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

2011abc

Dunvilles best PX round the €100 mark ( I know they do really dear stuff also ) is peak 2024 Sherry Bomb for me .Better than Brabazon 1 …not sure but very very good .As stated by Lester Id sooner put my €100 in it than a good chunk more in four year old spirit

eastie17

What are peoples views on cask strenghts versus non? Gone back and forth over the years but am now fully of the view that I prefer non cask strength. My view is that the blender has put the thought and effort in to say this is how much water we should add and you as the consumer then either like it or you dont. I find the cask strengths to be too inconsistent of a taste experience as I am never consistent with how much water I add. I guess this is a somewhat irrelevant point if you are not adding any water to your cask strength.

I understand why cask strength is produced, this is the conclusion I have come to (after much research ;) interested in what others think.

Black Sheep

My quibble with Three Swallows is not that it isn't 'good', because it is… It's that it may not be that much better than Gold Label, which is still an astonishingly good whiskey for the money, and beats the pants off a lot of much more expensive whiskies.

If someone put Gold Label in a tube with a different name, and solid it at the same price in Aldi or Lidl, it would get rave reviews.

Now the old discontinued 12 year old Powers Special Reserve, that was a real step-up!

Electric Nitwit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122953184#Comment_122953184

I think your point about the blender balancing it can be correct, but probably isn't for anything that's bang on 40%, that's just diluted to that number

Personally, I like having a few cask strength ones in. I think those would more knowledge would suggest a controlled addition of water to hit your own sweet spot, but I just like being assaulted by them neat!

Black Sheep

I'd take a cask strength over something bottled at 40%.

But if something has an ABV in the high 40s or low 50s, then I'd take that over cask strength in the high 50s or 60s, because if I dilute a cask strength, that's what I'm shooting for anyway…

Lester_Burnham

A lot of stuff now is bottled at around 46% and I think that's probably the sweet spot.

Although I'm happy to buy cask strength and add a little water to my taste if necessary. I like to have the option.

I've been drinking a Shortcross Rye and Malt bottled at 60.7% this week and a small amount of water opens it up beautifully.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122953060#Comment_122953060

While that distillery was sold, I don't know that it's correct to say that it failed.

Anyway they would be completely separate operations, companies and finances.

Electric Nitwit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122953116#Comment_122953116

Picked up a Paddy's Share in SV for €25 based on all the positive reviews here

I'm planning to keep it until I get up to my dad's around Christmas, but we'll see... 🤣

Justin10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122953127#Comment_122953127

Would you have it ahead of redbreast px out of interest?

Lester_Burnham

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122953425#Comment_122953425

Celtic Whiskey Shop have an 11 year old single cask Dunville's PX at the moment for €125. Redbreast PX is €95.

They're very different whiskeys but I'd probably buy the Dunville's if you put a gun to my head.

That said, I already have the Redbreast and I really like it.

DeniG2

picked these up today, never seen them before

Lester_Burnham

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122955632#Comment_122955632

Go on, give us a clue...

2011abc

Never tasted Redbreast PX but I do remember being underwhelmed by RB Lustau and Cask Strength if that’s any help .Anyway I reckon most Dunville PX ( I saw the 10 for €75 in CWS today ) under the €120ish mark will perform excellently in Sherry bomb bang per buck league but I guess they ain’t cheap .I actually had a Whistler PX I Love You in Irish Whiskey Museum ( a nice spot for a drink or two in Dublin especially when other places are too busy and a bit cheaper than Palace Bar .Its a pity the old Dingle Whiskey Bar location has gone down in atmosphere and up in price :-( Any other good options around ? I’ve seen some impressive menu options but don’t recall venue names .That other one in Temple Bar -The Temple Bar Whiskey Bar ?-seems very over priced )The PX I Love You was grand for the price €9 but not that memorable compared with it pricier rivals .I guess you can’t go wrong with a standard Redbreast although it does seem to vary slightly from year to year .Its a pity the Pot Still 4x50ml pack is now €45 if was a bargain at €35 and it’s not that long ago OBriens had it for €25 at Christmas

Lewis_Benson

Fireball, if you want to call it a whiskey, mixed with ginger ale, mighty.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122966992#Comment_122966992

More in the cocktail space but the OH is fond of the occasional pick-me-up long drink of…

Fireball, basic blended whiskey with ice and classic Coke.

I started adding the basic whiskey as initial reviews were of too much cinnamon :)

Lewis_Benson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122967027#Comment_122967027

NNice To have something different to the usual jameson and xxxx

Black Sheep

I must admit, I used to see Fireball around the place and think "Surely no one ever orders that"… I stand corrected. There must be a bit of a marketing push on it, as well, as there were little cardboard adverts all over the bar tables at a place I was in yesterday.

2011abc

Third bottle of Ardfallen 10 ( not the other stuff- 10) bought and sipped last night .This stuff is definitely punching above its weight with a lovely sweet white dessert wine hinted top quality grain balanced out nicely with a decent malt.I don’t think there’s anything quite like it out there .Wasn’t the Teeling Brabazon ‘2’ a bit similar but far higher quality or at least more expensive ? If all €30 bottles were like this there would be no market for €60 bottles !

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122970418#Comment_122970418

In their limited release Wheel of the Year series, the latest (and last) Dingle Dreoilin, is single pot still finished in Muscatel cask.

And the first one Samhain was single malt in Muscatel cask, though I think that's largely sold out now.

If you fancy treating yourself or the Ardfallen 10 sells out:

https://shop.dingledistillery.ie/dingle-whiskey/dingle-la-an-dreoilin-single-pot-still/

Lester_Burnham

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122969572#Comment_122969572

There's a big marketing push behind it. It's owned by Sazerac and they're pushing this and Paddy's Share. I'd never tried it but there was a Fireball stand at Whiskey Live this year so I said what the hell. When I sorted myself out the next day I found a load of 50ml bottles amongst my loot so they're getting it out there.

FlicFlak

So i had a bottle of the Ardfallen 10 and decided to open it last night given the high praise on this thread for it.

I must say, i completely agree that it really is an excellent whiskey, punching well above its price point. The grain in it is sweet, then the Muscatel cask comes in and bring a different level of sweetness. Now i'll have to get another bottle before they're all gone!

the beer revolu

I find the Ardfallen 10 a bit too bannanish for my taste.

Beanstalk

I might pick up a bottle of the Ardfallen if some of yous really swear by it! Watching the Holdovers (nice and Christmassy) and having something I have on a rare occasion. Love the pineapple/motor oil/smoke onslaught of a Springbank 10.

Black Sheep

We discussed M&S whiskies a while back.

Had a look in a store yesterday, and a chance to read labels carefully.

Based on some of the info available, I'm pretty confident this is 10 year old Longmorn, if anyone's interested. Price wise, I think it's ok for what it is.

A lot of Longmorn goes into Chivas Regal and to various bonders and blenders.

Black Sheep

The inside scoop on the breakup of the Malt website... I had no idea it was over a dispute between the team about a review of Waterford, who one of them was also working for.

This has it all... search engine skulduggery, burned friendships and polarised views about whether Waterford were geniuses or very very overrated.

Whisky nerds only, don't ask me for fifteen minutes of your life back ;)

https://www.causewaycoastwhiskeyreviews.com/2024/12/the-waterford-project.html

Lester_Burnham

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122980097#Comment_122980097

Interesting. The actual review is pretty close to the mark.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122980097#Comment_122980097

Well, that explains where I got the idea that the initial releases were 5 years old! Reynier had declared that they wouldn't release before 5 years. I believed him and it stuck in my head!

flended12

Very enjoyable.

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122981241#Comment_122981241

This gets decent reviews, on my list to try .

I have in my head that they used ex Laphroaig casks for part of the aging. I think one of the Micil guys said it during a whisky vlogger interview.

Black Sheep

Was weighing up getting another Boann for Christmas (madeira or marsala finish), thought about various other new Irish options too (JJ Corry Xmas blend), but went for a Shortcross Distillers Duo in the end. A 2024 award winner, and mix of double distilled malt and single pot still.

A very clean, well executed whisky at 5 years. Definitely one accessible to people who have a fixed, kind of mainstream, idea of what Irish whiskey is... but it it has a bit more about it too, for the rest of us. You get a whiskey with some orchard, cereal and sugar but theres a spicy mouthfeel and oiliness thst is the pot still coming through too.

12 year old Dunvilles PX here too. Interesting contrast between it and the Boann PX. I'd say if you're a PX fan (as in, PX itself), the the Boann is the most strongly PX driven whisky I've had in years. It's like they splashed some in directly. The Dunvilles is much drier actually, which surprised me. When I tried a sample a while ago I didn't cop that. It's still not a dry whisky, just drier and with a very very long finish. It's a little like the Glendronach style, whereas I'd say Boann more like a full on desert whisky, like Glenallachie can be, at times. I hear the other Boann finishes are drier, which I'll be interested to try.