Nikka Coffee Grain for me tonight.
A nice sipper..finished off the night with a Dunvilles peated
Finished my bottle of Elijah Craig and a bottle of Glenfarclas 15 the last few days.
Elijah Craig small batch is not terribly good value compared to something like Eagle Rare 10 year old. Previously I've paid up to get the 12 year old, which is higher ABV, a little older all around, and probably is significantly better that the price I can justify to an extent. Elijah Craig ain't cheap in the U.S these days anyone, so...
Glenfarclas I have a huge soft spot for, love the family-owned nature of it, and I've had some really good single cask bottles from them. The 15 (and indeed the rest of the core range) seem to be going through a bit of a dip at the moment, they don't quite do it for me. If I was buying another sherry forward whisky in the near future I don't think I'd be going for Glenfarclas for a while.
Yes. Meh. Nothing special. Airport whiskey for a reason!
Nikka Yoichi Single Malt
My first Japanese whiskey and I'm really enjoying it
Also recently received a bottle of Arran 10 which I've been enjoying too
You get a bottle of Jameson Distillery Edition as part of the welcome pack when you first join. After that you get a bottle every 3 months with a few 50ml samples. You also get a choice of a behind the scenes tour of the Midleton distillery or a whiskey blending class in the Jameson distillery, some nice glasses and a journal.
I signed up at the start and have so far found it good and the online tastings are enjoyable enough. The bottles so far have been Yellow Spot and M&M French Chestnut. The next couple of bottles are to be exclusives for the club, the one in March will be Johns Lane bottled at cask strength.
I think it is ok value at €500 for the year, I do plan on renewing my subscription in the summer.
Speaking of coffee, I just came across this coffee blend, I don't think we'll find it this side of the atlantic so will just have to drink Slane on it's own (which I did on Saturday night, and it's slowly becoming one of my favourite Irish blended whiskeys):
https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-styles/irish-whiskey/slane-irish-whiskey-red-bay-coffee-join-forces-to-celebrate-national-irish-coffee-day/
Was out for a Whiskey night on Saturday with the mates. Tried
One of the boys loves Scottish whisky. I tasted each one (don't have the exact vintage).
Quite a good night though with espresso martinis later
Had Powers John Lane on Saturday night for first time. Loved it! Also, the new bottles are growing on me
Anyone who signed up to the Middleton barrel club, do you have any feedback on it you can share, and is there any clarity as to whether it's 5 bottles rather than 4, etc? Thanks!
Coffee is just as geeky as whiskey!Im enjoying both lately .
Jaysus, that sounds right up my street. I didn't even know about Johnnie Walker Green (which is weird for somebody who always has a bottle of Black Label in the cabinet).
<Googles "where to buy Johnnie Walker Green label in Ireland">
Every time I check this thread, it costs me money.
Finished a Lagavulin 16 last night.
If anyone is a Lagavulin fan and is a member of the various groups/clubs dedicated to it, they may be aware that in the US and in some EU countries there is a perceived "shortage" of the 16, leading to various apocalyptic declarations that pricing will treble in the coming years, that it will be impossible to acquire and so on.
I can see stormy times ahead for pricing and availability in general, I think the cost of good scotch can only but rise in the future, such is life. But I'm not particularly worried, paying more bothers me less than total unavailability, and on that score the concerns have the feel of deja vu to me. I've been drinking Lagavulin since... 1998 maybe? ... And I can remember the "drought" in the early 00s where bottles were very hard to come by and there were predictions that stocks of peated whisky in general would be depleted by 2021... It did not come to pass. If anything, we've had a period where the 16 was so readily available in the past decade that maybe that's part of the problem.
Arran 10 tonight. Very very nice drop for 50 quid. Would equate it to Bushmills 10 but a few levels nicer.
Cheers. I'll probably go for it, unless they have more on board than on their website and they have something more interesting!
If you like JW Black and Double Black then the various middle and higher end expressions are generally considered good. The Gold is particularly good at the middle price point, lots of Clynelish in there.
Not had the Green but a lot of Caol Ila goes into blends and they’ve probably just bumped it up, I’d say it will be decent.
On the subject of peated/Islay, has anyone tried Johnnie Walker Island Green?
Travel exclusive one. They say "it's a rare combination, showcasing a greater influence of Island malts – most prominently Caol Ila – those who have tried Johnnie Walker Green label will find Johnnie Walker Island Green to be a smokier, more intense expression of the original."
Getting the ferry to Wales next week and Irish Ferries duty free collection looks poor enough. That looked interesting, but would like to hear someone tell me it's worth €55. I'm a big fan of the double black, so hoping this might be a step up from that
Up North at the moment. Visited a few pubs (Guinness 0.0 only for me) and stumbled across a nice collection of old whiskey bottles in one of them. The barman let me take about a dozen of them down from the shelf and take some photos. I'll post the Ulster bottles for now. All empty unfortunately!
James McAllister and Sons from Ballymena most famous brand was Clan Colla which has been reestablished by the Galway based McAllister Spirits recently.
The Comber distillery stopped distilling in 1953 and fully closed a few years later. A 30yo bottle of old stock was released in the 80s. Another brand that has been reestablished last year. This time by Echlinville Distillery in Down.
The home to the original Tyrconnell and Inishowen Whiskey. The Watt distillery was based in the Bogside and closed in the 1920s.
Brought back a Teelings Taster set with me at Xmas. Tried the Single Malt there. Really like it, think I prefer to the Redbreast 12.
Prefer the initial taster when neat but it’s like a tequila burn going down. Tried ice then to soften the after.
As usual the gf tried it and was like how can you drink that :)
I'm not even a 3rd cousin of a whiskey expert however I'd second the Connemara one up above, had it a few years ago.
My current xmas batch was Jameson Black Barrel, Carribean Bushmills, 2 Bottle a Roe & Co!
All good. Thankfully no Original Jameson as it cuts the gizzard out of me!
I'm leaning towards getting a RB12 for St. Patrick's day this year. I'm out of the loop because I don't live in Ireland. Is there something else I should be purchasing at the moment? I drink Black Bush, tried Black Barrell, green spot, power's lane, writer's tears, hinch bottlings.
I agree, Connemara is nice but you wouldn’t pick it over Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig or anything else from Islay.
Even a peated Speyside like Benromach is nicer than it, but hopefully more Irish distilleries will get the hint and try be more adventurous with peat.
I'm mainly an Islay drinker and I had a few Connemaras recently with a friend, in a hotel bar. Good way to introduce someone to peat if they are a fairly cautious drinker of Irish whiskey.
Would I buy a bottle? No, probably not, but sometimes it does surprise me that no Irish whiskey producer has decided to go maverick and do a seriously high octane peated whiskey in an attempt to put something out that would rival the best of Islay. But I don't know anything about whiskey production, I presume there are a variety of reasons going beyond what people's expectations of what Irish whiskey should be are. Must we always go light on the peat, though?
I like my peated whiskeys (especially Islay) and I'm a fan of Connemara.
bought these 5 bottles this week, I’ve only tried the Connemara so far, pleasantly surprised, I didn’t think it would hold up against any peated scotch but it’s actually quiet nice, perfect week day sipper, I’m expecting a bigger peat hit from Wee Beastie
what are the thoughts on Connemara, is it generally well liked around these parts?
Cazale, you should conside moving your alcohol consumption to first thing in the morning, That should stop the alcohol affecting your sleep at night.
Its might lead to divorce, unemployment and multiple arrests for drunk driving but you will still get a few drops in.
Cazale - sorry to hear that. I hope you can get it under control and back to full health.
As a workaround, maybe you could schedule your whiskey tasting in the mornings!
I agree with the other comments above - you’ve been a stellar poster on here. The voice of reason. Mind you, you’ve also cost me a fair few quid thanks to your recommendations!
Good luck to you Cazale. I've always enjoyed reading your posts here from the sidelines.
Wow really sorry to hear that Cazale you'll be missed around here and especially with all your knowledge. Wishing you good health.
as a relative newcomer to whiskey (just over a year collecting) I just want to say a big thank you Cazale, I’ve learnt a lot from your posts/reviews, best of luck and good health
Good luck man!
It will be hard, but you’re the kind of guy who will find new passions, new challenges and strive to be knowledgeable and as expert in those as you are with whisky…
