Stepping out....

[T47]

We went out to dinner tonight and I stepped into the bar to look at the Bourbon selection and discovered that I had tried all they had to offer. So I decided to try a couple Foreign Whiskey's.

I decided to start off with an Irish Whiskey. My only taste prior was a try of Black Bush at a recent party (I mistakenly thought it was Red Breast but that's another story). I really enjoyed the Black Bush. The only bottle of Irish this Restaurant had was a 12 Year-old Jameson. Well they gave me a very nice pour of that neat. I enjoyed the sweet flavor, and slight smokiness. It was a great start to an excellent meal (Almond crusted Scallops).

Since that was the only Irish they had, and I wanted one more, I moved on to Scotch. The same friend from work, who let us try the Black Bush, left a bottle of Glenlivet Single Malt 12 year-old Scotch for me as a gift. My only "Scotch" try before that was a bottle of McCarthys Oregon Single Malt Whiskey. I did not care for it, from the nose to the finish it did not agree with me at all. Someone here told me it would be considered a very "peaty" Scotch if it were made there. I enjoyed the subtleness of the Glenlivet, and thought I might try something else with dinner. Tonight I tried a pour of Glenmorangie 10 Year-old Single Malt. I found it had more flavor than the Glenlivet, and again I very much enjoyed it. I found the nose sweet, and very appealing. I felt it too had a light smokiness and spice that I enjoy. It did not have whatever I found over powering in the Mccarthys.

A very nice evening, great food and service and wonderful new flavors to mull over.

[barturtle]

Black Bush, Red Breast....I have a thing for Strawberry Blondes myself...Oh Damn, You're talking about whiskey!

I managed to bring back from my trip overseas a bottle of Red Breast 15yo 86 proof non-chill filtered. Can't wait to try it, as I love the 12yo 80proof stuff. Hmm when to open it?

[TimmyBoston]

I thoroughly enjoy Scotch whisky, but never got too much into the Irish's. Now I am a big fan of the peat monsters, all those lovely Islay's. I drank bourbon first, but I got really into Scotch and then came back to bourbon after developing a true appreciation for whiskey. I always keep a bottle of Glenlivet 12 on hand, it was my first bottle and the standard "starter" scotch. I really like it. I also keep some Talisker and Highland Park. The Talisker is very peppery and has a moderate amount of peat, while the HP has loads of honey and heather and some peat. The rest are Islays, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, and Ardbeg, all three loaded with peat. I really love the peat, but at first it is a definate shock to the system. It takes some getting used to. A comparison I like to make, that some here I'm sure will disagree with, but I like it anyway I compare the Islay's to Stagg, while they are much more moderate in alcohol content, but Stagg along with it flammablity has a very intense flavor one that I like as well as many others here, but once you realize what you're drinking and how to appreciate it, they are both fantastic pours.
Good luck, Todd in your foreign endeavors.

A Scotch to stay away from is one called Loch Dhu, "the black whiskey" I've never been able to taste it as the smell blew me back into the next room. But the people I know who have held there nose long enough to take a sip say it tastes like licking an ashtray or even eating a handful of cigarette butts, so it's not high on my "To Buy" list.

[barturtle]

Loch Dhu, I've had. I wouldn't describe it quite as you have, but it is an unbalanced and one-dimensional dram. However from what I have read, most of the whisky coming from Mannochmore(sp?) where it was made is pretty much blending whisky anyway. My question was and still is: since they claimed they didn't use caramel to color it, what they hell did they do to that stuff?!?

[contrarian]

Sounds like you had a great time, Todd.

I have a year-old bottle of McCarthy's that is nearly full. I like some of the flavors, but the nose is almost unbearable. I've revisited it every couple of months, but...so far, so bad.

Jeff

[NorCalBoozer]

I think Irish Whiskeys are underrated here. I hadn't tried many and then went to DougDogs house for a night of Irish Whiskeys. There were some that could easily stand with the best Bourbons. Of course these were very rare bottlings, but even the aged, more common bottles were all very nice and pleasing. I have a Bushmills 16. I think the Irish Whiskeys add a nice flavor profile that is not bourbon and not scotch. They know what they are doing over there!!

[T47]

It's always fun to explore flavor's. Maybe one day I will revisit Mccarthys but for me it won't be for a while!

I have read some of the Irish comments here, and I think I will pick up a bottle of Redbreast 12 to try, I see they have an 80 proof or a 101 proof?

I really enjoy the flavors that I get out of Bourbon, my very limited Irish samples seem to be much milder than the Bourbons I really enjoy and I am curious if that trend continues and is just the nature of Irish Whiskey?

For me the flavor difference between the Mccarthys and the Glenlivet were huge! I cant imagine they are in the same family (And I know that Mccarthys is not truly a Scotch). But I guess I was just as surprised by the EC18 compared to the EC12. I guess I should have known to expect it, but still being somewhat new to Liquor, I didn't really understand how much that extra 6 years in the barrel would impact the product.

I really look forward to trying Cowderys Age vs. Youth pours, and working through the HH slections of Henry Mckenna, Evan Williams, EC12 and EC18. That will be a good education for me on how much time changes the product.

I am working tonight, and looking forward to a nice pour of OGD 114 to put me to bed.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

[CrispyCritter]

Another Irish whiskey that I really like is Powers Gold Label. Although it's a blend, it has a lot of the pot-still character that I enjoy with Redbreast - and, even better, it just squeaks under the $20 barrier around here, making it quite a steal.

Connemara, on the other hand, costs quite a bit more - but any fan of Islay Scotches will enjoy it, as it's a peated single malt. The cask strength version is especially good - but even the standard version will give you a nice hit of peat.

[CrispyCritter]

For me the flavor difference between the Mccarthys and the Glenlivet were huge! I cant imagine they are in the same family (And I know that Mccarthys is not truly a Scotch).

As I quickly discovered when I first started drinking it, Scotch isn't just one kind of whisky, but a whole spectrum. There's malt vs. grain, single vs. blended, lots of peat vs. a little peat vs. no peat, the source of the peat (if present), sherry, bourbon, port, or other casks... and the different stills at different locations.

If you like Glenlivet, then Aberlour and Glenrothes would be a couple of likely choices as well - and Aberlour 10yo is a good bargain.

[T47]

Here in WA. checking the web site for our State run Liquor stores, they seem to have a decent variety. Just reading some of the comments here made me want to try the Redbreast 12. They do sell a John Power and Son? Is that different from the Gold Label you mention? They also have the Connemara Peated Single Malt...If I was to buy one which would you recommend?