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.