Ah, the luck o’ the
Irish!
Indeed!
Arguably the birthplace of whiskey, and
once home to hundreds of stills, Ireland
is now left with just three
distilleries: “Catholic” Midleton,
“Protestant” Bushmills, and Cooley (for
those who just want a secular drink).
Like bourbon, Irish whiskey is sometimes
seen as “not Scotch”, and therefore
looked down upon. Please don’t! One of
the things that I love about Scotch
whisky is its complexity, but sometimes
I don’t want to be complex – I want a
beautiful, accessible whiskey that
retains a lot of the sweet grainy flavor
that drew me to whisk(e)y in the first
place! Irish whiskey is just that. Go
grab a pure pot still whiskey like Green
Spot or Redbreast; then tell me that (in
a different way) it isn’t every bit as
good as Scotch whisky (and better than
most).
In the spirit of Saint Patrick’s Day, we
at the Whiskyguild rifled through our
collections, and grabbed the first six
Irish whiskeys we could find. Here’s
hoping that one of them is your “pot of
gold”.
Black
Bush (Bushmills): A pretty
blend. A little young on the nose,
but with a definite sherry character
that speaks of things to come. Black
Bush has a light body, enhanced by a
mix of fruits and malts that carry
over into the finish. There is also
an almost “buttery” quality in this
dram, which slowly gives way to a
dry, medium hot, and malty finale.
This is the whiskey I think of first
when someone wants a description of
Irish whiskey.
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Jameson 12 (Midleton): Another
gorgeous blend, with a light, musty
nose that speaks of dried fruits,
honey, vanilla, and “gauze”. A bit
of sherry in the palate helps
enhance this syrupy, almost chewy
dram. I always like when a
whisk(e)y’s nose and finish
complement each other, and that is
perhaps why I find Jameson 12 such a
fine whiskey. The finish here is of
medium length, and full of peaches
and orange marmalade. It is less
warming, and more astringent in its
departure, which recalls its nose
perfectly.
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Redbreast 12 (Midleton):
Someone once said of Dick Cheney,
that he had “gravitas”; that is, he
had a certain seriousness about him,
and he would not let you down. Well…
When I drink Redbreast, I think of
gravitas. It is a serious pure pot
still whiskey – one of the few. This
is a BIG whiskey, with a flavor
profile that rivals any dram out
there. It has a toasty, malty nose
full of vanilla, heather honey, and
tobacco; a wonderful melding of
aromas. A medium-full bodied dram,
Redbreast has a warm, lingering,
fruity finish recalling simple
syrup, marzipan, and roasted nuts.
This whiskey belongs in everyone’s
cabinet.
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Midleton Very Rare 2005 (Midleton):
When we cracked this blend, I
thought I was drinking a fruit
salad! The nose is chockfull (and I
do mean chockfull) of fresh peaches
and apricots. It was sharp and
sweet. The body is deliciously light
and fresh. The finish here was
medium-short, with undertones of
gingersnap cookies and yes, more
peaches. This is actually a
wonderful whiskey (if you like
peaches, of course). We all felt
like we were drinking the whiskey
equivalent of a cordial, without the
cloying sweetness. A real treat!
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Tyrconnell (Cooley): A bit of
a muddle of fruits awaits you within
the bottle of this Irish single
malt. The nose is full of citrus
(especially lime), and is a bit
vegetal. It is definitely a full
frontal “fruit assault”, though
sometimes it is difficult to
pick-out the individual components.
The body is somewhat thin, and
slightly oily, before the soft
finish wafts away in a cacophony of
herbs. An acquired taste.
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Magilligan 1992 rum wood finish
(Cooley): Wow! Now I’m usually
not one for rum finishes, but once
you try this one, you’ll need to
treat yourself. Besides the obvious
rum, this whiskey’s nose is full of
vanilla and a light hay essence, as
well as breakfast toast with butter.
It is full and chewy, and whereas
the nose is sweet dark rum, the
finish is more of a light rum; warm
and with an underlying cereal
sweetness. It is a sausage breakfast
to complement the toast in the nose.
This whiskey is as close as you can
come to “comfort food”. A
substantial dram!
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Questions or comments are welcome, I can be reached at
brett@whiskyguild.com |
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Nov
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Dec 06
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Jan 07
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Feb 07 |
