Beggan' For More

Looking through our posts these last few months and it appears that we've covered more Irish whiskies than any other style. There are 2 main factors to this:

Firstly, there seems to be an abundance of quality Irish whiskies out there, which we feel are helping revitalise the category. Statistically, Irish Whiskey is the fastest growing dark spirit in the world.

Secondly- we absolutely love it. Our recent outing from Dublin confirmed there are some real crackers out there, including the Connemara Single Cask bottlings and current Red Breast 15yo.

The sublime Kilbeggan 15yo.

Today we bring you news of a new addition to the Kilbeggan family. One of the very first whiskies to really blow our emerald socks off was the 15 year old, tried many moons ago, before the blog was barely a twinkle in our eyes. It's been a house staple for a while and when news broke last year that there was going to be an 18 year old- we were filled with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Will they phase out the superb 15yo in favour of the new older sibling, like Laphroaig did a couple of years back? More's the point, how has the blend developed, with whiskey aged for 3 extra years now available to master blender Noel Sweeney? We recently reviewed the Greenore 18yo single grain, which we presume is at the heart of this and it came off very favourably indeed, so our hope altimeter is set to 'extra high'.

The new release is at present a small batch release of 4,000 and, according to Cooley's press release 'destined to become a collector's item'. Hmmm. Nice idea, but for us, Irish whiskey above all others is for drinking rather than collecting! So without further ado, let's crack into the fabulously shaped square bottle and pour a large one.

Kilbeggan - 18yo Blended Irish Whiskey - 4000 bottles - 40%

Nose: How much bourbon vanilla is in here!! I swear, given a prevailing headwind, you'd easily mistake this for a small batch bottling of Kentucky's finest on the first nosing. Delving further in, some white pepper notes develop, followed by a hint of earthy, mossy leaves, some strawberries topped in sweet Carnation Milk and a very clean cereal note. So far, so good. It is different to the 15yo, in that some of the creamier notes have taken a back seat, but this all works very nicely indeed.

Palate: Rich, oily and thick on the mouthfeel, velvety soft in fact. The bourbon vanilla has now transferred itself to the palate and wave upon wave hits you, followed by the sweet creamy cereal and a touch of drying oak. The grain gives this a slightly spirity back palate, but it's a minor gripe really, as the initial mouthfeel is so pleasing.

Dolores, dressed as a furry Cranberry.

Finish: And, like The Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan sang so poetically- 'did you have to let it linger?' Well... yes they did actually, for rather a long time, it seems. I suspect the grain balance here is considerably higher than the malt whiskies, as the finish is light and fruity- classic aged grain in fact, but very nice nonetheless...

Overall: A thoroughly enjoyable dram with a nose and initial mouthfeel, which are highly commendable. Would it take over from the 15yo in Caskstrength Towers? Probably not, but this takes Irish whiskey blending on a step further. Good work chaps.

Green Grains from the Emerald Isles

You may have noticed that recently we've reviewed a few Irish whiskies, inc Connemara's Turf Mor (which was fairly heavy going at first) and Inish Turk Beg, a new Irish single malt, which was decidedly subtle, light and floral, much like a young Scotch.

We've just been sent a sample of Greenore's new aged grain, which demonstrates to us the current resurgence of Irish whiskey as a category- there seems to be a healthy number of interesting releases, with a number planned over the coming months. Finally some good news from the Emerald Isle.

According to Cooley, this new release is, at 18 years old, the oldest bottling of Irish Grain in the world and the release is limited to 4000 bottles. We reviewed the 8yo small batch release last year, which was a little harsh, but blended extremely well in a few long cocktails.

needless to say we won't be trying this method just yet on the 18yo!!

Greenore, 18yo Single Grain Irish whiskey - 46% - 4000 bottles

Nose: Unmistakable as a grain, with big floral sweetness emerging from the glass with such vigour, that its now covered the side of my laptop... balls. With a little more time in the glass, some polished surface-like notes emerge, as well as barley sugar, creamy cereal and a hint of vintage suede leather. It's vibrant, yet restrained- and works superbly well.

Palate: Soft at first entry, with a hint of a bite- then the flavours start to develop. Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, fruity sweetness, but then a darker, spicy side, with a hint of root liquorice, anise and sharp cherry sherbet. Again, lots of vibrant notes, but all controlled beautifully.

Finish: The cherry notes are retained on the palate, which dries into a long, fruity tongue coating aftertaste.

Overall: A damn good bottling, with all the right elements you'd hope for in an aged grain. The fruity notes are all there in abundance, but the age has been very kind indeed to this whiskey, giving it plenty of complexity as it lingers in the glass.

Delete As Appropriate

Spotify. It’s a wonderful thing. There are often times when I find myself stood in front of my tall CD towers, bemused about what to put on the stereo to match the dram I’ve just poured. My large collection of albums, the culmination of many years working in the music business, means there is usually something to fit the mood. But one is still limited by the number of plastic cases adorning the IKEA Benno CD rack.

Then Spotify entered my life. Pretty much anything you want to listen to, at the click of a mouse button. For free (well, so long as you can put up with awful adverts every-so-often). Now I really can listen to ANYTHING I want to. So much so, that at first you become a little overwhelmed with the choice.

At times the whisky cabinet can seem a little similar. Even if you only have 2 bottles open, it’s about making that choice: the peated or the unpeated? The Scotch or the Bourbon? The heavily sherried or the light American Oak matured? But one choice that my cabinet doesn’t offer me much is “the Scotch / Japanese / American / Swedish / English* or the Irish” (*delete as appropriate). That’s not because I don’t like Irish Whiskey. A few years ago, I had some amazing stuff at The Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin (I still rate their distillery only bottling as one of the most well rounded drams I have ever had. If anyone is off to Dublin soon, drop me a line and pick me up a bottle or two...!). We’re also big advocates of Green Spot here at Caskstrength.net. But much like my CD collection and jazz, my personal whisky selection happens to be lacking in that particular genre. However, as soon as I had loaded Spotify onto my laptop, no sooner was I exploring the wonderful world of Chet Baker, falling head over heels in love with Ella and bidding on 12” records on eBay by John Coltrane...

But there is no Spotify for whisky...! In the past, to hear records you weren’t familiar with, you’d have to sit around at a mates house and listen to their personal collection, working out which albums you loved and then saving up to go and buy them. This, however still holds true for whisky and I was lucky enough to be introduced to 4 different Irish whiskies by a friend recently. Now, which shall I save up to buy??

Greenore Single Grain (Maize) Small Batch 8 Year Old - Pot stills - 40% - 70cl

Nose- banana toffee; youthful and spirity but rounded well by the cask ageing.

Palate- Plenty of flavour for an 8 year old grain, with a crunchy-nut cornflake element to it. The sweetness is quickly overtaken by the bitterness and elements of fresh pine.

Finish- Spearmint is the predominant flavour at the back palate. Fresh. Short.

Overall- My mind is already racing with ideas for great long drinks with this grain whisky, especially summer ones. On its own, it comes in just a bit too harshly.

Connemara - Peated - 40% NAS (20ppm, apparently)

N- This has a really fantastic nose. Moist, soft peat and damp wool, which develops into some lovely fruity notes, akin to fruit salad chews.

P- In comparison to the wonderful nose, the palate is a let down. It's just very soft; too weak. The nose writes cheques the palate can't cash.

F- A slightly bitter finish don't help.

O- It's a shame; this whiskey has such an amazing nose, but let's itself down on the palate and the finish.

Connemara - Ltd Ed Peated Sherry Finish - 46% - NAS

N- The peat and sherry work well together in the nose, giving almost coffee notes as they rise up from the glass.

P- Humm... This just comes across as slightly bitter. Where are the fruits (apricots, dates, figs) and the spices which usually adorn a well sherried whisk(e)y?

F- The finish left an odd fizziness, like a corked white wine. This really wasn't for me.

O- I often talk about the cask in which the whisk(e)y is matured as being similar to the school you went to. It has a big effect. This whiskey has had too long in the cask; it's been left in a school where it's been bullied and the parents didn't have the foresight to remove their child and do some home-schooling for a bit.

Tyrconnells - 10yr port cask (6 month finish) - 46% - 70cl

N- Again, a lovely nose! Lot of really old style aromas. And I don't mean old whiskey, I mean an old blended bottle from the 1950's. Treacle, toffee, red boiled sweets.

P- Ahhh... Here we go! Summer fruits balanced with just enough bitterness to add some body and weight to the palate.

F- Perfect length with excellent balance. This is a fantastic dram.

O- Cracking. If we gave out gold stars, this would get one.