Irish Whiskey

Five Awesome Irish Whiskey Sips for St. Patrick's Day

Filed under: Spirits

Irish whiskey makers will have a prosperous St. Patrick's Day as their particular brand of elixir remains one of the fastest growing segments of the spirits business.

Jameson Irish whiskey, the world's leading brand, reported a strong 16 percent spike in sales by volume (shipments to liquor stores) in the last six months of 2010. The brand sold more than three million cases during 2010, with one million of these cases consumed in the United States. In the U.S., sales were up a hefty 27 percent.

Though the market is dominated by two brands, Jameson and Bushmill's, there are several other brands of Irish whisky to consider laying in for the holiday, or giving as a gift.

Tags: bushmills irish whisky, Irish Whiskey, Jamesons irish whiskey, michael collins irish whiskey, Redbreast Irish whiskey, spirits, St. Patrick Day, whisky

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Bushmills Single Cask 19 Year Old Rum Cask Finish

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Bushmills Single Cask 19 Year Old Rum Cask Finish

Looking for an extra special spirit to help celebrate St. Patrick's Day? New York's Park Avenue Liquor Shop is the first and only retailer in the country to obtain a unique Bushmills Single Cask Single Malt Irish Whiskey bottling finished in a rum cask and aged 19 years.

The cask in question produced only 420 bottles which have been bottled exclusively for Park Avenue Liquor; they're priced at $125 apiece. "We are happy to have this bottling, the second rum cask finished Bushmills for the shop," notes Park Avenue Liquor Shop owner Jonathan Goldstein. "An Irish whiskey finished in rum casks is pretty unusual."

Bushmills offers the following tasting notes on the precious spirit:

Nose - A clean crisp saltiness at first, and then notes of mellow rum, vanilla, toasted wood, faintly almondy. Some deeper tones too - dark chocolate, a touch of leather and black pepper.

Palate - A pleasantly dry maltiness in counterpoint to a rummy honeyed sweetness; then various wood, spice, some almond and dark fudge. Overall, a complex and rather unique taste that is achievable only by very long aging in a rum barrel.

Finish - A fading sweetness, and the gentle rum, wood and dry malty noted lingering pleasantly on the palate.

Tags: Bushmills, event, Ireland, Irish whiskey, New York, Park Avenue Liquor Shop, single malt, spirits, St. Patricks Day, whiskey, whisky

Michael Collins Irish Whiskey Debuts 10 Year Old Single Malt

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Michael Collins Irish Whiskey Debuts 10 Year Old Single Malt

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, the last independent, Irish-owned distillery in Ireland has unveiled a Michael Collins 10 Year Old Single Malt and an attractive new bottle for its classic blended whiskey. The 10 Year Old Single Malt is double distilled in small, long-necked copper pot stills from both malted barley and peated malted barley and then matured in bourbon casks for a minimum of ten years. The result is rich and complex with hints of ripe fruit, meadow flowers and peat, a medium dry finish and lingering light smokiness. A refined blend of malt Irish whiskey and grain Irish whiskey, Michael Collins Blended Irish Whiskey is double distilled for proper balance of purity and character and then matured in bourbon casks from four to twelve years. Aromas of honey, citrus and malt give way to a delicate balance of these flavors with a fresh oak finish.

Tags: Cooley Distillery, distillery, Ireland, Irish, Irish whiskey, Michael Collins, Michael Collins Irish Whiskey, single malt, spirits, St. Patricks Day, whiskey, whisky

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Warm Up with Kellan Irish Whiskey

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

In cooler weather we often turn to whiskey and brandy to help keep us warm. Kellan Irish Whiskey is a relatively new and delectable addition to the U.S. market, so far only available in a handful of states but rapidly gaining ground.

Kellan is a unique blend of malt and grain Irish whiskey, double distilled and aged over four years in American oak barrels previously used to mature bourbon, a common practice with Scotch whisky but relatively rare with Irish blends, which can lack fullness as a result.

The double distillation method helps maintain the natural flavor of Kellan's raw ingredients, while the bourbon barrels help impart a rich character resulting a full-bodied Irish blended whiskey that has a smooth malty and sweet start, with a perfect balance ending in a tingle of honey citrus fruit.

Kellan is produced at the Cooley Distillery, one of the only three distilleries in Ireland, and the only independent distillery in the country. Cooley was recently honored with the prestigious title of World and European Distiller of the Year at the 2008 International Wine and Spirits Competition Awards.

Tags: brandy, Cooley Distillery, distillery, Ireland, Irish whiskey, Kellan Irish Whiskey, UK, whiskey, whisky

Ten Great Irish Pours for St. Patrick's Day

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

There's lots of beer consumed on St. Patrick's Day, and liberal drams of Irish whiskey. And while standard Jameson's, Bushmill's, Paddy's, Redbreast, Murphy's and Tullamore Dew are okay, it's nice to break out some of the higher-end expressions that aren't found just everywhere for you and a few close friends to share over good, sober conversation and a bit of Clancy Brothers or Van Morrison on the box.

Irish Whiskey has long fought for equal prestige against their better regarded Celtic cousins to the East. But innovation and creativity at Ireland's distilleries in the last decade has yielded some interesting and compelling pours. Indeed Irish Whiskey has been one of the fastest growing segments of the brown spirits business the last few years.

Before recommending some top pours from my drinks library, it's worth mentioning what separates Irish Whiskey from American, Scotch, Canadian, Welsh and others. The principal difference is that Irish whiskey must be distilled three times before going into the aging barrels in order to be called "Irish Whiskey." Scotch is distilled twice. American "Bourbon" is distilled just once. Like Scotch, Irish whiskey is aged in used oak barrels from American whiskey distilleries, and often finished in Madeira, sherry or port barrels depending on the creativity of the master distillers. Irish whiskeys tend to have sweeter, lighter profiles than their Scotch counterparts. While Scotch is made from blends of malted barley, Irish distillers play around more with blending both malted and un-malted grain.

$45: Michael Collins Single Malt: This single-malt uses barley dried over peat smoke, giving it a slightly smoky aroma and mouth feel. Made up of whiskies aged 8 to 12 years in oak. Spicy on the mouth at first, but smoothes out.

$250: Jameson's Rarest Vintage Reserve: Rich, deep, long finished and almost oily, this is a special expression and well worth the money if you have it. Jameson's combine some whiskies that have aged in port casks with others that have aged in ex-Bourbon barrels. No chill filtering, which helps keep the flavors complex and layered. Carmelized bananas, dates, figs. You get the idea. Not your typical Irish Whiskey.

$43: Connemara Peated Single Malt: If Compass Box hadn't already copped "Peat Monster" for one of its expressions these folks could have used it for this peatiest of all Irish Whiskies. This is as gentle as the Irish Sea, which is to say not at all. I like it, and it's an interesting contrast to what you expect from an Irish whiskey.

$48: Powers 12-Year Old Special Reserve: Just recently launched in the U.S., this is a superior pot-still whiskey consistent with Power's signature flavor profile of marrying up spiciness with a honey flavor. The 12-year old definitely benefits from the extra years of aging in ex-Bourbon barrels. Oaky and longer finish than Power's flagship blend.

Tags: Bushmills, Connemara Peated, ConnemaraPeated, Irish Whiskey, IrishWhiskey, Jamesons Irish Whiskey, JamesonsIrishWhiskey, Michael Collins Single-Malt, MichaelCollinsSingle-malt, St. Patricks Day, St.PatricksDay, Tullamore Dew, TullamoreDew

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Michael Collins Irish Whiskey Wins Double Gold in SF

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Michael Collins, which is distilled at Ireland's last independently owned distillery, Cooley, just won a Double Gold Medal in the Single Malt Irish Whiskey category at the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Michael Collins Irish Whiskeys are double distilled to retain the flavor characteristics of their premium ingredients. Aged in small bourbon seasoned casks, they are refined, flavorful and well-balanced. The brand is named after the Irish national hero.

Michael Collins handcrafted Single Malt is bold with a distinctive and unexpected lightly peated style. Aged for a minimum of 8 - 12 years, it has aromas of chocolate malt with light citrus and honeysuckle notes.

Well-rounded and complex with rich maltiness, it finishes long with a hint of chocolate and smoke that lingers on the palate, and comes in a distinctive tall bottle. Michael Collins blend also won honors in SF, bringing home a silver in the Blended Irish Whiskey Category.

Tags: Ireland, Irish whiskey, IrishWhiskey, Michael Collins, MichaelCollins, san francisco world spirits competition, SanFranciscoWorldSpiritsCompetition, single malt, SingleMalt, whiskey, whisky