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

We have a full moon still shining and Halloween looms.

For the season thats in it I have picked out some whiskies.

Tonight some Puca 7yo single grain.

Then lined up for next couple of days:

Jameson Crested Devil's Ladder

Whistler Dark Symphony

Dingle Samhain

Impressive design on the Whistler

The Boann / Whistler Dark Symphony is very nice. Cognac cask finishes I am a fan of. Would remind me of an upgrade on something like Lambay Small Batch (which I am a fan of).

The Jameson Crested Devils Ladder stands out from the crowd and packs more punch. The Belgian beer cask influence really comes through.

If you are a fan of Tripel type beers then defo go for that, I think it would work well sipped alongside a bottle of beer.

2 new bottles I bought arrived today

Looking forward to trying them

Anyone had the killowen rum and raisin? Irish malts have a 6 year old one. Great northern single malt finished in their px and rum casks. It's young but tempting given the reputation.

I've got 2 of their barantuils recently, the Irish whiskey auction 5th year matured in px and a urfed mixed mash bill from a bourbon barrel. I absolutely love the px but I'm not gone on the bourbon. I just like a bit more sweetness. Disappointing I didn't get the port finish now. Everyone is talking about it, I had a chance to buy but just couldn't justify it at the time

I found the damp cardboard and dryness didn’t persist, it was only apparent in the first glass after opening the bottle.

Had a tasting last year in the Palace bar with Drew Mayville the master blender for Buffalo Trace. He mentioned something similar in that a storm blew off the side of one of the rack houses and they found that the barrels tasted better on that side. They have now opened a new rack house where they experiment with different conditions like sunlight, cold etc.

Been going a good bit easier on the whiskey lately most for financial reasons teamed with heading well towards a bottle a week consumption rate …

Anyway the last I had was a very pleasant duty free litre ( don’t feel as guilty when I stretch this to a fortnight !) of Black Bush 80/20 which was grand .

Went 2/3 weeks without and then as on a weeks hols from work had a few treats .A midday ( or even a few minutes earlier which made it feel a real indulgence )midweek Redbreast Cask Strength in The Palace Bar (€16) was very pleasant indeed although I’m not sure I would agree with some who say it’s pretty much The Best Irish whiskey .Teeling Brabazon 1 ( earlier bottling -2017?) maybe nicer and certainly a basic RB is not that much inferior .( Then again the ‘bond ‘ formed with a bottle is probabaly different to that with a glass :-) )

Later that evening in a local I had the always very solid Tyrconnell Single Malt ( the ‘finished’/casked varieties have won several awards but even as a Sherry bomb fan I reckon under no circumstances are they worth over twice the cost .At just under a tenner I was almost thinking it was better value than the RB CS but sure I suppose we’ve already debated at length the whole ‘luxury goods’ thing .

Now Im thoroughly enjoying a ( just back from Super Valu Lucan , well stocked ) Foxes Bow .For €25 ,a 43% abv Oloroso ( and Rye) finished bottle seems a steal .It’s sourced from the always very solid ( if not legendary!) Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk .

Its got their classic high malt /pot still low grain ( at least in my humble assessment ) impact with the Oloroso sweetness I love and the Rye DOES add something A little spicey / funky as their label suggests

I also saw on the shelf and considered Achill Island Single Malt basic at €49 ( in green metal tin) and Bordeaux finished at €45 both 44% .This is the team behind Irish American who in my opinion are top class

Anyway Christmas is coming so let’s hope we all get to enjoy some nice drams

Slainte !

That Foxes Bow sounds very tempting for €25, could do with a cheap drinker. I see it's €40 everywhere but SuperValu, good offer, I'll pop out later 🙂

Similarly, I got a Eirigh Na Greine in Edinburgh duty free, think it was under £40 for a litre and it's a lovely drink. Red wine casks, so quite fruity with the standard smokiness cutting through. They definitely seem to be producing some good "travel only" bottles, and normally I'm a bit cynical of those

Yeah, I’m a bit cynical about some of those travel exclusives too, but in the case of Bunnahabhain, I don’t think it’s justified.

I’m big fan of Dalmore’s standard range (12 & 15). I usually have a bottle on hand & would always pick one up in duty free. In the last couple of years though, I haven’t seen the standard range in any duty free. Instead, they stock three no-age-statement whiskies: The Trio, The Quartet and The Quintet. I’ve had the Trio and the Quartet and was disappointed. I much prefer the standard range. I even contacted Dalmore to find out if they were phasing out the standard 12,15 and 18 range (because they’re so difficult to get in Ireland). They said there were no plans to phase them out, but that the retail travel offerings would vary over time.

Is the Boann Whistler Dark Symphony or other whistler's sourced? And if so is it from great northern distillery? Or are they distilling for themselves?

Regarding the sourced/own spirit thing - I think there's 2 models of operation.

There's the common enough one of sourcing at the beginning (with varying levels of transparency) and then having a big fanfare when releasing their own.

Then you have distilleries who are almost misleading about their provenance, who will never make a big deal about using their own spirit, giving the impression it always was their own and leaving the option open to always source some of their product.

It's ridiculous that we can't see, clearly where a bottle of spirits was distilled as a legal label requirement.