Redbreast 12 year old cask strength.

On Saturday just past, at Whisky Live Paris, Irish Distillers launched their latest addition to the single pot still category with Redbreast 12 year old cask strength.

Until recently getting your hands on a single pot still whiskey was no easy task. Redbreast as a 12 year old was generally available via most off licenses. Greenspot was less so and gained its iconic status as generally only being available from wine merchants Mitchell’s & Sons. A few years ago Irish Distillers launch a 15 year old version of Redbreast, but even that appeared to be a limited run as it floated in and out of the market at greatly different prices.

Now these three whiskeys have been joined in the last twelve months or so by at least six other single pot still whiskeys. 

I was one of a lucky few who were at a pre launch of Redbreast 12 year old cask strength a few days ago. IDL have released cask strength whiskey before, although in order to purchase them you required a wallet fatter than a pre Nama construction mogul (fat wallet whiskeys). This little beauty will come to the market in the €60 price bracket making it quite affordable to the Redbreast fan. Bottle at 57.7% from a batch of 68 casks it should yield approx 12,000 plus bottles, so its not going to be a collectors item just yet.

The whiskey has all the typical Redbreast notes, rich, spicy and oily. On the nose it was surprising, as the big alcohol kick that my nose normally gets from cask strength whiskey wasn't there, it was more like being battered with an oak baseball bat, such were the strong wood aromas. That oily spicy trait from  Redbreast 12 year old coated the palate, but i couldn't help detecting a Bertie Bassett liquorice all sort or two (the ones with the blue vermicelli). It has a deep rich finish with a touch of ginger snap that lingers on in the mouth. I didn't add water, but it would certainly change it, opening up some more flavours and aroma.

Redbreast 12 year old cask strength will appear in off-sales in Ireland from Tuesday and bars from Thursday.

For those of you wondering what the other five single pot still whiskeys that were released in the last 12 months or so, they are:- 

Midleton Single Cask 1991 (for Dublin Airport).

Midleton Single Cask 1996 (for Celtic Whiskey Shop).

Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy.

Powers 12 years old Johns Lane Release.

And another Midleton Single cask for Dublin Airport as the first one sold out.

More Single Pot Still coming our way.

First there were product launches now there are pre-launches.

Irish Distiller's will be giving a pre launch of their new single pot still whiskey this Wednesday evening at the Old Jameson Distillery. The rumour mill is going around in circles trying to guess what it will be, but the hot favourites are an older Redbreast, probably at 18 years old or another "spot" as in Greenspot. To get to this pre launch event you have to be a member of the Irish Whiskey Society, but hurry there are only a dozen spaces remaining.

Whilst on the note of single pot still whiskey, IDL have finally launched their website dedicated to the style. You can find it here.

New Whiskeys Launched today

The cat has been out of the bag for weeks but today sees the launch of two new whiskeys from the Midleton distillery.

Both single pot still whiskeys (the new name for pure pot still after the Americans spat the dummy out)

- Powers 12 year old Johns Lane Release at 46%
- Midleton Barry Crocket Legacy at  46%

The powers will come in at about €50 and the Midleton in its fancy wooden box at €160.

It great to see IDL to really push this category of whiskey at last.

At the launch Greenspot reveals it new look as well as Redreast, both have been given a fancy new uniform bringing them inline with this century.

Japanese Whisky Tasting

After the destruction that has rolled across Japan in the last few days, I have decided to host a Japanese whisky tasting to raise funds for those in need.

I have long be a fan of Japanese whisky and was actually due to travel to Japan on whisky research only last week but had to cancel due to other commitments. So I thought it fitting that I crack open  some bottles from my personal collection to let you good folks try them.

I'm not going to reveal the line up but what i can say is that there are some cracking drams in there, including the fantastic Hibiki 12 year old blend that has been matured in plum liqueur casks as well as undergoing a bamboo charcoal filtering before entering the cask.

The tasting will take at L. Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 and will cost 25 euro per head booking is essential and can be done by emailing Michael at lmulligangrocer.com

Hope to see you there.

Knappogue Castle 16 year old.

I have long been a fan of Knappogue Castle whiskeys and have yet to come across a bad whiskey within their range, so im looking forward to getting my hands on this. However what the hell is going on with the label and the description???

 

First we had “finished” then some buck on Islay “aced” it, now Knappogue have “twinned” it. Utter garbage. I can handle “finished”, a whisky matured in one type of barrel for many years then “finished” in another different barrel for either a number of weeks, months, or years. Whatever Jim Mac wants to do on Islay is his call. But lads at Knappogue (Castle Brands) get your act together. Okay the whiskey has spent over 15 years in Bourbon barrels and then finished for 9 months in former sherry barrels. Correct me if im wrong but isn’t the meaning of twin the following: -

n.

1. One of two offspring born at the same birth.

2. One of two identical or similar people, animals, or things; a counterpart.

adj.

1. Being two or one of two offspring born at the same birth: twin sisters.

2. Being two or one of two identical or similar people, animals, or things: twin cities; a twin bed.

3. Botany. Of or relating to structures, such as flowers, that occur in pairs.

4. Consisting of two identical or similar parts: a twin lamp fixture.

The only thing the barrels have got in common is that they are made of wood. But not even the same wood, American oak and European oak I presume. They never even grew up together, were they long lost twins? One matured bourbon, the other sherry. Enough. Surely if you want to “twin” your whiskey you should mature it in 2 barrels produced from one tree. Or mature it in barrel “A” take it out, swish it around and re-mature it in barrel “A”.

Re-mature, now there’s a thought…

Whiskey of the Week- Glen Garioch Founders Reserve

The Glen Garioch distillery has been on the go since 1797 and is one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. Like most Scottish distilleries it had its ups and downs and funny moments. While visiting several years ago I learned a funy story about one of the previous owners:

William Sanderson was one of the most prominent  whisky barrons in the 1880’s. At that time he launched VAT 69. Yawn! Here comes the blarney: Yep, he selected the 69th barrel from 100. As a result, Glen Garioch became the major malt in this blend. Not so today, Glen Garioch is soley used in single malt bottlings. Sanderson then went on to produce several other blends , SVG (Specially Vatted Glen Garioch) OBG (Old Best Glen Garioch) and my favourites A.M. & P.M. , which were for drinking before and after lunch!

The distillery was sold to Morrison Bowmore in the 1960s and has stayed under their control since (albeit, they in turn have been taken over by Japanese giants Suntory). Suntory with a bit of Scottish vision, temporary closed the distillery in 1995, to make sure of its long term survival. The distillery got a bit of a makeover and reopened in 1997, the results of the re-vamped distillery are clearly evident in the Glen Garioch Founder Reserve.

Rich and malty with lashings of toffee, dried prunes and hints of charcoal.

A belated WoW for last friday

Due to technical issues and myself galavanting around the Higlands of Scotland consuming whisky, the whisky of the week wasnt "put out there" properly so below is what i wrote for last week.

The guid Glendronach* 12 year old

The Glendronach distillery has been around for over 170 years but has been relatively silent in the marketing of its single malts whiskies.

The distillery was founded by James Allardice in 1826 and he was a bit of a pioneer to the whisky industry- he was one of the first to use sherry barrels for maturation.

At the beginning things weren’t easy for Allardice. On a sales trip to Edinburgh where he had hoped to flog his wares he was left feeling like a broken man when noone took him up on his offer. However, following the rejection, he wandered the streets of Edinburgh he bumped into certain ‘ladies of the night” who, after tasting Allardice’s whisky, thought it was amazing. Their affection (for the whisky) kept Allardice happy and more importantly, probably in business.

As recently as the 1970’s Glendronach played a major part in blends such as Teacher's and Balantine's, thus was rarely seen as a single malt. Since the distillery's acquisition by the Ben Riach Distillery PLC in 2008, the single malt is now getting the exposure and credit it deserves.

This is a very rich sherried dram with lots of stewed fruit (apricots and dates) flavour, it has a long and lingering Christmas pudding like finish.

* guid= good in Scottish slang

Whiskey of the Week- The Irishman 70

The company behind this whiskey are more famous for their pre packaged "just add hot water" Irish Coffee mix "The Hot Irishman". They have always bottled a whiskey but didn't get it just right a few years ago. At one point they proclaimed their whiskey had smokey notes: it didn't. It inevitably became the butt of many jokes. 

However a brand overhaul, and a better whiskey selection process have resulted in this cracking little pot still blend whiskey. Admittedly it still sounds a bit 'blarney', and a bit confusing with the "70": it is not 70 years old! What the 70 denotes a malt whiskey content of 70% from a distillery in the North, which means the pot still content is 30%, which comes from a distillery in Co. Cork. The big-wigs down there won't allow their name to be mentioned in connection with this whiskey (more fool them!)

Anyhow, its a cracking number, with lots of vanilla present, a little peppery spice is evident too, with a lovely toasted almond finish. Its available in several bar across Dublin City and at most good off licenses.

Whiskey of The Week- An Cnoc 12 year old Single Malt

After sampling about a dozen  whiskies this week and drinking about  the same again, it was the the one drank after work on Thursday night that caught my eye. An Cnoc 12 year old single malt (pronounced An Knock) is one of those  distilleries in Scotland suffereing an identity crisis. The actual name of the distillery is Knockdhu but the whisky is branded An Cnoc as to avoid confusion with Knockando Distillery. Anyway its a lovely cracking whisky, its not the sort of dram you would have after work or late at night, but it hit the spot for me. It has a light grassy citrus flavour to it which would make it great aperitif. It has a decent finish, some fudge with a touch of chalkyness that clings to the palate. Enjoy!

Burns NIght Dinner Tuesday 25th January

Here is the press release for L. Mulligan. Grocer. Burns Night Supper.

I can tell you that the whiskies are all Signatory single cask, cask strength bottlings including a Laphroaig 16 year old and a Mortlach 19 year old, hope to see you there!

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware-Robert Burns Address to a Haggis

On Burns Night, 25th January 2011 Michael Foggarty: whisky specialist, Scotchman and one third of the team behind Stoneybatter’s L. Mulligan. Grocer., shall be hosting a Whisky Dinner in celebration of the Scottish poet’s birthday. The three course menu will feature traditional Scottish dishes (including Haggis!) matched with Scotch whisky(provided by the Celtic Whiskey Shop) and microbrewed Scottish beer, rousing poetry and whisky fueled toasts. Dinner shall be followed by Athole Brose and a premium whisky tasting of 4 Scottish malt whiskies. Spaces are limited and advanced booking is required. Bookings may be made by emailingmulligan.grocer@gmail.com or calling 01 670 9889.

Location: L. Mulligan Grocer, 18 Stoneybatter, Dublin 7

Time: [7pm for 7.30pm]

Cost: €45 per person includes all food, whiskies, unlimited still and sparkling water and some Scottish ale too.

 

Whisky Week 2011

Whisky Week 9th-14th May 2011

As a build up to Whisky Live Dublin 2011, we are putting together a "Whisky Week", what we would like to know is what would you like to see in whisky week. Would it be tastings, whisky dinners or distillery visits. Were keen to get as much feed back as possible as to what you want, should it be restricted to Dublin or should we tour it around the country? Let us know.

Whisky Live Dublin 2011

Its great to see that this event is being well received and the great news is there will be up to 9 master classes available allowing everyone a chance to sample some very special whiskeys. It might be 4 months away but already there is a great buzz in the industry with some very big whisky names confirming their attendance.

Whisky of the Week

My whisky of the week is twitted (follow whiskeyireland) every friday and it is a dram that i have sampled in the previous 2 weeks. Last friday it was the Tryconnell 10 year old Madeira Finish. I have long been a fan of this whiskey and it was even Jim Murray's Irish Whiskey of the year a couple of years back. Im always dubious about "finishes" but Cooley have hit the nail on the head with this.  Its currently on special offer in the Celtic Whiskey Shop, Dawson St, Dublin 2 (was €69.99 now €59.99)

It only took 6 years to get started!

I have always wanted to blog about whisky but just never got around to it. Now, however, i really have to, i have so many exciting whisky projects in the pipeline that it would be rude not to share them with you.

So in the coming months we will find out some inside info on the following-

Whisky live Dublin 2011 - I am the operations manager, so along with www.whiskylive.com this blog will have the latest news on what happening for the event.

Duncan Taylor Independent Bottlings - Whisky Ireland are just dotting eyes and crossing tees to finalise importing their fantastic range of whiskies.

Greetings from Japan - The much anticipated trip to visit all of Japan's whisky distilleries starts in February, get ready for some exclusive tasting notes and a chance to tasting some never seen before Japanese whisky on our return.

January 25th - Burns Day supper at L. Mulligan. Grocer.- The final touches to this are happening as we speak. Join us for a fantastic Scotch themed night tickets are only €45 including beer and whisky visit www. lmulligangrocer.com for more info.

Thats just a sneak peak of what were up to at Whiskey Ireland, for more info keep checking back here, follow us on twitter and visit  our website www.whiskey-ireland.com.