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

Colour of the liquid is pretty fake looking.

Any sign/news of Puca in Aldi this year?

The Wild Burrow stuff in Lidl. Obviously the damsons aren't going to affect the colour of the spirit if added at distillation stage. So purple colour added afterwards.

There no set botanicals for London Dry style gin. But it’s a fair established flavour that most will be something like juniper, coriander, citrus peel, angelica and liquorice.

Google suggests the Wild Burrow botanicals are;

Juniper, Coriander, Angelica, Orris Root, Orange, Lemon, Blackberry Leaves, Dandelion Flower, Scots Pine, Wild Garlic, Wild Fennel, and Furze Petals

The usual suspects plus local herbs sbd flower. At a guess, it’s probably similar to London dry gin, but with more of a floral/herbal note.

has anyone tried the Aldi duchas whiskey ?

Yeah t'was fine for 25 quid.

Im almost through a botte of Nikka Coffey Grain though which is a huge step up obviously.

Thanks for the info. I wonder why they didn't have them in the xmas catalog.. or any catalog at all

Did you catch the prices on the Puca? Last year I think it was €25 for the stout&rum cask and €30 for the single grain

The Ardfallen 10yo in ALDI is an interesting one.

A mix of grain and malt, bourbon and Moscatel casks. Slight tang to it from the Moscatel which I like - I like dessert wines and this is halfway there. But may not appeal to all.

If you are a fan of Dingle Samhain this has similarities.

I can't see anything in the regs that exclude adding stuff after distillation in a distilled gin. Could be fruit juice or it could be colour.

I think mistake is assuming that distilled gins come off the still and into the bottle with no other treatment. Not the case.
If juniper is present during distillation, it's a distilled gin. The other botanicals can be in the distatation, or are added afterwards.

;flavouring substances or flavouring preparations as specified in point (c) of category 20 or both may also be used to flavour distilled gin.

That's my reading of the above too.

I tried a standard two-stacks can on a road trip when I was hope. Thought it was a bit harsh and grainy. But the barrel age might soften it and round it out. Nice boilermaker pack.

interesting that there’s a 10 year old ‘Ardfallen ‘ coming to Aldi ( here !) for €30 especially in these snakey ‘no age statement ‘ days .Granted it probably won’t be mind blowing stuff at the price point , their minimum price scotch ( used be ?) is rolled out as an ‘8 year old ‘ but I guess in ‘equivalent quality / value ‘ terms you’d have to down grade your expectations .Pearse Lyons sells painfully priced ‘5 year old ‘ after all …

Anyway sipping a tiny sample of a UK sourced duty free Tyrconnell single malt .Ive said it before and can reiterate ,they are putting something ‘peaty’( God forbid not their hideous basic Connemara ) in there now .For the laugh I set up a ‘blind taste test’ with it and my almost finished ‘Blackbush’ .I guess it’s not the discerning palate achievement of the millenium but it was easy to tell them apart .Thing is the €26 from Dunnes BB is probably nicer than it’s dearer ‘rival’ also …I used adore Tyrconnell SM but I don’t know now…

Have you tried Lambay or some of the Irish whiskies finished in Cognac or Calvados casks?

bought a few bottles of Black Barrel, noticed the label has changed a bit and after opening a bottle last night I thought it tasted slightly different, more sherry finish perhaps, did any notice similar or was my mind playing tricks on me, still a nice drop all the same

Haven’t tried Lambay, worried it might be salty or seaweedy like Islay !

Was searching some Bushmills and Drinks Hero came up, £111 + delivery for Bushmills 21. This works out about €135 which seems a great deal. I could get delivered to Jonesborough is this a legit site.