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

Cazale

Wailin wrote:

Better be fresh in the morning

Don't count on it!

murphyebass

Cazale wrote: »

The missus is away so I'm running amuck. Had the following this evening listed in order of preference. All good whiskeys but the Irishman was the star. Took notes but five whiskeys in doesn't lend to typing

The Irishman Cask Strength 2020 Single Malt 55.2%
Fercullen 8 year old blended 40%
Bill Phil Batch 2 47.58%
Tipperary Homegrown Barley 50%
Red Earl Cask Strength 65.45%

What was the Red Earl cask like? Was thinkin of grabbing a bottle.

Edit.. no need to reply, have ordered a bottle out of curiosity. :-)

Hogzy

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Are you sure herself didn't get to the box after finding the Blue Spot as well?

She still hasnt found that :pac: I swear to god I have all the hallmarks of being an alcoholic, if she went down to the car and found a stashed bottle of bluespot there would probably be an intervention...and I havnt had over 4 consecutive drinks in a night since Christmas.

BonnieSituation

Hogzy wrote: »

She still hasnt found that :pac: I swear to god I have all the hallmarks of being an alcoholic, if she went down to the car and found a stashed bottle of bluespot there would probably be an intervention...and I havnt had over 4 consecutive drinks in a night since Christmas.

I have no problem intervening. Think of the big picture.

Hogzy

BonnieSituation wrote: »

I have no problem intervening. Think of the big picture.

Only if you take the dreamcasks from me...I need it all gone! :P

BonnieSituation

Hogzy wrote: »

Only if you take the dreamcasks from me...I need it all gone! :P

New job first payday next Friday.

Though if mine finds it in the car...

Effects

Cazale wrote: »

Took notes but five whiskeys in doesn't lend to typing

The Irishman Cask Strength 2020 Single Malt 55.2%
Fercullen 8 year old blended 40%
Bill Phil Batch 2 47.58%
Tipperary Homegrown Barley 50%
Red Earl Cask Strength 65.45%

How was the Tipp one? That's their barley but distilled elsewhere, then aged by them, right?

arodabomb

Whoop. Finally here, just need an excuse now. And no damage to the box, so that's good. Has anyone tasted it yet?

Hogzy

arodabomb wrote: »

Whoop. Finally here, just need an excuse now. And no damage to the box, so that's good. Has anyone tasted it yet?

I bought a bottle share alright but it hasnt arrived yet.

Cazale

I'm away for a few days so my bottle is being delivered next week. Potstilled on YouTube have a live stream staring at 8pm with Dave McCabe who is the redbreast blender. They did one last year too and its well worth a watch.

Cazale

Effects wrote:

How was the Tipp one? That's their barley but distilled elsewhere, then aged by them, right?

It's good. Yeah it's barley they grew on their own farm and harvested in 2016. No craft malters at time in Ireland so they took it to Scotland. Took it back and distilled it over a week in 2017 at an undisclosed distillery. Matured in five Rioja wine casks. Notes of strawberries, raspberries, sweet jam, biscuits, jammie dodgers. It'll be interesting to see how they develop. Gonna be very small operation of about 2-4 casks a week.

Cazale

murphyebass wrote: »

What was the Red Earl cask like? Was thinkin of grabbing a bottle.

Edit.. no need to reply, have ordered a bottle out of curiosity. :-)

I think it's better than the original version which I thought was a bit weak. I wasn't expecting too much but it's very drinkable at 65.45% and the extra abv helps it. Definitely worth a punt at €60. 290 bottles. Non chill filter or colouring. Great Northern stock aged in bourbon cask for three years, olorosso sherry and then first fill Rioja cask for 5 months. 90% grain and 10% malt. Notes of strawberries, rose petals, marzipan, toffee and vanilla. I got a whiff of sulpher on the nose.

Cazale

Quick update on the blog. Conscious of not spamming so I'll be brief. Over 250 different visitors since I started last Sunday which I'm delighted with. A healthy proportion from this thread including a few lurkers. Thanks for all the support and kind messages. Two new reviews up.

Knappogue Castle 1951

https://onlydrams.wordpress.com/2021/06/04/review-knappogue-castle-1951/

Killowen Signature “Rum and Raisin” 5 year old (55%)

https://onlydrams.wordpress.com/2021/06/01/review-killowen-signature-rum-and-raisin-5-year-old/

BonnieSituation

Hitting the road to Banbridge in a bit to drop off work equipment.

Last time I was up in Newry they had RB12 for 43euro in Sainsbury's. So hopefully that's still on the go now and I'll grab another one.

Anyone been stalking Sainsbury's or Asda etc of late see anything worth a gander?

odyssey06

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Hitting the road to Banbridge in a bit to drop off work equipment.
Last time I was up in Newry they had RB12 for 43euro in Sainsbury's. So hopefully that's still on the go now and I'll grab another one.
Anyone been stalking Sainsbury's or Asda etc of late see anything worth a gander?

At the risk of crossing threads, last time I was there Sainsburys had some very nice own brand Armagnac and Calvados in 50cl bottles.

Cazale

BonnieSituation wrote:

Anyone been stalking Sainsbury's or Asda etc of late see anything worth a gander?

odyssey06 wrote:

At the risk of crossing threads, last time I was there Sainsbury's
had some very nice own brand Armagnac and Calvados in 50cl bottles.

That Armagnac is decent and I'm nearly finished it. Think it's 22 pound. I'm up North at the moment myself so was in Sainsbury's last night. Nothing too exciting to be honest. Highland Park 12 for 25 pound is good value. Talisker 10 at 30 and Johnnie Walker Black label at 20 not bad. They have a Glenfiddich tasting set of the 12/15/18 year olds for a tenner. There is a lot of mediocre to average Scottish bottles so be careful not to get stung!

cloudatlas

BonnieSituation

Cazale wrote: »

That Armagnac is decent and I'm nearly finished it. Think it's 22 pound. I'm up North at the moment myself so was in Sainsbury's last night. Nothing too exciting to be honest. Highland Park 12 for 25 pound is good value. Talisker 10 at 30 and Johnnie Walker Black label at 20 not bad. They have a Glenfiddich tasting set of the 12/15/18 year olds for a tenner. There is a lot of mediocre to average Scottish bottles so be careful not to get stung!

Tesco in Banbridge had nowt anyway.

For reference, RB12 is £41/€47.

No danger of me getting stung with scotches though, as it takes a clear recommendation from one of ye to spend my cash on our brethren's drams.

killbillvol2

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Tesco in Banbridge had nowt anyway.

For reference, RB12 is £41/€47.

No danger of me getting stung with scotches though, as it takes a clear recommendation from one of ye to spend my cash on our brethren's drams.

Too late now but I'd be all over the Highland Park 12 for £25. Grab one next time you're up.

BonnieSituation

killbillvol2 wrote: »

Too late now but I'd be all over the Highland Park 12 for £25. Grab one next time you're up.

Cheers. I would have and all. But myself and Levi's got too well acquainted after a year not buying jeans. That left me with only room for one bottle and RB12 won out.

Black Sheep

Saw a bottle of Kilchoman Sanaig in Martins Fairview and couldn’t resist.

Cazale

A friend sent me this. I don't think it's true

Technophobe

Some Black Barrel tonight, then a Tullamore Dew XO Caribbean Rum Cask and now on the Glenfiddich IPA Experiment.
Really liking it and still trying to decide why (apart from the fact that it is a good whisky 😀 )

odyssey06

Jura tasting with L Mulligans as part of Fèis Ìle *

(1) Started with Black Bottle, a basic blended Scotch with some Jura malt in there. Probably the nicest basic blend Scotch I've tasted. Good starter to the night, nice and light, not rough at all for a blend. Doesn't seem to be available here but under £20 in Sainsburys so good value there.

(2) Jura Journey Single Malt NAS. I liked this one, subtle smokiness, creamy, hint of spice and long finish.

(3) Jura Red Wine Cask... no real details on what kind of red wine cask was used but the wine cask influence came through strongly. If you like e.g. Green Spot Chateau Montelana you'll appreciate this one.

(4) Jura Seven Wood. This was the highlight of the night for me. Matured in American Oak then finished in 6 different French oaks, of which Limousin is one. This was the most complex whiskey, spice and sea spray, long finish and what I register as a 'secondary explosion' of flavours.

(5) Jura 12 year old single malt. A nice one to finish on, mellow, smooth, sherry cask finish.

I've also tasted Jura 10 year old Origin which is very nice but I would actually put the full Jura expressions from the tasting above it.

* Yes Jura is a different island to Islay but it seems to have been adopted as an extension of Islay for many purposes. Jura kids have to take the ferry to Islay for school

Cazale

odyssey06 wrote:

Jura tasting with L Mulligans as part of Fèis Ìle *

Great review. I regret not getting it now! I've tried a few Jura but need to delve further.

odyssey06

Cazale wrote: »

Great review. I regret not getting it now! I've tried a few Jura but need to delve further.

If you have any Jura at all, it'd be worth watching the tasting recording on Youtube for the craic. Most of the info was about Jura in general rather than specific to the particular expressions.

Jura have a lot of different expressions. At the tasting they mentioned a reason to have 10 year old and 12 year old expressions is to push the 10 year old expressions for use in cocktails in bars. So you have the cachet of a single malt age statement at a slightly lower price as an input to the cocktail.

When it comes to Jura I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the age statement, the NAS Seven Wood and Journey were at least as good at the 10 - 12 year old expressions.

Cazale

odyssey06 wrote: »

If you have any Jura at all, it'd be worth watching the tasting recording on Youtube for the craic. Most of the info was about Jura in general rather than specific to the particular expressions.

Jura have a lot of different expressions. At the tasting they mentioned a reason to have 10 year old and 12 year old expressions is to push the 10 year old expressions for use in cocktails in bars. So you have the cachet of a single malt age statement at a slightly lower price as an input to the cocktail.

When it comes to Jura I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the age statement, the NAS Seven Wood and Journey were at least as good at the 10 - 12 year old expressions.

I have some black bottle and have three Jura bottles. I must give it a watch and drink along. Mine are 50ml samples though so I'll have to take it easy

cloudatlas

Jura has long been looked down amongst Scotch Whisky nerds for being a bit lacklustre compared with their cousins on Islay, independent bottlings can be amazing though.

Cazale

The Redbreast Dream Cask arrived today

head82

This is probably a little off topic but I figured here was the most appropriate thread to post it.

I've been keeping an eye on the Celtic Whiskey Auction site (May/June finished last night) and was surprised to see a noticable drop in the 'hammer price' of some bottles.. actually quite a lot of bottles.
For instance, my oldest bottle of MVR is 2007. Previous auctions, this has sold for around €700. At close of current auction, it didn't even reach its reserve of €500. Same for the 2008.
This would appear to be a trend across the board. All those MVR 2020s that were fetching 700+ a couple of months back, now struggled to reach 450. And quite a few didn't even reach their reserve.

Just curious as to what could be a possible explanation for this fall off. Is there a glut of bottles on the market?