Foreign Whisky of the Month - 02/2014: ..... ?

[Virus_Of_Life]

Sorry guys, I sort of fell asleep at the wheel for this next month. I am thinking since it's a short month, maybe we just recap what we've went through so far and put up a poll later in the month for March with more than 3 options, maybe 5 this time.

[AaronWF]

This is a great idea. Good opportunity to discuss the next number of months. Some distilleries on my mind:

Longmorn

Glendronach

Kilchoman

North British (or any distillery making single grain scotch)

Compass Box

Midleton

Glenfarclas

[WhiskyRI]

I like the idea of doing Single Grain as Category - of course the most common Grain that people that people can get is Compass Box Hedonism - which I love. Maybe an Irish Whisky for March - I'd pick Red Breast. Or an Irish Distillery since there aren't exactly a lot to choose from. The more I think about it Red Breast 12, RB 12 Cask, RB 15, RB 21 - would give us something to chew on and it's topical with St Patrick's day.

[garbanzobean]

I like the idea of going with a non-Scottish distillery/blender/brand Something Irish is topical for St. Patrick's Day. Tyrconnell and Redbreast come to mind. If Irish is decided against, I'd still recommend we go with a "world" distiller like Amrut or Nikka.

[chrisg]

Another vote for Kilchoman. Perhaps Machir Bay?

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[tanstaafl2]

I would be up for an Irish distillery for St. Patty's!

[Max Power]

Irish for March seems fitting.

[Dolph Lundgren]

This is a great idea. Good opportunity to discuss the next number of months. Some distilleries on my mind:

Longmorn

Glendronach

Kilchoman

North British (or any distillery making single grain scotch)

Compass Box

Midleton

Glenfarclas

I second Glendronach (because I need an excuse to open a bottle) and Compass Box (because I have several open).

[Max Power]

I second Glendronach (because I need an excuse to open a bottle) and Compass Box (because I have several open).

I could also contribute a lot more to the Glendronach conversation. Some Compass Box too.

[Virus_Of_Life]

I like the idea of an Irish for March, very fitting and very good idea. I know very little about Irish so I'll ask for more input as it gets closer, but would like to do a poll to keep it fun.

[Dolph Lundgren]

I like the idea of an Irish for March, very fitting and very good idea. I know very little about Irish so I'll ask for more input as it gets closer, but would like to do a poll to keep it fun.

[squire]

I could do Irish.

[tanstaafl2]

Irish for March is real fitting. Now if I could only get my hands on some Green Spot...

Green Spot just hit the shelves in Atlanta. Surprised it isn't already in Chicago.

Now if only Yellow Spot would follow suit!

[Dolph Lundgren]

Green Spot just hit the shelves in Atlanta. Surprised it isn't already in Chicago.

Now if only Yellow Spot would follow suit!

Indeed. Wirtz is probably holding-fast until we get closer to March. If its finally crossed the pond we shouldn't be too far off.

There's a dusty 21 year old Bushmills I've been eyeing for a while now and its right around the corner from my house. An Irish thread just might be an excuse to go grab it.

[sutton]

There's a dusty 21 year old Bushmills I've been eyeing for a while now and its right around the corner from my house. An Irish thread just might be an excuse to go grab it.

The Bushmill 21 is great as a late night/after dinner sipper - the finishes bring a lot of flavor despite the low proof - it can be found for about $90, so it's not outrageously priced.

Another vote for an Irish month ...

[ChainWhip]

I think it's safe to say March will be "Irish" of some sort but what about February? Seems to be some votes for Glendronach up there ;-)

[WhiskyRI]

At this point I'd like to see Glendronach get its own full month, since it feels like the hive took this month off. If Irish is to be the theme it comes down to a choice of just a few big distilleries owned by the giants, at least for now while some of the new distilleries get aged stocks. Beam has the Cooley and Kilbeggan distilleries making the following brands - Connemara, Michael Collins, Tyrconnell, Kilbeggan, Greenore. Diageo has Old Bushmills making all the Bushmills variations. Period Richard has New Middleton distillery making the following brands - Red Breast, Jameson, Power, Paddy and Greenspot among others.

My vote is for Beam since I'm hosting an Irish Whisky Dinner in March and I'll have fresh samples across the Beam portfolio. Period Ricard would be my second choice since I really like RB12.

[ChainWhip]

I think we are taking February off, Irish for March, & Glendronach for April (pinged VoL on this). Speaking of Glendronach, Mongo put out a great article about their single casks may not exactly mean what we think it means - it's a fascinating read:

http://www.myannoyingopinions.com/2014/02/14/glendronach-confusion-single-cask/

[garbanzobean]

I think we are taking February off, Irish for March, & Glendronach for April (pinged VoL on this). Speaking of Glendronach, Mongo put out a great article about their single casks may not exactly mean what we think it means - it's a fascinating read:

http://www.myannoyingopinions.com/2014/02/14/glendronach-confusion-single-cask/

Given the reputation Glendronach has for quality products, it is really disappointing to see this from them. I was disappointed when I watched the Ralfy review Mongo cited, and now I'm even more disappointed. Guess I'll be sticking to the core expressions . . .

[ChainWhip]

Given the reputation Glendronach has for quality products, it is really disappointing to see this from them. I was disappointed when I watched the Ralfy review Mongo cited, and now I'm even more disappointed. Guess I'll be sticking to the core expressions . . .

I don't think it's a negative thing per se - it's just worth bearing in mind when looking at their single cask bottlings. I've had a few bottles that were from a re-racked regime and they were excellent IMO.

(Maybe we should start a new thread on this subject)

[garbanzobean]

I don't think it's a negative thing per se - it's just worth bearing in mind when looking at their single cask bottlings. I've had a few bottles that were from a re-racked regime and they were excellent IMO.

(Maybe we should start a new thread on this subject)

I think a more open discussion on which distilleries make this a common practice would definitely be informative, whether or not it is "bad."

All this talk of Irish Whiskey is making me reconsider my 10 bottle limit for open whiskies. Unfortunately, the only Irish whiskey I have bunkered right now is Knappogue Castle (good, not great), but I'm thinking I will need to purchase something to follow along with you guys for the month of march. Probably Redbreast 12 CS or Powers John Lane.

[AaronWF]

Well I dug out one of my RB12CS from the first release, so I'm gonna get March started a bit early...

[troyce]

I try to stick with American whiskey, ie Bourbon, and don't really know a lot about scotch but everything I 've tasted in the Compass Box line is great!

[WhiskyRI]

Had a chance to taste an 19yr Old Bushmills in a rum cask. It was very good and very interesting. Apparently it was released back in 2009 and the distributor in MA found a few cases. It sold out on the shelf at Julio's over Whisky Weekend but supposedly is elsewhere in the state as well.

[MtnDew]

Had a chance to taste an 19yr Old Bushmills in a rum cask. It was very good and very interesting. Apparently it was released back in 2009 and the distributor in MA found a few cases. It sold out on the shelf at Julio's over Whisky Weekend but supposedly is elsewhere in the state as well.

Ooooh, that sounds yummy, I would not mind a bottle of that. Guess I'll have to keep my eyes open though I doubt I'll be able to find a bottle from that long ago.