Redbreast 12 Years Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Redbreast

Type: Single Pot Still Whiskey

Age: 12

Alcohol: 40%

Colour:  Full Gold

Nose: Very Complex! Give it some time to open up. Lots of Fruit in here. Ripe Dark Red Fruits like Black Cherries but also Apples, Peaches and Pears. There are some similarities with Rye-Whiskey as well. I get Wax, Spices and lightly charred Oak. Nuts and Dried Fruits like Raisins and maybe Apricots. Sherry is present and so are Vanilla, Porridge, Brown Sugar and Orange Peel. Hints of Earth and Sweet Marzipan or Marshmallows. I’m nosing this for almost half an hour already and still I get new impressions. If I have to sum it up this smells like a Multi-Flavoured Fruitcake prepared with Butter and decorated with Nuts, Dried Fruits and Citrus Peels. Quite a Desert! After another half hour or so, I smelled the empty glass again and I was rewarded with the very pleasant aromas of a Peach/Apricot Pie. This is truly the best Nose of the Irish Whiskies I've tasted so far.

Taste: A bit disappointing really after the great Nose. Rather dominating Spices, basically Black Pepper and Nutmeg. I also find Nuts, Honey, Citrus Peels, Raisins, Sherry, Oak, Licorice, Toffee and Sugared Banana Candies. Not really well-balanced.

Finish: Middle-Long and slightly dry in the end with Vanilla, Black Pepper, Licorice, Anise and a touch of Honey.

I added a couple of drops of Water and you get some more Fruit Cake on the Nose. In general however I didn’t find any substantial changes. Better enjoy this dram neat!

Rating: 86 

Nose: 23 – Taste: 21– Finish: 20.5 – Overall: 21.5

General Remarks: This whiskey is produced at the Old Midleton Distillery in Cork, part of the Pernod Ricard Group. Jameson is also produced at this complex. Redbreast 12 is the only aged Single Pot Still Whiskey at the moment, using malted and un-malted Barley in the mash bill. It is Triple-Distilled and matures in Oloroso Sherry - and Bourbon Casks.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: Beautiful Complex Nose! If only Palate and Finish could maintain the same high quality. It would have climbed to one of the top spots in my rankings so far. But as so often, that’s not the case. The Spices are a bit too dominant. I’m slightly disappointed really. It’s certainly a well-crafted Whiskey and it will serve well as an after dinner dram. It is in the same class as the GlenDronach Allardice 18 for that purpose. But taste-wise, it’s not a whiskey I would need to keep in my cabinet at all times. Although I would love to sniff it from time to time!  

Jan van den Ende                                                                October 7, 2012

Green Spot Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Green Spot

Type: Single Pot Still Whiskey

Age: NAS but said to be 7-8 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 25/09/2012

Colour: Pale Golden (quite different from the picture).

Nose: Strong and Rich Malt and Honey are followed by Oak, Sherry, Citrus, Vanilla, Butter and Toffee or Butterscotch. Hints of Sherry and Cooked Prunes, Strawberries and other Red Fruits. You need lots of patience though because you have to work your way around quite a bit of Alcohol in the first half hour or so. That’s a pity. Otherwise the Nose would score even higher. But your patience is rewarded in the end. The Green Spot certainly possesses an interesting Nose!

Taste: Quite dry actually but very crisp with lots of Caramel, Vanilla, Toffee, Honey, Malt , Oak, Ginger and Black Pepper. A hint of Cherries.

Finish: Short and very Dry with Toffee, Honey, Clover, Black Pepper, Oak and Lemon.

I added a couple of drops of Water and came to regret it although it eliminates the Alcohol once and for all. The Nose now smells of Wafers and Peach Marmalade. Quite nice in itself but the other flavors are muted. Palate and Finish are merely watered down. Therefore I would advise to drink the Green Spot neat.

Rating:  84  

Nose 22 – Taste 21 – Finish 20 – Overall 21

Part of the New Middleton (Jameson) Distillery in Cork.

General Remarks: This whiskey is produced at the Pernod-Ricard owned New Middleton Distillery, Cork for Mitchell & Sons of Dublin. It’s the only Irish Brand that is thus distributed by an independent spirit merchant. About 25% is matured in ex-Sherry Casks and the remainder in used Bourbon Casks. It’s made purely of malted and un-malted Barley and is triple-distilled. Only a very limited amount of bottles (around 6000) is produced each year and it is difficult to find this dram outside Ireland. But the new parent company Pernod-Ricard will certainly increase production as demand is booming!

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This is the best Irish whiskey I have tasted so far. The Nose is quite nice and would be better still if there wasn’t so much Alcohol around during the first half hour or so of the Nosing session. The Palate is maybe a wee bit too dry and the Finish is very dry and short. Still, this is a whiskey I would drink again if I got the chance. In this case it’s a pity I only had a 2 cl sample!

Jan van den Ende                                                       September 2012

Mitchell & Sons in Dublin where most of the Green Spot Whiskey is sold.

Locke's 8 Years Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Locke’s

Type: Single Malt (Pure Pot Still)

Age: 8 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 15/09/2012

Colour: Golden Sunlight

Nose: Lots of Malt. Oak, Honey and Citrus. Very light Peat and some Fruit tones. Walnut shells. The empty glass smells like Oatmeal Porridge with Sugar and Honey.

Taste: Sweet Barley, bit of Pepper, Honey. Hints of Peach and Orange zest. Quite dry altogether.

Finish: Short and quite dry with Malt, Oak, Honey and Pepper.

I added a bit of Water and you get even more Malt on the Nose. Bit of extra Fruit as well. I prefer to nose it without Water but there’s room to experiment. On the Palate and on the Finish the Sweet - and Wood tones are a bit more accentuated and the Pepper is toned down somewhat. The Finish gets some Sweet Licorice. Certainly worth while to try it out both ways.

Rating: 79.5

Nose: 20.5 – Taste: 20 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 20

Locke’s Distillery Museum

General Remarks: This whiskey was originally made by John Locke’s & Sons distillery near Kilbeggan and is named after John Locke, an important person in the Irish Whiskey Industry. It is currently produced by the Cooley distillery and is a blend of some of their Malts. It was officially released in 2000 and is double distilled in Pot Stills. Around 10% of the Malt used is peated. This whiskey is difficult to find outside Ireland.

Drinking Experience Straight: Good

Conclusion: Another Irishman put to the test! Locke’s 8 year Single Malt is certainly not a bad dram. But the Barley is very dominant and leaves little space for anything else. Whatever the reason, I would really like to see a bit more personality. It’s harmless but will not linger in your mind for a long time. And that’s a pity really!

Jan van den Ende                                                                September 2012

Clontarf Single Malt Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Clontarf Single Malt

Type: Triple Distilled Irish Whiskey

Age: NAS

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Pale Straw

Nose: Crisp and Fruity (Hints of Pear, Peach and Maraschino Cherries) with Malt, Oak, Vanilla, Citrus and Honey. Bit of sharp Alcohol. It takes a while to open up.

Taste: Malt, Oak, Vanilla, Honey, Spices and Citrus.

Finish: Clean with Malt, Oak and a bit of Honey. The Malt lingers on for a while.

I added a bit of water and the Malt gets even stronger on the Nose. The Taste and Finish get a bit watered down though. Better drink this neat or with a little Ice.

Rating: 79 

Nose: 20.5 – Taste: 19.5 – Finish: 19.5 - Overall 19.5

General Remarks: This Single Malt is produced by the Clontarf Whiskey Company, part of Castle Brands Inc. Its name refers to the Battle of Clontarf, fought in 1014 and resulting roughly in an Irish victory over Viking invaders. Today, Clontarf is a suburb of Dublin. The Single Malt is charcoal-mellowed before it ages in Charred Bourbon Barrels. It’s  distilled at the old Bushmills complex at Country Antrim. The Clontarf Whiskey Company also sells a Blended Irish Whiskey and a Reserve. The latter one is a blend of Malt – and Grain Whiskeys.

Drinking Experience Straight: Good

Conclusion: This is not a very complicated Whiskey but well-made. It’s crisp and light. The basic flavors are Malt and Oak with some Fruity tones. With a little Ice this could be quite charming on a fine Summer Day.

Jan van den Ende                                                                      August 31, 2012

The Tyrconnell Single Malt Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Tyrconnell

Type: Irish Single Malt Whiskey

Age: NAS but said to be 6-7 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 10/08/2012

Color: Pale Gold/Straw

Nose: Light and Crisp. Lots of Vanilla to start with followed by Malt, lightly Buttered Grain Biscuits, Oak, Raisins, Apples, Vinegar, light Alcohol, Lemon – and Orange Zest. Unfortunately I also find a light off-note (Plastic). There is some Sweet Fruit lurking in the back (Pear).

Taste: Vanilla, Custard, Slightly Bitter Almonds, Sweet Malt, Honey, Butter Biscuits, Light Spices.

Finish: Sugary Sweet at first but dryer towards the end. Vanilla followed by Grassy tones, Oak, Pepper and Slightly Bitter Cocoa Powder.

I added a bit of water and won’t do that again. It doesn’t do any good. The Nose becomes very Malty and Grainy. The rest just waters down. My advise would be to drink this whiskey neat.

Rating: 79 

Nose: 21 – Taste: 19.5 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 19.5

General Remarks: Tyrconnell is the name of an Irish race horse that won the Irish Derby in 1876 at 100-1 odds. The distillery was founded in 1820 by Alexander Stuart but closed in 1925. The brand name was bought and reintroduced by the Cooley Distillery in 1988.

Drinking Experience Straight: Good

Conclusion: I am desperately trying to get friends with Irish Whiskey. It’s true that I only tasted Jameson Standard, Jameson 12Y, Connemara Peated NAS, Greenore 8Y Single Grain and now the Tyrconnell. And that’s not a hell of a lot of course. But so far I found Jameson to be okay but certainly not great. The other three are produced by the Cooley Distillery and I’m not extremely impressed by any of them. The Nose is not the main problem. There are certainly nice tones to be found although I get off-notes in all three of them, respectively fake Peat Smoke, fake Bananas and Plastic. But I have difficulties in really liking the Palate. There are nice Vanilla and Malt tones but the overall impression that lingers in my mouth and in my mind is a combination of Sweet Sugar,slightly Bitter Nuts (Almonds) and a peculiar off-note. I’m sure there are a lot of people who will like the Tyrconnell and Irish Whiskey in general and I will certainly continue to test and taste these spirits. Who knows? Someday I might see the light. But for the time being I find them interesting to try out, yet not tasty enough to really compete with their Scottish brothers!

Jan van den Ende                                                                       August 2012

Connemara Peated Single Malt Review - The Final Verdict

Hello Everybody and Welcome at the Whisky Paradise,

Friday afternoon here in Sao Paulo and I'm ready for another nice weekend. Tonight I will have another look at the BenRiach 16 Years Single Malt as I received another miniature bottle of this whisky. I'm looking forward to it as I quite liked it the first time around. Later on this weekend I will do the JW Black Vs JW Double Black Tasting and that promises to be fun as well. Yesterday night I finalized the second tasting of the Connemara Irish Peated Single Malt. You can find my original Review here: Connemara Peated Single Malt.  At the request of various friends of the Whisky Paradise I did a second set of tastings as some people thought I was being too negative on this Irish Malt. Fortunately I had another miniature bottle available so I gladly accepted the challenge. But I'm sorry to say that Wednesday's and Thursday's Tastings confirmed my earlier conclusion. This is no match for a good Islay Malt like the Ardbeg, Laproaig, Lagavulin or Bowmore. The main problems that I keep having with the Connemara are the Smoke that tastes artificial and the Rubber and Medicinal Off Tones. I just don't think it's a pleasant whisky. It's drinkable but that's all. I have heard that the Cask Strength Version is much better so I hope I will be able to lay my hands on that one. So my verdict stands and you might want to have a look at the Tasting Notes again. In the meantime have a really nice weekend and I hope to see you all back tomorrow for the Re-Review of the BenRiach 16 Years as well as a Review of Led Zeppelin's 4th Album.

Sweet Drams.

Jan

Connemara Peated Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Connemara Peated

Type: Single Malt Whiskey

Age: NAS

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Amber

Nose: Peat, Earth and Smoke but significantly lighter and somehow less Organic and more Metallic than your average Islay Malt. These first impressions are followed by Rubber, Heather, Burnt Sugar, Oak and Apple. Hints of Leather and Honey and a bit of young Medicinal Alcohol

Taste: Not very attractive. A combination of Burnt Rubber, Earth, Caramel and bitter Herbal Tea with very faint hints of chocolate.

Finish: Sweet (Think more of Sugar than of Honey) and Bitter Almonds. Dry in the end with that same medicinal off note that I found on the Nose. The Wet Earth stays for quite a while and it’s rather unpleasant

With a couple of drops of water the Nose becomes very light. The Peat retreats a bit and some Malt and Grass appears. The Oak and Leather are coming through as well. On the Palate it all gets very watery and the Finish becomes very short indeed. Still, you can experiment with a few drops here.

Rating: 74,5

Nose: 20 – Taste: 19– Finish: 17 – Overall: 18,5

General Remarks: In the old days all Irish whiskey was dried with peat but today Connemara is the only Peated Irish Single Malt. This whiskey is double distilled to improve its smoothness. It’s a blend of a 4, a 6 and an 8 Years old whiskey. The Cooley Distillery where Connemara is produced was bought early this year by Beam Inc.

Drinking Experience Straight: Average

Conclusion: The Nose is the best part of this whiskey despite the rubber and medicinal off-notes. But on the Palate this Malt is disappointing and the Finish is rather unpleasant. I’m sure that Connemara wanted to provide an Irish alternative for Islay malts but I’m sorry to say that this whiskey is no match for the Islay Single Malts. And since it’s also not as smooth as other Irish whiskies despite the Double Distilling, it’s rather a Black Sheep in the family if you ask me. It’s drinkable but I can’t recommend this.

Jan van den Ende                                                                     May 3, 2012

Jameson 12 Years Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Jameson

Age: 12 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Gold

Nose: Malt, Sweet Breakfast Cereals with Nuts and Dried Fruits (Raisins and Sultanas), Orange Marmalade, Brown Sugar, Oak and Spices. There is some Caramel and Sherry and a faint hint of Leather. I do believe there is some Fruit lurking at the back of the glass as well but I can’t really determine what it is. Could be Peach or Melon. I can’t detect any Smoke here. The 12 Year certainly presents less rough alcohol than the Standard Jameson. As always, give the spirit at least 20 minutes or so to open up in your nosing glass.

There is enough to discover on the nose but you really have to dive deep. I would have given the nose 21,5 points if not for a nutty bitterness that pops up from time to time which I find unpleasant.

Taste: Surprisingly Sweet with Sherry, Cherries, Raspberries and Vanilla but spicy at the same time with Oak, Cinnamon and White Pepper.

Finish: The Sherry and Spices vanish rather quickly but the Cherries and Raspberries carry on for quite a while.

Rating:  82.5 

Nose: 21– Taste :20,5– Finish: 20– Overall: 20,5

General Remarks: The Jameson 12Y is a mixture of malt - and grain whiskies. No need to add water as it just waters things down. You do get a bit of cocoa on the palate. Still, better drink this one straight.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion:  This is surely a step up when compared to the standard Jameson. The nose is certainly more interesting though not at all spectacular. The palate follows up with the unusual combination of spices and sweet red fruit, something I have not been able to identify in other whiskies so far. These cherries and raspberries guarantee a faint but quite long lasting finish. Another advantage versus the Standard is the absence of harsh alcohol. So yes, the 12 Year is better than his younger brother but not a whole lot more interesting. You basically get less harsh alcohol and an extra bit of sweet fruit. I’m not sure that’s enough to justify the price difference!

Jan van den Ende                                                         December 16, 2011

Jameson 2011 Review

Country: Ireland
Brand: Jameson

Age: NAS. The distillery puts it between 3 and 7 Years.

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Light nose. Malt and Sweet Grain take the lead. Breakfast Cereals with Sugar. Alcohol and oak are prominent as well. There is some Spice there and a bit of Sherry as well. In the back of the glass I pick up some Floral tones and sweet Peaches.

Taste: Slightly Oily delivery. Not too much going on there. Basically Sugared Grain, some Caramel and a bit of Spice (Ginger). The taste reminds me somewhat of Gin.

Finish: Short. The alcohol burns a bit. Sweet Grains, Vanilla, light Spices. Slight nutty bitterness but in the end the sweet Grain and Peaches return.

Rating: 77.5

Nose: 20.5 – Taste: 19 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 19

General Remarks: This is the first Irish whiskey I’m tasting for the Whisky Paradise! The Jameson distillery was founded in 1780. The production process is slightly different from Scotch whisky in that Jameson uses both malted and un-malted barley. The wash is also distilled three times instead of the usual 2x in Scotland. Today, Jameson is the best selling Irish whiskey worldwide.

I added half a teaspoon of water but it doesn’t make a lot of difference. It brings out some Honey.

Drinking Experience Neat: Average

Conclusion: The good thing about the Jameson Standard Expression is that it’s not an expensive whiskey. It’s also better in my opinion than most of the cheaper blends such as Johnny Walker Red Label, White Horse, Grant’s Family Reserve, Ballantine’s Finest, Chivas 12 Years and Dewar’s White Label. So it scores high when it comes to value for money. On the other hand, I like to see things happen in a whisky and that’s not the case here. Too much Sweet Grain and Wood and Alcohol and a bit of Spices and very little else. That’s not enough to make the Jameson standard a whiskey I will look for again. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                December 3, 2011