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

should I open these or wait a few years and send them to auction

Yellow Spot has a spectacular ‘finish’ but is otherwise over rated not worth the dough in my opinion .Redbreast better in every other respect .Finished my Dunvilles PX12 and just finished Tyrconnell single malt from UK duty free probably currency translated at or near Irish minimum selling price €22.09 (?) although it’s 43% so prob a bit more .Sorry to say it’s declined in quality in last decade ( what hasn’t ?!:-( ) Nice minimum price sipper / daily driver but no longer worth high €30s …

Looks like the Waterford Whiskey reserves are just going to be sold off rather than the distillery sold as a going concern. Powerscourt look to be in the same boat from the article:

https://www.waterford-news.ie/news/new-platform-launched-for-bulk-sale-of-waterford-whisky_arid-91300.html

I had a look at the Prestige Casks website. There's not a huge amount of info on there, but it's going to be a B2B site by the looks

What happens to casks in Powerscourts whiskey cask programme?

I did a tasting at the distillery in Waterford a couple of months before they closed. Most of the whiskey was between 6 and 7 years old and was excellent. That stock is obviously all still there - it would be terrible if it was never made available.

You missed it because they want you to miss it. I read most of the absolute BS on their website yesterday and was none the wiser as to where the actual liquid came from. They've spent more time on creative writing than making whiskey. There are way too many "distilleries" pulling this.

No, people just trust Gemini too much.

Having my first sips of Clonakilty Galley Head Single Malt 40% here €29 from SuperValu .Id gone out in the hope of a Buskers Single Malt at 44% and €35 and now kinda wish I’d got it but it wasn’t in stock .The Royal Oak product is a quality , rock solid ‘plain’ malt .

The Cork offering is certainly different ( ish) There’s someone on Reddit who claims it’s NOT West Cork sourced and says it’s Great Northern Distillery spirit but it tastes quite ‘West Cork’ to me.By that I mean a bit immature as their own stuff is still at best five years old .On a positive note if you like ‘light’ whiskies with ‘thin’ mouth feel you won’t get more bang for your buck.Im discovering on my ( now slowing !) whiskey journey however that I prefer the opposite .

It’s also so ‘easy drinking ‘ that it tastes borderline ( shudder !) ‘non alcoholic’ !!!( I’d swear I had a Lidl ‘West Cork’ was the same !

Would I prefer a Black Bush at €25 ? Maybe

:-(

Double check at the customer service kiosk that does lotto, tobacco. In some branches they have the premium whiskies locked away there.

Been quiet here for a while .Just finishing a Redbreast Lustau .No age statement but 46% .€81 in SuperValu .Prob my new favourite .Proper Sherry bomb ! Best nose of any whiskey I’ve ever tried by a considerable margin .Nice fruity thick mouth feel .The higher abv is def discernible . Finish of sherbet ! Dont think I would spend the extra score for Dunvilles PX12 after this .Redbreast 12 at €60 would challenge it though( but not at €68/70+) .But maybe not always win ..Def my fave whiskey of last 6 or 7 years .

I believe the ( sometimes ) cheaper RB PX is more subtle for the fans of likes of the Moscatel casks etc

This is fab stuff .If you can pick it up for €68 in Dublin airport duty free I would look no further .I prefer it to RB15 and 12 cask strength also but tastes vary .

Latest purchase :Busker Blend .Triple casked ( website suggests American oak / Oloroso sherry and Marsala ) .Royal Oak are rock solid .Pity they dont do tours anymore in Carlow /‘Royal Oak’ .Their single malt is great and this blend at close to minimum selling price (€25 vs €22.10 ) is putting pressure on the big four and anyone else on sale ‘down there ‘ .
The triple cask complexity is immediately obvious .Maybe the American oak isn’t pulling as strongly as the sherry ( and the Marsala …well I’m not sure how that should register ? More sherry sweet / ‘red brown’ than Moscatel ?)

But the overall experience is in another league to a bland stock Jameson for sure or even a stout or IPA casked one .

Cant recall if Powers Three Swallows and Foxes Bowe are €25 or €30 when on sale -Does Paddy’s Share even come in at the lower when on bank holiday sale ? But this is good stuff .The health warning on back of the nice rectangular bottle is a bit stark .”Drinking alcohol causes liver disease “ etc

I guess if I keep a log here consumption will be easier to gauge .Bottle a week not great ….bottle a fortnight , better ?

With Black Bush at €35 in the Musgraves chains and most other retailers other than OBriens this stuff is at the forefront of the bargain sippers choices .It may even be better at equal pricing .

I remember Crested being very cheap one year in Tesco ( when ‘vouchers ‘ for money off could be used ) but was so sweet ( super sherried ?) it had to be ‘diluted ‘ with something ‘plainer’.Id say formula has long since changed along with their attempt to pass off the Crested ‘X’ Off as ten year old assuming people knew Roman numerals :-( Anyway my latest is the Busker Single Malt 44% .Not as good as I remembered but will give it a few days and further sips .

The chestnut cask one is nice and is the one in Supervalu etc

The travel one has Malaga cask instead of chestnut and is a touch nicer imo