good poll topic.

Insect Overlord

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120672115#Comment_120672115

I tend to pour it over a very large ice-cube and sip it before the ice melts too much. Same with the cask strength Thomond Gate releases. It's a little trickier during this lovely weather though, with the ice melting too quickly and diluting the whiskey a little too much.

kuang1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120672541#Comment_120672541

😂😂😂

"he's more drunk in the summer months you know"

I've never gone to the extreme of doing this, but aren't we supposed to use a dropper to add water? And literally count the number of drops we add?

The only cask strength stuff I've drank in the last year or so has been with a single (large) cube of ice too, and wouldn't change that habit.

Usually give it 3-4 minutes in the glass before first sip. Haven't noticed the flavour/taste changing greatly, but I'm a noob!

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120672573#Comment_120672573

There's no hard rules.

I tend to guesstimate if I'm adding water to a CS.. It'll be a splash, or a little bit of water in a measure I've used perhaps. I've never used a dropper but I suppose it would be accurate and would avoid accidentally overdiluting, which is a concern.

With ice, as noted, the issue is the dilution increases with time, and is greater with crushed ice or smaller blocks, and varies based on temperature.

I do take ice in whisky based mixed drinks like old fashioned and boulevardier but not when drinking a sipping whisky. It's certainly snobbish to say no one should do it. But equally I'd say adding ice has a greater impact on aroma and your ability to taste than adding water does, it's worth hearing the various arguments and trying for yourself.

Dalwhinnie Winter's Gold and Johnny Walker White Walker play on the question of serving temperatire... Both have some marketing attached promoting serving them at low temperatures / chilled. Jim Murray did an interesting "chilled vs room temp" comparison review.

Electric Nitwit

I'd be the same as as Black Sheep, ice in mixed drinks but I never normally add water to straight whiskey. I have tried it, particularly if I don't love the whiskey, but I've never considered doing it all the time.

When I was starting with whiskey I thought it wasn't the done thing, so I guess i was slightly joining that snobbery, but now I don't care about crap like that. Whiskey's for drinking, however you like it. Now it's more that I don't really know what I'm doing with water and I'm generally happy with nice CS as is

overpronator

Glenallachie 15, if there's a better bottle of whiskey for under 100 quid tell me now. Tastes alot older than it is, classy drop.

Insect Overlord

Nikka From The Barrel. Ooh yeah.

gordonl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120675078#Comment_120675078

The last time I had the GA 15 was at a tasting and i thought to myself the GA 12 i have open at home is better than this.

I put half the GA 15 in a sample bottle and brought it home, and when i tasted it alongside its younger expression the 12 YO was the better whiskey.

Now this could be down to my bottle of the 12 YO being open for a while and oxidation improving the taste, i have a bottle of the 15 YO that i have yet to open so hopefully i can settle the question at some stage.

The cask strength 10 YO Glenallachie is a fantastic whiskey though and i think it's around the same price as the 15 YO.

Insect Overlord

Any fans of Sailor's Home here? I finished off a bottle of their Caravelle in the spring and enjoyed it a lot. It was lovely straight but (forgive me!) stunning with a splash of Coke.

I'm sampling two of their other releases tonight. First up was the Storm Chaser, a 46% single malt with no age statement, quadruple casked with a Madeira and craft stout finish. It's only gorgeous.

Second is Horizon, a 10 year old blend of malt and grain, 43%, finished in Carribbean rum casks. I should have had this one first. It's far too easy to sip after the little bit of extra heat in the Storm Chaser. I'll definitely be trying both of these again.

ZV Yoda

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120669978#Comment_120669978

Mine is the CS. Got it in the gift shop during a tour to Midleton distillery a couple of months ago. It's a bit gimmicky, but I poured it directly from the barrel myself. They have a set up in the gift shop that allows customers to pour their own. You get write the batch number into the book and write your "Bottled by" signature on the custom bottle label.

L1011

Cork on my 2005 bottling Jameson 18 - probably the oldest make (1987) I've ever drunk as the 21s etc I've had since are much newer bottling dates - broke today, leaving a bit of the cork in the bottle.

Remembered I'd not decided whether to recycle a 500ml bottle of Nikka From The Barrel or not, so have transferred the rest of the Jameson to it.

2011abc

Yeah but what did it taste like ?! Sometimes people report ‘old’ whiskey tasting a bit ‘weird’ .

At one stage lots of corks were breaking on Teeling Single Malt .They sent out a new bottle and cap and a few other bits .I got this twice despite actually asking for nothing .Of course the cork could be sieved out easily

Anyway Im sipping the Redbreast I’ve been promising myself for months ,now that it’s down to €60 in OBriens ( sadly Teelings Single Malt is UP to €57 , I know a lot of items have relatively speaking gone up a lot more than it from €45 when I started my ‘journey’ 5-7 years ago but I’m gone from a medium priced bottle every week or two to a sub€30 (or more like €23 :-() bottle every 2-3 weeks or less .The last time I got the four mini pot still set I was surprised that the Redbreast gave the Barry Crockett a run for its money whereas previously I’d rated it third of the four . I’ve had a couple in pubs recently and yeah (Newsflash!) Redbreast is bloody good stuff !

How do people find that new Jameson PotStill at €50-60 ?

Is ,as some report ,Redbreast Cask Strength really pretty much as good as you’ll get short of a lottery win ? Would be nice to get two bottles for the price of one Barry Crockett and not have to wait till retirement to justify it :-)

Black Sheep

Passed through London City Airport this week. Excellent range and pricing... Much better than last time I was there.

Lagavulin 16, Ardbeg An Oa, Uaieadail, all 57 GBP or thereabouts.

I ended up getting a bottle of Amrut Fusion, similar price. I'm a big Paul John fan and Amrut was an itch I wanted to scratch.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120699804#Comment_120699804

Tried the Jameson Pot Still. It's a lovely, easy drinking whiskey. A little sweet, perhaps, for a PS but very nice.

More pleasant and easy than super complex. I liked it.

2011abc

Is it Sherry sweetness or just standard Irish biscuity sweetness ?

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120701403#Comment_120701403

That question is too difficult for me and I've none left to go back to. I didn't get a whole lot of of sherry from it but I could be way off there.

ZV Yoda

Lagavulin back in stock in O'Briens (Lucan branch anyway). €84, which is up from the €70 it used to be historically, but nowhere near as bad as the €100 being charged a few months back.

Electric Nitwit

Just tried the Powers Rye in the airport, very pleasant. Smooth, sweet, slight spice to it. I was very pleasantly surprised

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120717000#Comment_120717000

Why surprised?

What were you expecting?

Electric Nitwit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120717137#Comment_120717137

Oh, nothing particularly. I (cynically, I guess) thought it was a gimmick, so had low expectations

Plus I generally thought it would be more like bourbon/American whiskey which I'm not generally a big fan of

DARK-KNIGHT

Anyone tried the barrel club Jameson?

DARK-KNIGHT

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120716773#Comment_120716773

Is that the 16 or the 8

ZV Yoda

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120719821#Comment_120719821

That was the 16

odyssey06

Achill Island Single Malt - 50e in Supervalu.

Says its their own product not sourced. Must be quite young.

Anyone tried it?

Black Sheep

That's very interesting. I can see special editions of that whiskey for sale online, and yes, they do say it's distilled, matured and bottled on the island - which is really very impressive.

This says they started distilling in July 2019. Achill Island Distillery - Stories & Sips Whiskey Club (storiesandsips.com)

I have no idea what the whiskey is like, and I presume that it is going to be very young and have strong new-make notes, but overall I admire what they're doing. Might be a bit of a rush to market, but without trying it, who knows.