Whiskey for a birthday

ianm1990

Hi ,

Looking for recommendations for a bottle of whiskey Ihave about 100 quid to spend for my mates birthday. Not a whiskey fan myself so no idea what to look for.

Cheers

John_Mc

ianm1990 wrote: »

Hi ,

Looking for recommendations for a bottle of whiskey Ihave about 100 quid to spend for my mates birthday. Not a whiskey fan myself so no idea what to look for.

Cheers

Redbreast 15 years is about €90 or thereabouts. the 12 years is very good as well, priced about €65. I personally prefer the 12.

No whiskey fan would be disappointed with either!

odyssey06

You can't go wrong with Redbreast.

But if you want to make it a little more personal... there are distilleries and whiskey brands popping up all around the country so you might be able to pick up a bottle from a county your mate has a connection to.

Brian?

Redbreast 15 or Yellow Spot.

picachu

Redbreast 12 Cask Strength. Its around €90

BonnieSituation

picachu wrote: »

Redbreast 12 Cask Strength. Its around €90

This^^^^

You can get it engraved in CWS as well.

weisses

Writers tears ?

the beer revolu

All the above suggestions are very solid but if someone is into Irish whiskey, they've, no doubt, had most of the above.

For something a little bit different, I'd suggest Tyrconnel Madeira cask finish. It's an old favourite of mine.
Or a Waterford or Drumshambo might be interesting, too.

odyssey06

JJ Corry the Gael
Knappogue castle 14 or barolo finish 12
Waterford Ratheadon

They may not have come onto your mates radar yet

Black Sheep

Yeah, a great suggestion to vary it. To be honest I get a lot of Redbreast as a gift, and I do think you can go wrong with it... If the person is either as sick of Redbreast as I am, or maybe isn't that into Irish whiskey, for example, also me...

For 100 euro and down if I was your mate I'd be chuffed to get...

Glenlivet 18 year old - 99 euro ... Had a bottle of this last Christmas and it was great. Just a classic Speyside.
Glenfarclas 17 year old or 18 year old - 95 euro / 94 euro... Biased because they're my favourite Scottish distiller. Family owned and brilliant.
Johnnie Walker 18 year old - 87 euro. Probably wouldn't be my first choice but aside from the fact that it is legitimately good whisky it may have a "wow" factor due to the name.

If you knew they liked really smoky whisky from Islay then coming in just under 100 is a few options from Ardbeg that would probably impress them.

To be honest there are actually even better Scotch whiskies in the 60-85 euro price range if we knew more about what your friend liked. If he drinks Islay then there are a few Kilchoman options, there's various very good cask finished whiskies (Glenmorangie Nectar d'Or for example, genuinely one of the best ever).

Can't beat a Lagavulin 16 etc. Also within your price range.

Effects

That list really makes me want to try more Scotch. Was chatting to some mates a while back, who were saying that Scottish whiskey is just much better value than Irish at the moment. Too many Irish brands are just sourced liquid with a bit of marketing behind them.
But I do prefer to support Irish in both whiskey and beer.

Cazale

Spot Whiskey (Large) - Tasting Flight - Green/Green Leoville Barton/Green Chateau Montelena/Blue/Yellow/Red (6 X 50ml)
Regular price €59.50

https://www.tinytipple.com/collections/tasting-flights/products/spot-whiskey-large-tasting-flight-green-green-leoville-barton-green-chateau-montelena-blue-yellow-red-4-x-50ml

With either:

Redbreast Introduction - Tasting Flight - 12/12CS/Lustau/15 (4 X 50ml)
Regular price €42.50

https://www.tinytipple.com/collections/tasting-flights/products/redbreast-introductory-flight

Or

Carlow Whiskey Selection - Tasting Flight - (4 X 50ml)
Regular price€33.50

https://www.tinytipple.com/collections/whiskey-1/products/carlow-whiskey-flight-4-x-50ml

mvl

Not sure if I should hop on this thread, or raise a new one; I also want to gift Irish whiskey to some mates abroad; price range ~ 80-150 eur for 75cl; I am not a whiskey drinker myself, any suggestions on best of Irish I could get on this price range would be appreciated.

• In addition would be looking for a label that cannot be found in that country (there is a website I can see what's available). -e.g. from above seen the likes of Redbreast, Tyrconnel, Knappogue Castle can be bought over there (so no point in me bringing it over).

Only started to look into this - if I were to compare likes of JJ Corry the Gael with Writers Tears Cask Strength 2021 I wouldn't know where to start ... Defo I could use all the help I can get, thanks !

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117812048#Comment_117812048

You mention you're bringing it over, so I'm assuming you'd buy in Dublin Airport. If it's a non EU destination then some of the guys may be able to advise on particularly good value bottles.

A couple of ideas:-

Teeling Renaissance Series 3 ... An 18 year old finished in ex-Muscat casks. 46% ABV. What I like about this as an option as a gift is that it comes in a really beautiful bottle and box, something that looks a bit different. Overall I think it looks premium (Rightly or wrongly I think that's a factor with a gift like this) and not bad on the price for what you get - RRP is around 140.

Dingle Single Malt Batch 5... From Cork, whiskey from the owners of The Porterhouse brewing company (and Dingle gin). Probably the best of the new independent Irish distilleries, based on what I've tasted, although people's mileage will vary. RRP should be around 75 I think.

The other possibility that springs to mind is something from Waterford, which is possibly a little more stylish looking that Dingle, similar RRP, although I didn't enjoy what I had as much.

JJ Corry has a great name and well reviewed for all their products, you could certainly go that route too if you can get it.

Darc19

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117812175#Comment_117812175

Anyone can buy in Dublin Airport. It just a bit more expensive if you are travelling within the EU.

But I would second the idea of talking to the staff there. They are knowledgeable and may also have some exclusives.

https://www.theloop.ie/alcohol/whiskey/

ohnohedidnt

Yellow Spot

mvl

thanks guys.

- didn't pass my mind to buy from airport, thought ordering online tbh (preferred as I would be travelling with my dog, laptop, won't probably have time / be practical to carry additional bottles) ... yeah, defo "Teeling Renaissance Series 3" looks interesting.

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117812237#Comment_117812237

Obviously anyone can buy, but the prices for travellers within the EU are not up to much - in some cases pricier than the high street off licence.