The editor of the peatfreak.com single malt web site said he likes to gulp Powers Gold from Glencairn whisky glasses. Looks like someone else out there likes Powers.
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The editor of the peatfreak.com single malt web site said he likes to gulp Powers Gold from Glencairn whisky glasses. Looks like someone else out there likes Powers.
I've also been a fan of Powers - especially at its price point. In fact, I just emptied a bottle of it last night... but Redbreast is mighty fine stuff.
If you like peaty Scotches, don't pass up Connemara. Even with the peat, it still has a distinctly Irish touch.
I like Power's Gold Label. In fact, that and Redbreast (which is basically an upscale version of Power's anyway), are about the only products from the Midleton distillers that I really go for (though I'll admit some casual flirtation with some Tullamore Dew 12-year).
Although Jameson is smooth, I find it sort of watery in its consistency, and every flavor tastes like it is held on too tight a leash, for lack of a better way to put it.
For inexpensive Irish whiskey, I typically buy Power's, Bushmills, and Kilbeggan.
Mmmmm... Kilbeggan... *drools*
Speaking of Irish my wife just came back from a visit to her homeplace and brought me a bottle of Crested Ten and Green Spot. Tonight will be Irish Night for sure!
I've been experimenting with adding Green Spot to Jameson NAS. On its own Jameson's seems flavored with a pure pot still that either is Green Spot or something very similar (the keynotes are a certain mintiness and oak). While I like the regular Jameson's, sometimes it needs an increased boost, and I've found adding Green Spot works very well. I can't recall what proportion of Jameson is pure pot still, say it is 50%. So my version has perhaps 65% or a bit more. I found if I added too much, it put it off-balance, and if not enough was added, again it wasn't right. Now I have it just perfect.
On its own Green Spot (some bottles I find) are great but some seem a little heavy and woody, so this seems a good use of both, and economical.
Gary
I just tried this last week. I had the 3 pack sampler, My friend and I gave them all a try. Yes the grain whiskey is from the Middleton Distillery.
We liked the single malt best. It is single malt from Bushmills. It was full of flavor and it was very mouth watering. Its very young single malt. Probably younger then any of Bushmills own single malt releases. Its not colored up like the Bushmills is. It is a treat. Citrus and malt.
The Blend was our next favorite. It was sweet, smelt of brown sugar. Had a sweet entry, and a smooth finish.
The Reserve Blend was third. It was a little light on taste. It was close to the regular blend. Not as full of flavor as the regular blend.
Overall I would probably drink all 3 depending on what I was looking for in a whiskey at the time. I will buy a full bottle of the single malt at some point. Probably the blend as well. I might even buy the Reserve Blend. None of these were bad IMO.
As for Powers Gold Label...thats my go to Irish pour. Lip smacking pot still, sweet, and unbelievably smooth.
I'm not big on Irish whisky in general, but I'll take Powers over it's competition (Jameson and Bushmill's white label). Last year we did an Irish Whisky taste-off at our store and poured Powers, Jameson, Tullamore DEW and Bushmill's white label. We had everyone rank them in order of preference. Powers won by a long shot and I believe Jameson lost by a small margin to Bushmill's. It's funny when you get people who say they are "Jameson drinkers," and they end up liking that the least.
Tullamore DEW is one of those I have neglected to try. I would have to have a "taste off " to decide whether I would rank Powers Gold over the standard Jameson. I suspect in a side by side Powers may edge out Jameson. But I can state with confidence Bushmill's white would come in third. It hasn't been that long ago I had Busmill's white on the rocks in a restaraunt. (They were out of Jameson's.) While I love Bushmill's 10, the standard white lable was just too thin.
I was just reading the newest Wine Enthusiast and the Q&A is with Denis Heffernan, a bartender at the Guinness Bar in the Cashel Palace Hotel. He's been tending bar for 40 years, 36 of which were at the Cashel. He recommends Powers by name for his signature Irish Coffee and says it works the best because "it's the only whiskey (sic) that has that wonderful peaty flavor of a fine whiskey (sic)." He goes on to recommend Jameson Red Breast as a good sipping whiskey "because it's not blended."
Wine Enthusiast March 2008 Page 14
And he has been tending bar for 40 years.:rolleyes: