Irish Whiskey

Jameson Bow Street 18 Years

/ / Irish Whiskey, Review / ,

Jameson Bow Street 18 Years
Cask Strength Irish Whiskey

55.3% ABV
$170-$190
Website
Jameson Bow Street 18 Year Cask Strength

What the Distillery Says

A special place in our hearts required a whiskey to match.
Jameson Bow Street 18 Years is a special blend of rare pot still and grain Irish whiskeys produced at the Midleton distillery. After ageing for almost two decades, these whiskeys are married together and spend their final finishing period in our original home, at the Jameson Distillery Bow Street in Dublin.

Launched in 2018, this whiskey is our rarest release and is bottled once per year, at cask strength.

Nose: Rich wood-driven influence with deep toffee notes and spice.
Taste: Toffee and oak remain consistent with hints of leather and vanilla along with a subtle sherry nuttiness creating depth and complexity.
Finish: Long and full with the sweet toffee notes slowly fading while the toasted oak and spice linger throughout until the very end.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla, butterscotch, toffee, angel food cake, soft oak, honey, almonds, floral, bit of leather and milk chocolate.
Palate:  Toffee, honey, oak, sherry notes of raisins, milk chocolate, caramel, spicy with clove and nutmeg.
Finish:  Moderately long, nutty with caramel and spices.
Comments:  The grain component in this blend shines through. Water thickens this nicely, and brings out more malty grain notes (but don’t get me wrong – it doesn’t come across as ‘young’) and tamps some of the spiciness. I liked this one more each time I went back to sample it. Not sure I like it enough to shell out the coin (although I still kinda regret not buying a cask strength Jameson when visiting their visitor center in Dublin; this really does shine at the higher ABV).

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Green Spot 1991 26 Year Old Marsala Cask

/ / Irish Whiskey, Review /

Green Spot 1991 26 Year Old Marsala Cask
Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
The Whisky Exchange Exclusive

55.7% ABV
$675 – $800
Website
Green Spot 1991 26 Year Old Marsala Cask TWE Exclusive Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

What the Producer Says

A very special bottling, selected by and exclusive to The Whisky Exchange: a single cask of 26-year-old Green Spot pot still whiskey, distilled at Midleton and filled into cask on 18 October 1991. It was initially matured in bourbon and sherry casks, before the spirit was reracked into a single Marsala butt for further maturation. The result brings together the fresh fruit flavours of bourbon-cask maturation with the richer dried fruit notes you get from sherry casks, and stirs them both together with fragrant Marsala and classic Irish pot-still fruit and spice.

Details from the bottle:
Triple Distilled Irish Whiskey
Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
Single Cask
Matured in Bourbon Barrels, Sherry Butts and recasked to Marsala Butt

Cask Number: 50776
Date of Bonding: 10/18/1991
Matured in Warehouse: M14B Bay 20
576 Bottles

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich and thick, dark fruit notes of raisins, apricots, dates, figs, clove, nutmeg, marsala wine, butterscotch, dark chocolate, caramel, toffee and a hint of anise.
Palate:  Rich mouthfeel, intense fruit notes, dates, black currants, figs, chocolate, marsala and sherry, graham cracker, nutmeg, bit of pepper and baking spices.
Finish:  Long and lingering with marsala notes and dried fruit.
Comments:  THE best Irish whiskey to pass these lips! In fact, one of the top 5 best whiskies I’ve tasted. To be sure, this is a pricey one. Big thanks to Richard for sharing a generous sample of his bottle (and sharing the bottle itself amongst friends). Water opens this up with even more fruit and tamps the chocolate notes a big, but it absolutely doesn’t need water in my opinion. The palate near the end leaves me thinking of S’mores. Just an amazingly intense and complex dram. If you don’t have to pay VAT, the price is £500 ($691 at current exchange, before shipping).  Now – you may ask, if I’m rating this a Must Buy, did I buy a bottle then? No, but not because it isn’t worth it. But even at $800, if you can get a group of enthusiasts together – that’s only $35 for a 30 mL pour (and I think anyone who handed over $35 for a 30 mL pour of this would think it was absolutely worth it, and might double-up – if there was any left!)

Rating: Must Buy

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Dunville’s Three Crowns Vintage Blend Irish Whiskey

/ / Irish Whiskey, Review /

Dunville’s Three Crowns Vintage Blend Irish Whiskey
Sherry Finished

43.5% ABV
$35-40
Website
Dunvilles Three Crowns Irish Whiskey Sherry Finish

What the Distillery Says

Dunville’s Three Crowns Irish Whiskey is a premium vintage blend of superior aged whiskeys finished in three of the finest sherry casks.

Nose: Very gentle, floral, sweet and juicy. Orchard fruits intertwined with nutty caramel, nougat and powerful butterscotch overtones.
Palate: The initial sweetness from the malt gives way to light citrus fruits, orange, lemon, green apples, pepper and clove. The wood spice and lovely oak tannins firm up this whiskey before the oloroso sherry casks take the final curtain.
Finish: Orchard fruits and caramels give way as subtle notes of walnut, nougat, vanilla and dried fruits come through in the soft lingering finish.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Malt, heather, floral notes, sponge cake, shortbread biscuits, apples and butterscotch.
Palate:  Thick mouthfeel that is rich and creamy, sherry sweetness, raw honey, fruity with apples and oranges, clove, nutmeg and a hint of cinnamon.
Finish:  Moderately long and damp with sherried fruit notes.
Comments:  Wow – from the nose I wouldn’t guess that this has a lot of age on it (get a bit of a grain note that has me guessing there is some fairly young malt in the blend), but this has a lovely, thick and chewy mouthfeel that for me overcomes that. I’d never had anything from Dunville’s before, but do like sherry finishes so for $35 thought ‘What the hell’. Glad I did – this is delicious! For the price, I can’t imagine any fan of Irish being disappointed – and would encourage them to give this a try. It reminds me a bit of Slane in that it isn’t an incredibly complex dram, but is a really great drinker (although this has a better mouthfeel, and is definitely worth the small lift in price from my perspective).

Rating: Must Try

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Blue Spot

/ / Irish Whiskey, Review /

Blue Spot
Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
Aged 7 Years Cask Strength

58.7% ABV
$100
Website
Blue Spot

What the Producer Says

Blue Spot’s name was derived from the Mitchell’s practice of marking their maturing casks of whiskey with a mark or daub of coloured paint to determine the age potential of the whiskey. Blue Spot was a 7 year old whiskey, Green Spot (10 year old), Yellow Spot (12 Year Old) and Red Spot (15 year old).

As a colourful history would have it, this revered Blue Spot remained underground until now and its introduction reunites the historical Spot Family for the first time in over 56 years.

Embodying the unmistakable qualities of Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. Blue Spot is matured for no less than 7 years in Bourbon casks, Sherry butts and Portuguese Madeira casks all bottled at cask strength for you to enjoy!

Nose: A light mix of pineapple, kiwi, green banana and lime zest followed by Pot Still spices, baked apple, hazelnut and toasted wood.
Taste: A smooth mouthfeel with a subtle mix of fruit, a hint of clove oil and cracked black pepper corns. Sweet spices, vanilla and cinnamon add to the wood’s nutty contribution.
Finish: A lasting and distinctly palatable balance of exotic fruits and spices.

Non Chill Filtered

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich and fruity with pineapple, mango, apple, hint of apricots, freshly toasted oak and baking spices.
Palate:  Rich mouthfeel, fruity with toffee and vanilla, sharpens with cinnamon, pepper and a bit of clove.
Finish:  Moderately long and damp with fruit and spice notes.
Comments:  Affirms my belief that cask strength and non-chill filtration should be the standard. This has a lovely intense flavor and rich mouthfeel, and takes water nicely which smooths out the edges (as the nose neat is just a tad hot). Dangerously drinkable, and while there isn’t a lot of cask strength/non-chill filtered Irish single malt here in the US – the price point on this one is tough (considering one of the first such drams I ever had was Redbreast 12 yr Cask Strength, which even after a few price increases is cheaper!) I did a side-by-side with that, because age isn’t everything. Both are distilled by Midleton Distillery, and both are lovely drams – but the Redbreast 12 yr Cask Strength had more complexity, with fruit notes tending more towards a sherry hue, and a more balanced dram overall. Despite that, I’m glad to see more entrants into the market bringing the higher proof and leaving that chill filtration where it belongs – in the rear view mirror!

Rating: Stands Out

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Finest Irish Single Malt 22 Years

/ / Irish Whiskey, Review /

Finest Irish Single Malt 22 Years

51.8% ABV
$200
Website
Finest Irish Single Malt 22 Yrs

What the Bottler Says

Retro Label The Whisky Exchange Exclusive
Launched at The Whisky Show in 2015, this is a hugely fruity single malt whiskey from Ireland. It doesn’t stop there, with Gummi Bears followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and deep herbal notes – a complex whiskey that was a huge hit at the show.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Heather, hay, peat, malt, glazed donut, honey, hint of grapefruit and menthol with earthy/mineral undertones.
Palate:  Creamy sweetness with honey, vanilla, sponge cake, bright peat, subtle citrus notes, slightly nutty with hints of vitamins.
Finish:  Moderately long, wet with honey and peat.
Comments:  Unfortunately the label doesn’t include many details (name, proof, age – that’s it). In scouring the internet, this is likely Cooley distillate based on the flavor profile & age (keeping in mind that the number of Irish single malt distillers that COULD have made this is a very small number!) It is nicely balanced between the sweetness you’d expect from an Irish single malt and the unexpected peat notes. Some water kicks the honey up a notch and tamps the menthol (another note I don’t get often). The vitamin/mineral notes remind me of Dickel in a way (which isn’t to say this tastes like Dickel – it doesn’t; but that vitamin/mineral note is part of what I’d call their “house style”).

Rating: Stands Out

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