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What Whisky/Whiskey are we drinking this month?

artanevilla

I know there's a thread on recommending Whiskeys/Whiskys but there's none on general tasting as far as I can see.

Similar premise to the beer thread, but we'll say month instead of week as drinking a €50/60 bottle of Whiskey/Whisky a week is probably not a good idea...

I picked up a bottle of The Glenlivet Master Distillers Reserve on my travels recently. No age statement.

Not the most complex Whisky in the world. It's quite nice though, smooth and fruity, very strong taste of pears, and a tiny bit of spice. Drank with a splash of water.

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BonnieSituation

I still haven't had a chance to open my Glenfarclas 25. The email today was a nice wee fillip.

---

It's a night of GIS and Kilbeggan over this side with the NFL on in the background for good measure.

Dtp1979

I’ve made a few attempts over the last week to try my RB26. All failed attempts. So tonight I said feck it, and poured one. What an amazing whisky.
And now I see there’s a RB30?! Anyone tried that?

Cazale

The Tipperary release that caused all that bother a few weeks back is a bargain in comparison to this one. Crazy money for a three year old whiskey.

Ballykeefe distillery, single estate whiskey - €475

Ballykeefe is an entirely independent, artisan, family-owned Single Estate Whiskey Distillery, which was built in 2016 to diversify a working family farm for successor generations. All of the Whiskey is triple distilled from barley sown, grown and harvested on the family farm. This makes it a uniquely 100% ‘field to glass “Single Estate” Whiskey distillery’ and marks a revival of a century’s lost tradition of family farm distilling. Ballykeefe on the label means 100% Ballykeefe distilled spirit made from 100% Ballykeefe Irish barley, in the bottle.

The Ging family have an unbroken lineage of farming for centuries as far back as written records exist. Ballykeefe is located in the region which is renowned for the earliest written accounts of distilling in Ireland, recorded in the Red Book of Ossory in 1324.

Built in 2016, Whiskey production began in 2017 with a Single Pot Still, followed by Single Malt and Single Rye. All Whiskey is triple distilled in bespoke, Irish designed, Italian made, copper stills, using deep well Ballykeefe water. Major investment in sophisticated technology and eco-friendly practices have ensured zero off-farm waste and secured Ballykeefe multiple awards for sustainability.

The first release of 500 cask strength, single pot still, single cask bottles, is being done in an exclusive collaboration with Ireland’s oldest Family-owned Crystal Studio Workshop, Kilkenny Crystal. Using traditional techniques, the master craftspeople at Kilkenny Crystal, have designed and hand cut two unique crystal tumblers to accompany each bottle, which they have also beautifully hand engraved to mark this historic first release.

lawrencesummers

Bargain.
Only 475 for a 3/4 year old whiskey and a set of glasses.

ciaran76

Slattsy wrote: »

TD is absolutely huge in the States.

TD huge in Czech Republic too.
Before Covid I used to go there once a month with work and I used to live there back in 2012/13 and it had huge marketing there.

People would mention it to me before Jameson in bars etc.

Beanstalk

lawrencesummers wrote: »

Bargain.
Only 475 for a 3/4 year old whiskey and a set of glasses.

ah lads. what is going on? honestly...that's just mad.

lawrencesummers

Beanstalk wrote: »

ah lads. what is going on? honestly...that's just mad.

It’s only mad if it doesn’t sell out.

If it sells out then it’s underpriced.

the beer revolu

Beanstalk wrote: »

ah lads. what is going on? honestly...that's just mad.

They probably watched too many distillery first releases being retailed for €50 - €70 and then being resold for €hundreds.
I guess they felt that they deserved to cash in more than the resellers!

With crystal tumblers they are going for rich Americans and Russians and collectors rather than whiskey drinkers imo.

Mad money, though.

Beanstalk

lawrencesummers wrote: »

It’s only mad if it doesn’t sell out.

If it sells out then it’s underpriced.

yeah fair point. what i should have said is that its maddening, having been waiting so long for new Irish distilleries to open, and to rival the scotch industry, that one of our most interesting potential products and the concept of single origin are marketed way beyond our reach.

Ivefoundgod

Ballykeefe is relatively local to me but I wouldn’t go near their stuff at €70 let alone €500 unless I saw some reviews. Their gin is really bad and nothing about their packaging says premium. The Drumshanbo inaugural release for €80 has better packaging than what this set has.

Know someone working in the wine centre Kilkenny though who said they’ve already had multiple enquiries for it. People are crazy.

lawrencesummers

Beanstalk wrote: »

yeah fair point. what i should have said is that its maddening, having been waiting so long for new Irish distilleries to open, and to rival the scotch industry, that one of our most interesting potential products and the concept of single origin are marketed way beyond our reach.

It seems crazy alright, but the latest Waterford release is selling for €800 at auction and that’s a bottle only release with twice the availability.

lawrencesummers

Ivefoundgod wrote: »

Ballykeefe is relatively local to me but I wouldn’t go near their stuff at €70 let alone €500 unless I saw some reviews. Their gin is really bad and nothing about their packaging says premium. The Drumshanbo inaugural release for €80 has better packaging than what this set has.

Know someone working in the wine centre Kilkenny though who said they’ve already had multiple enquiries for it. People are crazy.

I think most people would agree that no young whiskey is worth that amount no matter the distillery, It’s novelty and potential future value that people are paying for.

Cazale

Teeling Wonders of Wood Amburana Cask

We are excited to announce there is still stock available of the very first in our series of Wonders of Wood bottlings! A 14 Year Old Single Malt aged initially in bourbon barrels and then further matured in Virgin Amburana Brazilian hardwood. Challenging the conception of traditional whiskey flavours, this unique Irish whiskey has a striking carrot cake taste profile with hints of vanilla, cardamom and walnut. This Teeling Distillery Exclusive is very different to anything we have bottled before and definitely not Irish whiskey as you would normally know it.

The selection of the Amburana Wood as the first release of our Wonders of Wood series was decided by attendees of our Virtual Wonders of Wood event in September. Hosted by Teeling Whiskey’s Master Distiller, Alex Chasko, Teeling Maturation Manager, Iain Wood and Global Brand Ambassador, Robert Caldwell, the tasting gave participants a unique opportunity to taste some of our most innovative and unique Teeling Whiskey maturation projects. At the end of the tasting we asked the audience to vote for their favourite and to share their tasting notes. The winner on the night was to be bottled up as a Single Cask and to be the first of our Wonders of Wood releases. The Amburana Brazilian Hardwood was the pick of the lot! These casks normally never make it out of Brazil but we were lucky to get our hands on a number of sustainably farmed casks that had been destined for a premium Cachaça distiller.

Bottled at 56.9% ABV and costing €125, this limited edition, distillery exclusive is available via our online shop.

the beer revolu

Beanstalk wrote: »

yeah fair point. what i should have said is that its maddening, having been waiting so long for new Irish distilleries to open, and to rival the scotch industry, that one of our most interesting potential products and the concept of single origin are marketed way beyond our reach.

I don't think this kind of thing will last, really - and I'd imagine it will only apply to distilleries first release anyway. With 38 active distilleries on the Island, I don't think it will be too long before the market slows down.

Having said that, the first whiskey release from any distillery will always be somewhat collectable.

Also , there is another "grain to glass" distillery in the North - Echlinville

Starlord_01

Cazale wrote: »

Teeling Wonders of Wood Amburana Cask

We are excited to announce there is still stock available of the very first in our series of Wonders of Wood bottlings! A 14 Year Old Single Malt aged initially in bourbon barrels and then further matured in Virgin Amburana Brazilian hardwood. Challenging the conception of traditional whiskey flavours, this unique Irish whiskey has a striking carrot cake taste profile with hints of vanilla, cardamom and walnut. This Teeling Distillery Exclusive is very different to anything we have bottled before and definitely not Irish whiskey as you would normally know it.

Bottled at 56.9% ABV and costing €125, this limited edition, distillery exclusive is available via our online shop.

“Like Christmas in a glass”

ro_p_ro1986

lawrencesummers wrote: »

Bargain.
Only 475 for a 3/4 year old whiskey and a set of glasses.

Its all about collectability and rarity in this case rather than the actual quality of this Whiskey.

Its the first release from a new distillery, so, if this distillery hits, that 475 will look cheap in a few years.

flended12

May have been posted already but rummaging around online to buy whiskey as a gift and tescos doin 1l powers for €25, usually €45

odyssey06

Weepsie wrote: »

Lambay have posted a loss close to double that of last year too. Now I imagine the first few years are tough, but how many years of losses can some of these sustain before packing it in.

Think they had heavy focus on travel retail so there may be a covid impact on them more so than others.

Dtp1979

Canadian crown royal blended whisky is lovely

Effects

Ivefoundgod wrote: »

Their gin is really bad and nothing about their packaging says premium. The Drumshanbo inaugural release for €80 has better packaging than what this set has.

PJ Rigney has a lot of experience in the drinks trade, and he did an amazing job of the packaging and promotion for his gin, and following on from that, his whiskey.

Ballykeefe just didn't seem to get good designers on board for their branding, probably because they don't have the same experience.
The image they have for their single estate release is a cobbled together, bad photoshop job. At least put a bit of money into making it look good when you expect people to pay that kind of money for it.

Dtp1979

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Canadian crown royal blended whisky is lovely

Not a million miles from RB15

odyssey06

Some big numbers in the recently published report on Irish whiskey.

The Irish whiskey industry invested €1.55 billion in total over the past decade, led by capital investment in distillery and plant developments.
Global sales grew from 60 million bottles in 2010 to 144 million bottles in January 2020.
The aggregate value of Irish whiskey exports from the island of Ireland reached €890 million in 2019.

More info:
https://www.shelflife.ie/irish-whiskey-industry-invested-e1-55-billion-in-all-island-economy-over-last-10-years/#ixzz6g4Fncjj0

Ivefoundgod

Effects wrote: »

PJ Rigney has a lot of experience in the drinks trade, and he did an amazing job of the packaging and promotion for his gin, and following on from that, his whiskey.

Ballykeefe just didn't seem to get good designers on board for their branding, probably because they don't have the same experience.
The image they have for their single estate release is a cobbled together, bad photoshop job. At least put a bit of money into making it look good when you expect people to pay that kind of money for it.

Yeah agreed 100%, the Drumshanbo stuff both tastes and looks the part. I bought the parents the Ballykeefe gin pack they were selling last Christmas with the normal gin, lady dasert and glasses. Had I seen the way it was presented before I bought it in person I wouldn't have bothered. Tried both over Christmas and they were really poor, don't know how they were selling at their normal prices particularly when there are so many excellent Irish gins in the €30-40 range.

I'll be interested to see how the "standard" release of the whiskey goes and what price point they go for.

Effects

I know the gin market is oversaturated, but I hadn't even heard of their gin before.
I think it's harder and harder to stand out these days.

Hogzy

Anyone else get the email from Thomond Gate this evening?

Insect Overlord

Hogzy wrote: »

Anyone else get the email from Thomond Gate this evening?

Ginger83

flended12 wrote: »

May have been posted already but rummaging around online to buy whiskey as a gift and tescos doin 1l powers for €25, usually €45

It's a lot sweeter than any others I've tried

Mellor

ro_p_ro1986 wrote: »

Its all about collectability and rarity in this case rather than the actual quality of this Whiskey.

Its the first release from a new distillery, so, if this distillery hits, that 475 will look cheap in a few years.

With 500 bottle released locally, it's not particular rare. (also raises some other questions tbh).
At that price point, there will still be 500 bottle in "collections" in 3 years. With everyone hoping to offload. I can't imagine a situation where it is worth more than 500 in the near future.

Contrast that with MVR for example. There are far more than 500 produced obviously, but it's actively consumed. So the stock of any vintage is constantly reducing. A bottle with an RRP of 180 is easily in demand and worth 250+ in a few years.

Effects wrote: »

Ballykeefe just didn't seem to get good designers on board for their branding, probably because they don't have the same experience.
The image they have for their single estate release is a cobbled together, bad photoshop job.

The press release that was post in the thread above has some really basic spelling/grammar errors. It's one thing when in a rush online to slip, but a press release should have a review for basic stuff like that. Low effort is a terrible sign.

ro_p_ro1986

Mellor wrote: »

With 500 bottle released locally, it's not particular rare. (also raises some other questions tbh).
At that price point, there will still be 500 bottle in "collections" in 3 years. With everyone hoping to offload. I can't imagine a situation where it is worth more than 500 in the near future.

Contrast that with MVR for example. There are far more than 500 produced obviously, but it's actively consumed. So the stock of any vintage is constantly reducing. A bottle with an RRP of 180 is easily in demand and worth 250+ in a few years.

The press release that was post in the thread above has some really basic spelling/grammar errors. It's one thing when in a rush online to slip, but a press release should have a review for basic stuff like that. Low effort is a terrible sign.

It doesn't take a lot to put a dent in 500 bottles though. Some will get drunk, some misplaced, etc.. If it turns out to be well received generally, and the profile of the distillery increases then the value will increase. Lots of ifs in there though.

Cazale

More new releases.

Thomond Gate Peter Lacy Cask Strength €99

The first new release from Thomond Gate Whiskey as part of its ‘Departed Spirits of Limerick’ series pays homage to a prolific military General known as Peter Lacy, of Killeedy, Co Limerick. After the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, he left Ireland with other exiled Jacobite soldiers. In his later campaigns he joined Tsar Peter (the Great) of Russia and became one of the most renowned tacticians in Russian history winning many battles across the European continent. In is memory, Thomond Gate Whiskey has sourced a traditional Pot Still whiskey, which has been finished in an Imperial Stout cask from Treaty City Brewery. This style of beer, also known as Russian Imperial Stout, was exported in great volumes during the 18th Century to Russia. Brewed to a high strength so the beer could last the ocean journey, it’s an intensely flavoured, dark, full-bodied beer with lots of chocolate, coffee and dried dark fruits, which perfectly compliments the characteristics of Irish Pot Still whiskey.
A limited release of just 232 bottles, at cask strength (58.23% ABV) with non-chill filtration and natural colour. Each bottle has been hand filled into 70cl bottles, labelled and adorned with a unique coin engraved with the individual bottle number making it a truly memorable experience for whiskey enthusiasts and collectors alike.

Thomond Gate Galloping Horse Hogan Cask Strength €99

The second new release from Thomond Gate Whiskey as part of its ‘Departed Spirits of Limerick’ series, pays homage to a rebellious hero known as Galloping Hogan, from the parish of Doon, Co Limerick. In 1690, this infamous rapparee, along with Patrick Sarsfield and 500 Jacobite troops, successfully lead a daring ride to Ballyneety to blow up a Williamite siege train. Galloping Hogan refused to accept the Treaty of Limerick in 1691 and left Ireland the following year to become a General in the French Army.
In memory of Galloping Hogan and the French involvement in the siege of Limerick, this is a Single Malt Irish Whiskey, finished in a French Cognac cask. This gives the whiskey a warming spice, with gentle vanilla, brown sugar and biscuit taste with a hint of dried flowers, green apples and orchard fruits. A limited release of just 288 bottles, Galloping Hogan has been bottled at cask strength (59.59% ABV) with non-chill filtration and natural colour. Each bottle has been hand filled in 70cl bottles, labelled and embellished with a unique coin engraved with the individual bottle number making it a truly memorable experience for whiskey collectors and enthusiasts alike.