IRISH vs SCOTCH whisky -(ey)

rottenmaggot

Which do you think is better or the best.

I like both

P.S. I couldn't find the proper section for this post, sorry for any inconvenience

Krusty_Clown

rottenmaggot wrote: »

P.S. I couldn't find the proper section for this post, sorry for any inconvenience

But literature???
cough... Irish Whiskey..

zenmonk

Scotch probably is my favourite eventhough there are some great Irish whiskeys. Redbreast is quality as is Powers, Bushmills black and 10yr Malt, bought a bottle of Connemara malt 52% really strong and peaty. Clontarf do a nice blended whiskey , the black bottle I think. Paddy is a little harsh and sweet for me- Tullamore Dew is like paint stripper. Jameson is grand ,nothing special. Kilbeggan is ok, Lockes own blend is a little harsh for me too.
Love Talisker, Laphraoig.
All in all the Scotch malts go down perfectly and leave a lovely glow on a cold winters night.

_blank_

zenmonk wrote: »

Laphraoig.

Is my favourite whisky, it's the only one I drink.

regi

Des wrote: »

Is my favourite whisky, it's the only one I drink.

+1

_blank_

The mammy just texted me, she's going to Scotland tomorrow.

It's my birthday next Wednesday.

"Is there anything you'd like son?"

Brockagh

One is not better than the other. However, Scotland has about 100 distilleries, so it has more variety - there's bound to be more good ones and more bad ones.

I prefer Irish in general, but I love scotch too. I have a lot of bottles of each.

Sarky

Just back from Edinburgh myself. Picked me up the Balvenie Doublewood and the Auchentoshan, both 12 year old single malts, really smooth and tasty.

I'm by no means an expert on the subject, but I have found myself leaning more towards the scotch end of things lately. I just find them either smoother or more flavourful in general.

Of course, a good whisk(e)y is a good whisk(e)y, they all have their place and time.

brianthebard

Haven't had much scotch whisky but haven't liked it so far. I *think* black and white's is scotch, can someone contextualise it in terms of Irish whiskey, what approximate quality is it?

Mr Magnolia

I prefer whiskey by a margin, never got into the scottish whiskys. As a matter of interest have any of you tried connemara? It's a peated single malt from cooley.

RE*AC*TOR

Haven't tried Connemara, but in general I prefer Scotch by a substantial margin. The triple distillation makes it all too mild for me.

Talisker would be my fave, haven't decided between the more subtle 18 or the brash, abrasive 10. Edging towards the ten to be honest.

Have also enjoyed Bowmore a lot, and even some of the Japanese stuff (Yamazaki 10 I think).

Not a fan of sweet ones like Glenmorangie, or mediocre ones like Bruichladdich.

I'd take a €50 bottle of Talisker over a €120 bottle of Midleton Very Rare any day of the week though.

r3nu4l

You guys should read "Raw Spirit: In search of the perfect dram" by Ian Banks, it's an excelent account of the Islay distilleries and Scottish whisky in general. He basically drives from distillery to distillery, sampling the scotch and talking to the distillers.

Well worth reading and makes you realise that unless you've tasted all varieties of Scotch then you are missing out by sticking to your favourite from the ones you've tasted SO FAR!

To answer the question, generally I prefer Scotch and I much prefer malts to blended. They (nearly) all have their place in the world.

Mr Magnolia

r3nu4l wrote: »

He basically drives from distillery to distillery, sampling the scotch

He doesn't sound like someone I'd like to meet driving around the highlands! Must look out for it though, thanks.

jim o doom

I prefer Irish - there's something of a catch in the throat for me no matter what scotch I've ever tried (almost reminds of of tequila *shudder*). Nicest scotch I've had was Dimple & I didn't particularly like that much.. finished the bottle regardless

Redbreast is lovely.. nice pirate style bottle you can open with your teeth! Bushmills black and 10yr Malt are nice, I quite like tullamore dew & paddy as standard pub whiskeys. Never liked Clontarf.. but haven't tried the blended one a previous poster mentionned. Jameson is ok, but I can't drink it due to the amount of bottles me and friends have gotten through. Kilbeggan is a bit burny - even mixed, Powers is downright rotten & I wouldn't drink teachers if I was paid! An honorary award for one of the nastiest whiskeys I've ever had a few bottles of (as a student a good few years back) being Murphys. Holy jesus, stay away from it, no whiskey should be as cheap as that (got it for 14 euro in tesco ages ago *puke*).Never tried Talisker, Laphraoig, but from what yez are saying I might give it a shot - never seen em for sale, do they have them in the celtic whiskey shop up on D'olier street?Scotch just tends to cut the throat off me nearly any time I've tried it.

r3nu4l

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

He doesn't sound like someone I'd like to meet driving around the highlands! Must look out for it though, thanks.

In reality as I understand it he was actually chauffeur driven but that doesn't sound as good for a book

Yes, It's the same Ian Banks that wrote "The Wasp Factory" and the same Ian. M. Banks who writes sci-fi novels. Good read and well put together.

Brockagh

I was on a trip to Islay last month - enjoyed it a lot. Visited Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Bowmore, Ardbeg, Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila. Also took in Springbank and Aran (neither are on the island).

Cooley make double distilled whiskey, like in Scotland. They're very good at it too.

Unfortunately, our great whiskeys in Ireland are about ten times more expensive than the scottish equivalent. You'll find it hard (in my opinion) to find a scotch as good as the likes of Midleton 25. Some Cooleys are brilliant.

As I say, I love scotch too, but you'll find lots of people saying they prefer it just because they think it makes them sound more of an expert. And I'm certainly not accusing anyone here of that, but there are lots of those people in the world.

That said, the nicest whisk(e)y I've ever had was a Bowmore 1964.

Mr Magnolia

Brockagh wrote: »

Cooley make double distilled whiskey, like in Scotland. They're very good at it too.

That's maybe the connemara I mentioned. It's a peated whiskey, same principle as Scotch.

Unfortunately, our great whiskeys in Ireland are about ten times more expensive than the scottish equivalent. You'll find it hard (in my opinion) to find a scotch as good as the likes of Midleton 25. Some Cooleys are brilliant.

The 15yr Kilbeggan next on my shopping list, I've heard some rave reviews and a good deal cheaper than midleton.

asdasd

I love the peaty taste of Laphraoig. Must try Talisker.

guinnessdrinker

One of my friends told me that Connemara, even though it's an Irish whiskey, tastes a lot like Scottish whisky. I've never tried it so can't say if it does or not but I hope to soon. She also recommended Greenspot as one of the nicest tasting Irish whiskeys.

Brockagh

asdasd wrote: »

I love the peaty taste of Laphraoig. Must try Talisker.

Laphroaig is like iodine, while Talisker is kind of peppery. Two great whiskys. Personally, I think the Lagavulin 16 is the best of them all. One of the great whiskys of the world. Also an Islay, like the Laphroaig.

Ardbeg is also very good. The old 10 is better than the new one, though. In my opinion, of course.

shanel23

I would have a massive preference for Irish . I love the oily blackbush and would drink green spot as my daily tipple.

There are some nice Scottish malts about but I'm just not a fan of them. I just don't like peaty whiskies.

kmick

I think it is the peatyness that distinguishes Scotch from Irish. A good few of the blended Irish are poor Paddys, Powers and the like. I think Diageo now own Bushmills which used to be a leading light.
My preference would be scotch as I think Whisky is an art over there whereas Whiskey is a bit of a commodity product here.

Brockagh

kmick wrote: »

I think it is the peatyness that distinguishes Scotch from Irish. A good few of the blended Irish are poor Paddys, Powers and the like. I think Diageo now own Bushmills which used to be a leading light.
My preference would be scotch as I think Whisky is an art over there whereas Whiskey is a bit of a commodity product here.

I don't mean to sounds disrespectful, but that's nonsense.

And I don't really go by what the experts say, but most of the published ones, like Jim Murray, Michael Jackson, Dave Broom, Paul Pacault and Charles MacLean say that Powers is magnificent - world class. I love it anyway. None of those experts are Irish, by the way.

There are lots of distilleries in Scotland - Auchentoshan, Caol Ila, Arran, Glengoyne, Springbank ... - that make unpeated whisky. And Cooley in Ireand makes peated whiskey. What distinguishes scotch from irish, technically, is that scoth is made and matured in scotland, while irish is made and matured in ireland.

kmick

No offence taken.
Powers is light and sweet and bland enough. Its a bit whiskey lite for me.

rubadub

Brockagh wrote: »

What distinguishes scotch from irish, technically, is that scoth is made and matured in scotland, while irish is made and matured in ireland.

The vast majority of Irish is triple distilled, while I think most scotch is double distilled, and scotch can also be made in continuous stills (which results in not having the same "cuts" that a potstill can, and so higher in cogeners which will result in more hangovers for most).

I am sure there are other common/traditional differences. A homedistiller in mongolia could make a "scotch" or "irish" style drink. Most homedistillers would not dream of making a "continuous scotch" though since they value purity & control that a potstill can give you.

Continuous stills are for mass production, cheap & efficient. It would be like a beer homebrewer, doing it like some breweries do, brew at high temp and dilute down afterwards, most will not do this.

Brockagh

rubadub wrote: »

The vast majority of Irish is triple distilled, while I think most scotch is double distilled, and scotch can also be made in continuous stills (which results in not having the same "cuts" that a potstill can, and so higher in cogeners which will result in more hangovers for most).

I am sure there are other common/traditional differences. A homedistiller in mongolia could make a "scotch" or "irish" style drink. Most homedistillers would not dream of making a "continuous scotch" though since they value purity & control that a potstill can give you.

Continuous stills are for mass production, cheap & efficient. It would be like a beer homebrewer, doing it like some breweries do, brew at high temp and dilute down afterwards, most will not do this.

The majority of scotch is probably continuously distilled, not double distilled. Most scotches are blends. I don't know the specifics, so I could be wrong, but I believe that continuous distillation produces a purer spirit. It comes off at a much higher abv and has less flavour. There are some great Invergordon scotches (grain whiskey).

To be called Irish whiskey, it has to be made and matured in Ireland and be made from grain. You can distill it one hundred times if you like, or just once. But the majority of Irish whiskey is made in one distillery - Midleton. It is the most complex whiskey distillery in the world. It is a much more complex task producing what they produce. That's not to say it's better, but there's a huge degree of artistry producing all those different brands from one plant. And they have a world-class wood management process.

At one stage, Irish whiskey accounted for the vast majority of whisky sales world-wide, but it was crippled by a number of factors.

There is another distillery opening in Dingle soon, all going well. They're going to produce pure pot still. A very exciting development. Pure pot still Irish whiskey is my favourite.

lmtduffy

From my knowledge scotch whiskey is more often than not column distilled,

i think an advantage scotch whiskey has over Irish is that in Scotland there's more people making whiskey and there's more people experimenting.

Irish whiskey has some way to go and I think it is rather undeveloped when you compare the industry, the diversity and creativity of the likes of cognac and scotch with Irish whiskey.

I believe Irish whiskey has great potential to get up there with cognac and scotch, but its gonna take some investment and some attention from both the producers and the government.

But with that its gonna pay some dividends in tourism, tax and most importantly our opportunity to melt into a pool of bliss with quality home grown spirit.

Brockagh

lmtduffy wrote: »

From my knowledge scotch whiskey is more often than not column distilled,

i think an advantage scotch whiskey has over Irish is that in Scotland there's more people making whiskey and there's more people experimenting.

Irish whiskey has some way to go and I think it is rather undeveloped when you compare the industry, the diversity and creativity of the likes of cognac and scotch with Irish whiskey.

I believe Irish whiskey has great potential to get up there with cognac and scotch, but its gonna take some investment and some attention from both the producers and the government.

But with that its gonna pay some dividends in tourism, tax and most importantly our opportunity to melt into a pool of bliss with quality home grown spirit.

That's what I was saying. The biggest selling whisky in the world is Johnny walker Red - a blend. We have less distilleries here, and therefore, less variety, but in some ways we have more variety. We make more different kinds of whiskey than scotand. Until recently, that is. Now they make quadruple distilled whiskey in Bruichladdich and they use virgin oak in Benrioch (I think). We do everything the scots do AND make pure pot still Irish.

kmick

http://www.examiner.ie/story/business/qlqlididgb/rss2/

rubadub

Brockagh wrote: »

I don't know the specifics, so I could be wrong, but I believe that continuous distillation produces a purer spirit. It comes off at a much higher abv and has less flavour.

Depends on your definition of "pure". When you pot distill you separate into a few parts, generally they are reffered to as the foreshots (discarded, includes methanol), first-cut/heads, middle cut & tails (final cut). A pot still allows you to separate these out and get the desired middle cut.

There are other alcohols & nasties created besides ethanol, distillers can add back in proportions of the collected heads & tails for adjusting flavours.

Continuous stills do not really allow such fine control, fresh fermented alcohol wash is continuously fed in, there is no real separations done, so even though it can be coming out at 90%+ it is including all the crap you should really be discarding.

Mr Magnolia

kmick wrote: »

http://www.examiner.ie/story/business/qlqlididgb/rss2/

Wrong linky?

Cicero

Was up in Bushmills in Antrim recently- the 12 year old they sell on the premises only is excellent- very smooth- 16 year old also good- they use a comination of bourbon port and sherry casks to age the whiskey and use hot air to roast the barley as opposed to peat fires so you can taste the difference over peat roasted

In terms of other whiskeys, 8 year old single malt Lockes distillery from Kilbeggan is good- especially served with just a bit of water.

therealzilch

I happened upon this thread by googling "Irish vs Scottish whisky". I just wanted to say de gustibus non est disputandem: there's no reason for any competition here. I love Laphroaig and prefer Scottish whisky in general, but I can see that it's just a matter of taste.

cheers from cloudy Vienna, zilch

kevohmsford

Irish Whiskey all the way. 12 year old Jameson is nice stuff.

Brockagh

therealzilch wrote: »

I happened upon this thread by googling "Irish vs Scottish whisky". I just wanted to say de gustibus non est disputandem: there's no reason for any competition here. I love Laphroaig and prefer Scottish whisky in general, but I can see that it's just a matter of taste.

cheers from cloudy Vienna, zilch

Absolutely.

Saruman

There are no real "Irish distilleries" any more though. There are a few distilleries in Ireland but they as Irish as Guinness, as in not owned on run by Irish companies.

I'm a fan of either, depends on what it is. Overall, Scotland probably has better whiskey because it has a much wider selection than we do. And then you have stuff like Ballantines which my wife unknowingly brought me back. Tastes like cheap whiskey to me.

syklops

Saruman wrote: »

There are no real "Irish distilleries" any more though. There are a few distilleries in Ireland but they as Irish as Guinness, as in not owned on run by Irish companies.

Thats going to change over the next few years.

Saruman

Indeed it will. The porterhouse is one that springs to mind.

syklops

Saruman wrote: »

Indeed it will. The porterhouse is one that springs to mind.

Have you any source for how they are getting on with that?

Saruman

No source but I head on the grapevine that we should be seeing some form of spirit (gin perhaps) in the coming months. The Whiskey will not be ready for at least another year though.

Brockagh

They have commissioned the stills, which have been completed. Might be in Dingle by now. They're raising funds through a Founding Fathers scheme.

There's two new distilleries going ahead in Northern Ireland, one in Belfast and one in Derry.

The Teelings are planning two distilleries.

Slane Castle is planning a distillery.

There's a few planned for the west of Ireland and one in Wicklow.

I believe there's about 12 altogether.

The Irishman might even be doing something.

johnnyskeleton

Brockagh wrote: »

They have commissioned the stills, which have been completed. Might be in Dingle by now. They're raising funds through a Founding Fathers scheme.

There's two new distilleries going ahead in Northern Ireland, one in Belfast and one in Derry.

The Teelings are planning two distilleries.

Slane Castle is planning a distillery.

There's a few planned for the west of Ireland and one in Wicklow.

I believe there's about 12 altogether.

The Irishman might even be doing something.

That would be brilliant if it all works out.

Brockagh

The stills have arrived in Dingle...

https://twitter.com/DingleSpirit/status/212665054309531649/photo/1/large