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

odyssey06

Out and about tomorrow so opening my christmas cracker 'dram in a can' from Two Stacks... aged in a combination of oloroso, amontillado, and PX casks. 

The can could double as a tree ornament.

Not much complexity to it but an easy sipping pot still with spicy finish.

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/two-stacks-christmas-triple-barrel-can

2011abc

Just sipping on a last minute Redbreast before the big day.Asking myself if its THAT much better than the Ardfallen 10…hmm….Not as a bang per buck daily drinker .Finish way better for sure .On a 'feck it ,its Christmas level ' its home and dry .

tphase

PXL_20241224_173438966.jpg

Been looking forward to this Casg Annamh for a bit...going down fierce easy

Deregos.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122988404#Comment_122988404

A friend got us a gift of the Two Stacks cream liqueur, it's a lot nicer than Baileys. I'd never heard of Two Stacks before but I'd like to try their whiskey now.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122988466#Comment_122988466

This is a good intro to Two Stacks... keep an eye out for their drams in a can at offie checkouts

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/two-stacks-dram-in-a-can-discovery-pack

Deregos.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122988472#Comment_122988472

That's a good suggestion, I will indeed keep me eye out for them.

Beanstalk

Speaking of Two Stacks got a blenders cut cask strength from me brother which I'm looking forward to.

This is my lineup tonight really enjoying a freshly opened Deanston 18 too!

Black Sheep

This is now I know my mother in law doesn't hate me.

Another whisky cracker tomorrow. One way to convince me to go back, I guess.

Got a 9 year old Glenallachie Oloroso under the tree.

EagererBeaver

Shame about the sorry looking fare beside the smoked salmon.

ablelocks

got a present of this last year, and only opened it this Christmas - really good.

Very tempted to buy this tomorrow - anyone tried it?

waterboy15

Have the red head too, so for Christmas I got the Double oak find it's a lovely drop with the added pot still and bottled at 46 %.

2011abc

I had a Tequilla finished whiskey a year or two back .JJ Corry?It was underwhelming but got nicer when even a little of almost any other whiskey was added .Short aanswer would be no from me unless cheap

DeniG2

I think someone posted about the various Clonakilty whiskies but for the life of me I cannot find the post. Any thoughts on this one…………..

odyssey06

I was in ALDI (Bayside) today, no sign of any more Ardfallen 10. I did see the Puca Single Grain and looks like Small Batch also back on shelves, I think someone was enquiring about them earlier on thread.

FlicFlak

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123026310#Comment_123026310

I must say, the Puca single grain is on of the nicest single grain whiskies ive ever had, severely underrated as a whiskey and even more so as a category, i will be hunting this one down again!!

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123026281#Comment_123026281

I've never tried it, but I've read positive things. It's sourced whiskey, a blend of malt and grain. I presume Great Northern?

Although he can be bit and miss in terms of his reviewing (prone to hyperbole), I generally find that if Jim Murray scores something above 90/100 then it is probably safe enough, he's never scored a dud above 90 in my experience. He gave the Clonakilty port cask bang on 90, although it was for a batch from a few years ago.

odyssey06

@DeniG2 Are you asking about the Clonakilty Port Cask as it is on offer for €32 in Tesco for January?

If you do pick up a bottle, please share a review for the rest of us bargain hunters.

https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/en-IE/products/316304002

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123026281#Comment_123026281

My memory from a tasting of a few of their early bottlings (pretty sure the port cask was among them) was that they were all pretty pedestrian and boring but not "bad". They may have improved in that time.

DeniG2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123028719#Comment_123028719

They don't stock it in my local Tesco Express but I may be passing another Tesco this weekend, if I pick up a bottle I'll be sure to share a review here (albeit with my limited tasting knowledge)

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123030026#Comment_123030026

This is a very basic scale for a review, I cribbed it from a wine rating system…

1 star - Wouldn't even finish the bottle.
2 stars - Not sure about it, maybe use in hot whiskeys or mixers.
3 stars - Glad I tried it, wouldn't buy another bottle.
4 stars - Would pick up another bottle at discounted price.
5 stars - Would pick up another bottle at RRP.

Grading within 5 star wines or whiskies is where it gets tricky :)

SteM

Have you ever had a 1 star?

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123030149#Comment_123030149

In wine, yes, one bottle I wouldn't even use for cooking.
There was a wine blog for a while, Sediment, all about trying the cheapest wines the lads could find in the UK.
It was a fun read :)

With whiskey, I think I used this "Irish Rover Blended Whiskey" in the end in a punch with other spirits. Was very close to not being used for drinking.
I picked it up because I was curious about the bottle.

https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/en-IE/products/313758794

L1011

Not actual whiskey, but the not-yet-3-year-old-spirit stuff that West Cork plopped out about a decade ago would be 1 star on that scale for me.

Put me off the distillery for life. I know the need to get cashflow, but why on earth would you sell such utter muck with your own brand name on it.

The slightly less awful stuff eventually got consumed with Irn Bru so maybe it has to get a 2!

SteM

Irn Bru is a 1 star soft drink! 😊

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123030149#Comment_123030149

I judged at the Irish Whiskey Awards a couple of times. There's a few one stars in there!

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123030053#Comment_123030053

I think when trying to convey your thoughts on tasting anything, people often forget to say why!

So, people come on here (not professional or experienced reviewers) and say how awful something is and how they'd never buy it again but don't give any indication as to why they didn't like it.

Same goes for restaurant reviews. Please tell us why you thought it was terrible or great!

Buddy97mm

20250108_113412.jpg

Have very little experience of Japanese whiskey, but got a bottle of this at Christmas, and it's excellent.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123032563#Comment_123032563

The more info the better, sometimes thinking about what 'star' to give it might kick off some further thoughts worth sharing.

People are usually expressive with a 1 star, something awful. They can be fun reads.

It gets a bit tougher with the mediocre, or say a tricky one is deciding between a 3 star and a 4 star.

Black Sheep

Ratings are very interesting.

The 5 star system above seems pretty good. Clear and simple, with a one liner to explain each score, easy for everyone to grasp.

However, I do also like scoring out of 10, or even out of 100, which are approaches that are used in other review contexts. An increased amount of scoring detail might help you choose among top performing whiskies, which is often where I find myself. If I know I want to buy a good bourbon, for example, I'll identify a price range, and then I could still have to decide between 10 bottles.

I also think it's worth mentioning that reviews and scoring systems are more useful in the long term if you have bought a few bottles based on reviews by a given person, and you can then make a judgement about whether their taste, and how they score, actually matches to your taste. I've certainly got a decent sense, at this stage, of how and why Jim Murray scores things a particular way, and I can tell from his notes and turn of phrase, as well as the score, whether I'll like something he likes, or whether I've learned enough to know that it's one he's scoring highly but isn't for me.

Beanstalk

I have a bottle of the Port Cask. I remember being annoyed at the time of buying it as it wasn't clear that it was sourced. But regardless it was a nice drop. Lots of strawberry from the port influence and just decent in general. The nose was really lovely I rememeber that.

Of course since they've brought out their own pot still which I'd love to try!