What Whisky/Whiskey are we drinking this month?

Couple of tastings coming up. I got the W.D. O’Connell pack as I like what Daithi is doing from what Ive tasted so far.

Gelstons Irish Whiskey Tasting

5 x 30ml

Join us this February for a virtual tasting with Samuel Gelston's whiskies! This tasting pack features samples of the Gelston's Blended, Gelston's Single Malt, Gelston's Pot Still Pinot Noir, Gelston's 12 Year Old Rum Cask Finish, and Gelston's 28 Year Old.

Zoom tasting will take place on Thursday, February 25th at 8pm with Johnny Neil from Halewood International and Celtic Whiskey Bar's Luke Crowley Holland.

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Gelstons-Irish-Whiskey-Tasting-Pack-EU-Based-Customers-Including-Delivery?search=tasting

W.D. O’Connell Irish Whiskey Tasting

5 x 30ml

Join us this March for a virtual tasting with W.D. O'Connell Whiskey Merchants! This tasting pack features samples of the Bill Phil Batch 2, Bill Phil Cask Strength, 12 Year Old Sherry Matured, 18 Year Old PX Finish, and a special future release.

Zoom tasting will take place on Thursday, March 4th at 8pm with Daithi O'Connell from W.D. O'Connell Whiskey Merchants and Celtic Whiskey Bar's Luke Crowley Holland.

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/WD-O-Connell-Irish-Whiskey-Tasting-Pack-EU-Based-Customers-Including-Delivery?search=tasting&page=2

lobbylad

Any suggestions for getting a bottle of a limited edition bourbon that is only available in the US, and for now is only available as a pre-order, so can't ask someone to nip into a whiskey store over there and pick one up physically?

I presume the An Post US addresspal won't take alcohol?

Are there Irish shops that would make a one bottle order? (Its not expensive, but its hard to get, its more a novelty whiskey than a purists one)

lobbylad wrote: »

Any suggestions for getting a bottle of a limited edition bourbon that is only available in the US, and for now is only available as a pre-order, so can't ask someone to nip into a whiskey store over there and pick one up physically?

I presume the An Post US addresspal won't take alcohol?

Are there Irish shops that would make a one bottle order? (Its not expensive, but its hard to get, its more a novelty whiskey than a purists one)

Address pal will take alcohol, but you will get caught for customs. Best bet is to get a store over there to ship it to a friend, and have them forward it

I'm still ''abstaining'' from whiskey apart from a few tastings I'd already purchased for the next few months. It's a big loophole at the moment as this week I'll be sampling 10 whiskeys over two tastings! None of my own pours though so I'm sticking to the spirit of it. Kinda.

I did the Celtic Whiskey Glenmorangie tasting on Tuesday night. First off I have to say the Celtic Whiskey nights I've done have been fairly staid affairs. I spent all day in work today on video calls and they remind me of that. Boring and lack of character. Give me Michael Fogarty half cut dressed as Frankenstein regaling us stories of misadventure any day. If only L Mulligans did 30ml samples! Speaking of which have they knocked their nights on the head? Hasn't been any recently.

Glenmorangie itself was a distillery I hadn't tried much before. The verdict is they do decent whisky but I'm not sure if I want to buy any full bottles. Technical issues from the ambassadors connection and his insistence on promoting glenmorangie cocktails lost my interest. A tasting note of a spice bag from one of the participants was the highlight of the night.

Next up is tomorrow nights Irish Whiskey Society's Springbank tasting incorporating their other brands like Longrow and Kilkerran. The host? None other than Michael Fogarty. The samples are 17.5ml though. Can't win them all!

killbillvol2

Cazale wrote: »

I'm still ''abstaining'' from whiskey apart from a few tastings I'd already purchased for the next few months. It's a big loophole at the moment as this week I'll be sampling 10 whiskeys over two tastings! None of my own pours though so I'm sticking to the spirit of it. Kinda.

I did the Celtic Whiskey Glenmorangie tasting on Tuesday night. First off I have to say the Celtic Whiskey nights I've done have been fairly staid affairs. I spent all day in work today on video calls and they remind me of that. Boring and lack of character. Give me Michael Fogarty half cut dressed as Frankenstein regaling us stories of misadventure any day. If only L Mulligans did 30ml samples! Speaking of which have they knocked their nights on the head? Hasn't been any recently.

Glenmorangie itself was a distillery I hadn't tried much before. The verdict is they do decent whisky but I'm not sure if I want to buy any full bottles. Technical issues from the ambassadors connection and his insistence on promoting glenmorangie cocktails lost my interest. A tasting note of a spice bag from one of the participants was the highlight of the night.

Next up is tomorrow nights Irish Whiskey Society's Springbank tasting incorporating their other brands like Longrow and Kilkerran. The host? None other than Michael Fogarty. The samples are 17.5ml though. Can't win them all!

I'm a fan of Glenmorangie in general and the Signet is one of my special favourites.

I'm with you on losing interest in staid tastings. On one of the L. Mulligan tastings last year Michael was cleansing his palate with cans of Tennents!

killbillvol2 wrote:

I'm a fan of Glenmorangie in general and the Signet is one of my special favourites.

Yeah to be fair the signet was a special whiskey.

2011abc

Once again here to sing the praises of the Tesco Irish Finest Single Malt at €34.43 .It’s a smashing , refined , complex drop .My last post was expressing considerable reservations about the Lidl / West Cork IPA cask Single malt .I definitely think going up (from its €26) to this or ‘down’ to a Bush White at the target €20 is preferable .
I pride myself in learning to differentiate the holy quadrilogy of ‘Irish ‘( Paddy/Power/Jamie/Bush )by taste but as for the nose I wouldn’t have a clue ....THIS Tesco Finest Irish SM I would go so far as to say is the ONLY whiskey that I could detect by nose .It’s that good .

With Tyrconnell and Sexton at 40 and Slane ( fond memories but not within €2 of the Tesco )at 32 this is my current moderately priced star

Black Sheep

Jim Murray has put up a note in their Instagram saying they've decided to sell an e-book version for the first time ever, along with links to the 2020 and 2021 Whiskey Bible. They're saying they decided to do it to make the Whiskey Bible easier to get hold of in during the pandemic, when there are issues going to bricks and mortar stores.

But I wonder is it also a neat way around the problem of various whiskey shops falling into line and withdrawing the book from sale after Becky Paskin's article last year.

I definitely remember a few years ago buying one of the editions as an app, I'm actually a little surprised there was no e-book available before this, if it's true.

- - -

I haven't been drinking much whisky these days, but for those interested, I have the following open:-

- Glenfarclas 105
- Lagavulin 12 year old Offerman edition
- Killowen small batch dark rum

newbie runner

2011abc wrote: »

Once again here to sing the praises of the Tesco Irish Finest Single Malt at €34.43 .It’s a smashing , refined , complex drop .My last post was expressing considerable reservations about the Lidl / West Cork IPA cask Single malt .I definitely think going up (from its €26) to this or ‘down’ to a Bush White at the target €20 is preferable .
I pride myself in learning to differentiate the holy quadrilogy of ‘Irish ‘( Paddy/Power/Jamie/Bush )by taste but as for the nose I wouldn’t have a clue ....THIS Tesco Finest Irish SM I would go so far as to say is the ONLY whiskey that I could detect by nose .It’s that good .

With Tyrconnell and Sexton at 40 and Slane ( fond memories but not within €2 of the Tesco )at 32 this is my current moderately priced star

Isn't it a scandal the duty and taxes on drink in this country. We could be all on here discussing and wondering on the flavours of limited editions, new releases, and various cask finishes, and instead are mostly bound by financial constraints through no fault of our own.

One just looks at vlogs from other users across the world during reviews, and when they mention price points, my jaw drops in comparison to what we pay here in Ireland for the same release.

A special duty rate for 100% Irish products would do a lot for local small producers of beer and spirits

BonnieSituation

Black Sheep wrote: »

Jim Murray has put up a note in their Instagram saying they've decided to sell an e-book version for the first time ever, along with links to the 2020 and 2021 Whiskey Bible. They're saying they decided to do it to make the Whiskey Bible easier to get hold of in during the pandemic, when there are issues going to bricks and mortar stores.

But I wonder is it also a neat way around the problem of various whiskey shops falling into line and withdrawing the book from sale after Becky Paskin's article last year.

I definitely remember a few years ago buying one of the editions as an app, I'm actually a little surprised there was no e-book available before this, if it's true.

- - -

I haven't been drinking much whisky these days, but for those interested, I have the following open:-

- Glenfarclas 105
- Lagavulin 12 year old Offerman edition
- Killowen small batch dark rum

I mulled over that for a long while. What's it like?

BeerNut

lawrencesummers wrote: »

A special duty rate for 100% Irish products would do a lot for local small producers of beer and spirits

There are about three batches of all-Irish-ingredients beer brewed commercially per year, so I can't see the brewers going for that one.

L1011

lawrencesummers wrote: »

A special duty rate for 100% Irish products would do a lot for local small producers of beer and spirits

That would almost certainly breach EU law

L1011 wrote: »

That would almost certainly breach EU law

Breach it the same way we give multinationals their own tax rate?

Three Drams have a tasting tonight that they sold over 1,600 packs worldwide for. Some success for them.

Cazale wrote: »

Three Drams have a tasting tonight that they sold over 1,600 packs worldwide for. Some success for them.

That’s brilliant. I remember him on the late late, he was saying that he had been working in the middle East, I think as a pilot and setup Irishmalts and three drams when he got let go because of covid.

Fair play to him. I’m signed up and it’s a great way to taste all the different whiskeys that you wouldn’t otherwise

L1011

lawrencesummers wrote: »

Breach it the same way we give multinationals their own tax rate?

We don't, though. There are some disputed tax treatments, at best - it isn't a different tax rate and as of now its not found to be illegal either - EC are appealing.

And anyway, that's not even vaguely comparable to an obvious and blatant breach of Single Market rules.

the beer revolu

lawrencesummers wrote: »

A special duty rate for 100% Irish products would do a lot for local small producers of beer and spirits

Somehow, I think if the French can't offer tax incentives on French wine, I don't think we'd get away with it.
Really, why are we even discussing this?

Black Sheep

BonnieSituation wrote: »

I mulled over that for a long while. What's it like?

It’s special by virtue of what it is, and I enjoyed giving a sample to a Venezuelan friend who is really into rum...

...But in taste terms I prefer what I have had from Appleton, Cacique and Diplomatico. But I’m not a big rum guy, so I make no firm claim about it.

BonnieSituation

Black Sheep wrote: »

It’s special by virtue of what it is, and I enjoyed giving a sample to a Venezuelan friend who is really into rum...

...But in taste terms I prefer what I have had from Appleton, Cacique and Diplomatico. But I’m not a big rum guy, so I make no firm claim about it.

What did the Venezuelan say?

2011abc wrote: »

Once again here to sing the praises of the Tesco Irish Finest Single Malt at €34.43 .It’s a smashing , refined , complex drop .My last post was expressing considerable reservations about the Lidl / West Cork IPA cask Single malt .I definitely think going up (from its €26) to this or ‘down’ to a Bush White at the target €20 is preferable .
I pride myself in learning to differentiate the holy quadrilogy of ‘Irish ‘( Paddy/Power/Jamie/Bush )by taste but as for the nose I wouldn’t have a clue ....THIS Tesco Finest Irish SM I would go so far as to say is the ONLY whiskey that I could detect by nose .It’s that good .
With Tyrconnell and Sexton at 40 and Slane ( fond memories but not within €2 of the Tesco )at 32 this is my current moderately priced star

Have you tried any of the West Cork Small Batch cash finish series?

I've sampled a few rum cask finishes lately and this is very nice.
I would prefer it to the Tesco Finest SM (although for rum finishes I would still go for the Tullamore Dew).

If you are a single malt fan and into WCD would be worth checking out.
Matured in first fill bourbon casks & finished in Consorcio Licorero Nacional Panamanian rum casks. Bottled at 43%.

Delivered nationwide by West Cork for €34 + €5 delivery.
https://shop.westcorkdistillers.com/ie/single-malt/west-cork-single-malt-rum-cask-finished

They also have a miniature set of all 5 cask finishes for €23. Sherry, Virgin Oak, Calvados and Port make up the four other cask finishes from this series.
https://shop.westcorkdistillers.com/ie/home/west-cork-single-malt-cask-finishes-minis

ctlsleh

JJ Corry Clare
Anyone tasted them and have any recommendations?
Slainte!

ctlsleh wrote: »

JJ Corry Clare
Anyone tasted them and have any recommendations?

Lovely, innovative and upfront about their blending but frustrating and a tad pricey.

Frustrating because of their whiskies I have sampled and enjoyed - Gael batch #2, Banner County blend, Sonas, Gold Rush I dont think any are readily available.

Technophobe

Starting with a Nikka Coffee Grain tonight.
Lovely deep taste to it..Nice with a drop of water too, though I think I prefer it without in this case..

dos29

odyssey06 wrote: »

Lovely, innovative and upfront about their blending but frustrating and a tad pricey.

Frustrating because of their whiskies I have sampled and enjoyed - Gael batch #2, Banner County blend, Sonas, Gold Rush I dont think any are readily available.

Someone here posted that Gael batch 2 is back on sale in Celtic Whiskey Shop, and it's still there.

ctlsleh

odyssey06 wrote: »

Lovely, innovative and upfront about their blending but frustrating and a tad pricey.

Frustrating because of their whiskies I have sampled and enjoyed - Gael batch #2, Banner County blend, Sonas, Gold Rush I dont think any are readily available.

The Gael batch 2 and batch 3 are available on their website......are they worth it?

Separate subject......Opened a bottle of Yellow Spot tonight, my Christmas present to myself, it’s good but not sure it’s €80, think Waterford is better for the money.....

newbie runner

ctlsleh wrote: »

The Gael batch 2 and batch 3 are available on their website......are they worth it?

Separate subject......Opened a bottle of Yellow Spot tonight, my Christmas present to myself, it’s good but not sure it’s €80, think Waterford is better for the money.....

The poor "Yellow Spot" hasn't been very well received lately in comparison to the Green Spot ,and as you mention you enjoyed the Waterford range more.I thought it was really spicy,honey,peppery which I liked when I last sampled it.Must try those Gael releases also very soon.

ctlsleh wrote: »

The Gael batch 2 and batch 3 are available on their website......are they worth it?

Separate subject......Opened a bottle of Yellow Spot tonight, my Christmas present to myself, it’s good but not sure it’s €80, think Waterford is better for the money.....

Havent had Batch 3 ... Batch 2 I would go for.
Its a fantastic whiskey. But at that price range a lot will come down to personal taste preference as they are v different types of whiskies. They should all be fine whiskies in terms of quality.