Jamesons 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.

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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.

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Colorado Whiskey Joins Scotland and Kentucky For Malt Advocates' Best

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

The Malt Advocate released its picks for Best Whiskies of The Year" in its new Spring issue. Like many of these rankings, there is a little to go around for everyone to argue about, as well as a surprise or two.

Top of the list for pleasant surprises is Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey. This young distillery, opened in 2004, has been a stand out since getting started, but it is also up against dozens of emerging micro-distilleries popping up all around the U.S. It used to distill from beer wash obtained from Flying Dog Brewery, but is now making its own. batch 49, honored by Malt Advocate, contains whiskey as young as two years old, but no older than five. At $55 a bottle, it's a buy, with an eye toward putting one away for future auctions. On the palate, you should find notes of English toffee, maple, roasted chestnuts and a bit of tobacco.

"Best Buy" of the Year went to The MacPhail's Collection; 8-year old expressions of Highland Park, Glenrothes and Tamdhu. At $30-$35, it was a solid choice. It's hard to find age stated whiskies this good, and nicely packaged. All are aged in refill Sherry casks. There are whiskies I like as much at the lower end of the range: Ardmore 'Traditional Cask" comes to mind, but for a few dollars more. That makes The MacPhails a worthy winner.

The American Whiskey of the Year went to Parker's Heritage Collection "Golden Anniversary." This expression was developed to mark Parker Beam's fifty years of service at Heaven Hill Distilleries. The blend was created from whiskies from the last five decades. With so many ages mingles, its not surprising to find a very complex, layered taste: vanilla and cocoa, but with very definite notes of citrus and cinnamon. At $150.00, I'd have to say it's right priced.

The Canadian Whisky of the Year is Crown Royal Cask No. 16. This is not surprising, but perhaps a little disappointing. No. 16 is a fine whisky to be sure. But the choice is disturbingly predictable because of the seeming lack of innovation coming out of Canada compared with the U.S. and Scotland. A close competitor in my tasting book would be Canadian Club 30 Year, at $200.00. To be eligible for Malt Advocate's ranking, the whisky has to have been sold in the U.S. in the previous year. The problem with some of the better, smaller volume Canadian whiskies is that they are not sold in the U.S., and they are often priced lower than they deserve, making comparisons with high-end Crown Royals and Canadian Clubs difficult for many taste testers.

Gallery: Whiskies of The Year