Add a smidgeon a cold water, bingo!
I thought the Ardfallen 10 y/o was decent, but not as good as some similarly priced drops that I sampled the same night. It could very well grow on me, though.
Having a small drop of Dingle's Lá An Dreoilín tonight. Great stuff.
The wife brought home a bottle of the Ardfallen with the black label from Aldi.
I hadn't read anything about it, but immediately clocked it's a sherry finish, fairly sweet and enjoyed a small glass of it neat.
Are the other bottles worth getting?
The killowen Dalriadan was one of my favourite whiskies of the last few years. 60% bushmills 11 year old sherry aged cask strength. 40% caol ila cask strength 11 year old in bourbon.
I kept the bottle going as long as I could but since it's been gone I've picked up a few bushmills sauternes at auction at a decent price and I've been mixing it about 60 40 with peat. At the moment blackpitts cask strength. Its just such a good mix.
The fruit and the smoke. I'd love to do it with ardbeg 10, next time I'm in an airport so the pricing works. The blackpitts cask strength is a great whiskey on its own. As is the bushmills, obvs, although I'm glad people aren't paying the rrp
Yes but like a wine tasting, your taste buds go to **** after 3-4 different drinks so can all end up tasting the same.
I did one with Killowen a while back. Brendan, the founder/distillery, hosted it and he was great craic. Full of interesting chat about the whiskey and the distillery. He also raffled off the half empty bottles so a few people went home with some nice prizes.
I'm in a society. We have one every month. A local bar does a few every year too. It's a great way to try new stuff and expand your knowledge.
Online tastings kept me sane through Covid and I discovered dozens of new whiskeys.
Anyone ever attend a Whiskey Tasting night?
I'm not really a whiskey drinker, except maybe at Christmas when i have a few. The Dundalk Lions Club are holding one in Dundalk soon and i'm tempted to go. 35 euro but you get to try lots of samples and there's a short talk on the history of each.
Alternatives to American whiskey … Powers Rye maybe.
Bourbon could get even pricier in the near future, if things pan out as expected with tariffs.
I really like bourbon, but personally, with the way things are shaping up, I will be trying to buy Irish for the forseeable.
Very good. Sounds to me that it might be that release specifically that let you down, if you generally like Islay whiskies.
I had a bottle of a previous Smoketrails (manzanilla finish) and liked it quite a bit. Adjacent to the 10 more or less, although pricier.
My favorite Ardbeg in the core line up is actually probably An Oa, which is not the choice of the hardcore Arbeg fan, but... it's just so well balanced.
I brought a bottle of Caol Ila 10 year old (I think) back from Scotland a few years ago.
My other half requested I do not open the bottle or drink any in her presence. The peaty smell made her gag!
I enjoyed it all the same.
I have had the 10yo - though a few years back now - and do remember liking it. In general I'm a fan of Islay peat monsters for reference.
Was that Smoketrails the only Ardbeg you've tried - have you had the 10 year old, for example?
I picked up a bottle of Ardbeg Smoketrails (the 2023 Cote Rotie one) last year and I just can't warm to it. I'm not sure if it's the finish or the young(ish) spirit but I just find it overly harsh. I would be a fan of the regular 10 year old (albeit I haven't had a bottle in a few years) but, and not just pointing the finger at Ardbeg here, there seems to be this ever greater push to dress up younger spirits in some marketing and put them out at a premium price. I will give some of the other expressions a go at some stage before passing final judgement - I'm keen to have a taste of Uigeadail for example - as I realise this is on the basis of a single release that may just not have been to my liking.
found it
found it!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/FOTEMIX-Wireless-Rechargeable-Lampshade-Restaurant/dp/B0DH2D41BB/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?crid=3AZCTUXWMVLJV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.J9JDQFKLAOzDP_PBs36U5FeuZRS9Gpe_D3ufl_1PH1k8Rh961RS7oWplFDRjUO6FxP6UZ-u_ctkyes7YAEwCuRbzl_gMGVMailFeOVAeP2r1pEpVq0TPcQCH3cAFo5B2BDJ58Jmp3aI7AcDQT-jDVyziBNM_VGzrGE-6_xvDj05FYY4G9TnS4BiK99pf3uXGTkT0z6Ik8QcvnZ96I3x2Cg.S_VUKjF9HXd84wvkt1mheivHRU_86je7WRDzT4HrVWg&dib_tag=se&keywords=led+bottle+lamp&qid=1743365008&sprefix=led+bottke+%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1
‘Do a hooked’
lol.
Well it was a little over 24 hours (I finished it Tuesday night/wed early hours) but yes, a lot to go through even if the wife helped.
Home a week and am happy to report that I only entered the man cave once. Friday night. Opened the powers 3 swallows. Had one very large measure. Then bed.
Normality resumed. 😂 although i might have a nightcap later
fyi… saw somewhere online where they were selling little battery powered led ‘lampshades’ that sit into bottles. Must try find the link
That's the one, thanks for clearing it up. I might give the Boann stuff a go
Was that under the Whistler branding or Boann?
If it is Whistler it is sourced iirc
Also the new Boann is Single Pot Still.
https://www.boanndistillery.ie/product/the-whistler-mosaic-marsala-cask/
I had a bottle of that maybe 3-4 years ago and I thought it was very average. I just looked it up online though and the bottle has definitely changed, would they have been using sourced whiskey back then? Or have they just improved?
I picked one up last year coming home from holidays. Was the best value in the duty free, compared to the price of it here. Lovely drop.
The last bottle I finished was the Boann Marsala cask, I haven't enjoyed a bottle of whiskey as much in a long time. It went down incredibly well with everyone who sampled it too.
There's a lovely detail on their bottles too.
The mrs wanted to keep it as a lamp holder 😃
Sounds interesting, I called into the distillery a while back and got a bottle of the PX.
I thought it was delicious (I did add a drop of water which I felt removed the burn, made it much smoother and really opened out the flavour)
I was torn between the PX and the marsala, will give that one a go too.
Got a Boann marsala finish.
Cracking... more subtle than the PX finish many have said is the best of their 3 releases.
The PX is very good in an obvious way. But it's like a splash of actually PX was chucked in each glass at times... so overpowering of the spirit.
This is more unique, has a stonkingly good nose... sweet - like candied orange maybe - but also saline... And in the mouth it's chunky and big from the 47% abv and lots of pot still spice. Great combo.
Really so impressed with these guys. Still have to try the madeira finish now, as a priority.
Caol Ila 12 is underrated, really enjoyed a litre bottle of it last year.
The ardbeg is as you'd expect, lovely. I am a smokey fan in fairness.
The caol ila on the other hand deserves a leather chair, complete silence and time to experience! Absolutely quality!
Yeah, when I asked he said the distillery was in X (can't actually remember now 🤣) and the gin was made there but the whiskey was currently sourced. The way he worded it sounded a bit weasly, they definitely don't want to be too up front about it
Unlike Egan's to be fair
Just had some very nice Highland Park, an exclusive, single barrel bottling for Milroy's in London, was a rather fine drop 🙂
