Any fans of Irish whiskey?

[CrispyCritter]

The Power's Gold Label I had last night was good stuff, too. The nose seemed a bit odd, almost toast-like, but it was quite tasty. It had a smooth, honeyed quality to it, with a hint of the classic pot-still tang. I don't know how much (if any) pot-still goes into the blend, but for under $20, it's a steal.

[ThomasH]

Irish whiskey is awesome. Powers has quite a high pot still content and is about the best Irish whiskey in its price range. My personal favorite is Tullamore Dew 12yr. Jameson 12yr. is also very good. On the other end of the spectrum, regular Bushmills is terrible!

Thomas

[DrinkyBanjo]

I'm a big fan of Irish too and for Christmas I got a bottle of Connemara 12 YO. It came in a really nice wood container. Haven't tried it yet but I do like the standard and cask strength versions so I'm thinking this is going to be good too!

[dougdog]

Thomas,

You wrote:

On the other end of the spectrum, regular Bushmills is terrible!

You might want to try a Bushmills Single Malt rather than the blends for what is IMHO a better dram... The 10yo is OK, the 16yo is much, much better and if you can get into a bottle of the Millenium series then we got somethin' to talk about...that stuff rocks!

If you get a chance to taste any of these, I'd be interested in reading your post for the tasting notes and impressions.

Does any one get into Knappogue Castle??

Dougdog

[barturtle]

Outta curiosity, I thought I read something about different Millenium editions. I have a bottle of it that came from Liquor Barn in Louisville distilled in 1975. I'm guessing bottled in 1999. Was there another or am I mistaken?

[Ghoste]

Knappogue Castle? Bushmill's Single Malt? Man, y'all are getting a fine selection of whiskies there. I've been surprised a few times since the beginning of this thread at how much is available besides the usual Jamesons and Bushmill's white label.

[dougdog]

Timothy,

My current Millenium edition is from 1975 as well....bottle 32/100 from a "private cask" bottling for "Jackson's Wines and Spirits" in Moraga California. It was given to me on 3-3-05 for my birthday...but that is a long way off from my birthday...so don't know how accurate that information is. Anyway, there is not much information on the bottle for age statement or bottling dates. It is unchillfiltered but watered down to 43%. I haven't opened this bottle to taste it yet.

dougdog

[AVB]

From what I know the Millenium editions were made on spec for different stores and bars. My two came from Hi-Time Wine and they apparently ordered 66 bottles since I have #48 & 49 of 66. Others I've seen are X of 75 and X of 72 at different places.

66-75 bottles is 13.5-15 gallons so maynbe half a cask was the minimum order?

Outta curiosity, I thought I read something about different Millenium editions. I have a bottle of it that came from Liquor Barn in Louisville distilled in 1975. I'm guessing bottled in 1999. Was there another or am I mistaken?

[barturtle]

Mine is cask 83 bottle 83/101.

At 25 years old a lot would have evaporated, but I'm not sure how fast it is in Ireland(it could be faster or slower than in Scotland, but would likely be slower than KY). Also who says they use U.S. standard cask sizes(likely but not a given).

I haven't opened mine, '75 was my birth year and figure I should open it for a significant year(I was thirty this year and chose not to open for that, so it'll be a while)

[AVB]

Buy that birth year booze up now while you are fairly young cause it start geting REAL expensive once you get past 30.

[brockagh]

Outta curiosity, I thought I read something about different Millenium editions. I have a bottle of it that came from Liquor Barn in Louisville distilled in 1975. I'm guessing bottled in 1999. Was there another or am I mistaken?

Happy New Year...

There was a lot of the 1975 Milennium made. It was offered to people at IR£5,000 per barrel at the time, I believe. Also, as far as I know, only one barrel of the 1975 was bottled at cask strength, which (after 24 years) was about 49% abv.

There is also a cask strength 1982 - much rarer than the 1975. These were bottled around 57% abv.

And finally, there's a 12 yr old Millennium, which is packaged quite like the Bushmills 1608.

If anyone can get their hands on the Powers 12, I recommend you get it. It's wonderful.

[JeffRenner]

Power's Gold Label ... I don't know how much (if any) pot-still goes into the blend

I'm sure that there is still some pot-still - that's what makes it a blend. Jim Murray wrote in his 1997 Classic Irish Whiskey that it contained an "astonishing" 70% pot still, of which an unusually high 60% was unmalted barley. He called it "a monster of a whiskey of which the nose and tastebuds can never tire," and a classic.

Power's has been my standard Irish pour, but the last couple of years I've been disappointed, as I thought the quality had slid, and I didn't replace my last bottle. As I drink more boubon and less of other whiskeys, I've just kept a bottle of Jameson 12 yo that I also had. Of course, it's nearly double the price of the Power's.

Jeff

[brockagh]

I have different Powers from over the last 30 or so years, and it has changed markedly over that period. In the 2006 Whisky Bible, Murray says it's back to its best. I think they're using more pot still again... The Powers 12 is my favorite whiskey at the moment.

[dougdog]

Jeff,

This is an interesting thread about Irish whiskies in general. I've learned a lot here.

Powers seems to get good reviews of older versions and certain newer/specific versions and I have not tasted any of them to date. I have a couple bottles in the bunker and they remain unopened. There is one in particular that might be of some small interest, I'll gather a picture and post here again.

I'm meeting with a couple of guys on Thursday 1-5-6, to review Canadian and Irish whiskies...we might even slip in a Bourbon or two, but Canadian and Irish will be the main thrust. My general Irish tasting background so far has been pretty much Bushmills products, the other being Knappogue Castle, Have I missed it or is there not much posted here regarding KC?

I've gained interest in the Powers and Jameson lines of whiskies since reading here...we'll see what unfolds in the next few days.

Dougdog

[TNbourbon]

Is Knappogue Castle a find? I carried a bottle of it and Clontarf Reserve (the older blend, not single-barrel) to the Festival in September and found so little interest they came back home unopened. I eventually carried them back to the store and returned them in exchange for some bourbon (naturally!). I've seen it, though, in a couple of places recently.

[Ghoste]

I don't know if it's a find or not but I'd like to try some and decide for myself. This has been an interesting topic. Very educational for me.

Shawn

[dougdog]

Tim, you asked:

Is Knappogue Castle a find?

I wouldn't go posting pictures of it unless it was a 1991 nestled in with the Bourbon finds, my Scotch teacher had mentioned on several occasions that 1991 was the best year. While on my personal hunting trips, I have found very few.

I have not done a vertical tasting of all the "current five" in a row, but I have tasted the 90 and one of the 92's. (Not sure which one it was)

I think the first release was a bottling of a 1951 distillation and it gets high marks from tasters, (I've not tasted that one)

The 5 more recent releases started with malt that was distilled in 1990, then a release of 1991, then two versions of 1992, (one bottled in 1999 and one bottled in 2000), then the 93 and this years release the 1994.

This Thursday night, (1-5-6) I plan on opening the 91 and I have a back-up 94 to compare with if we want to do a "side by side".

I was going to take a picture of my set, but have misplaced the 93 somewhere...oh well it will be the missing tooth.

BTW, I included a picture of an older bottle of Powers , gold label that I found...looks more black to me...I digress...It is tax stamped, 750ml, guessing early 80's bottling...If a guy wanted to taste Power's for the first time would this one be good or are there better ones to start with?

dougdog

[JeffRenner]

My general Irish tasting background so far has been pretty much Bushmills products, the other being Knappogue Castle, Have I missed it or is there not much posted here regarding KC?

A quick search shows that not much has been posted.

I have had tastes from a couple of vintages, but they were at the private BYO whisk(e)y tasting that I host in my hotel room on the first night of the American Homebrewers Association's National Hombrew Conference each June. (BTW, I gave a talk this past June with another guy on Scotch single malts vs. bourbon.)

While it is a private tasting by invitation, the invitations are liberally issued. There are usually 30 or more people (it's really crowded and hot, and gets noisy enough to sometimes bring the hotel security to ask us to pipe down) and a couple dozen bottles. The Gazebo sounds much more civilized, with more savvy participants.

When I inherited it a few years back, it was strictly a single malt occasion, but I opened it up with Redbreast the first year (along with another one of my favorites, Jim Beam Rye, just to open some eyes). I have also brought Lammerlaw malt from New Zealand, and this last year, Four Roses SB, which turned out to be absolutely extrodinary. Wish I could get more of that barrel.

So what I am saying is that after you open that stash in the photo on your other post, you will have more experience than I have. I don't remember that they stood out as extraordinary, only very nice examples of unblended Irish whiskey.

Of course, I don't remember all that much from these evenings, come to think of it. I think that in a better setting such as you will have, they might show quite nicely. I look forward to your report.

As for the older Powers, I suggest that you get a new bottling to compare it to. Considering brockagh's note that Jim Murray says it's back to form, I'd suggest making sure it is a recent bottle.

BTW, Murray was the consultant for the recent Knappogue Castle bottlings and chose the barrels to be included. I don't think the castle has anything to do directly with the whiskey. We drove into the parking lot of it in '99 and admired it, but gave the tour a pass. I think the admission price was too high or something.

Jeff

[brockagh]

I also have all the Knappogues, although I don't have the two versions of the 1992, only one. Some are from Cooley, some are from Bushmills, and, as you mentioned, there's some from Tullamore. There were a few of these vintages made, but they are all from 1951 now. There were 1948s given to friends. The Tullamores are pure pot stills aged about 36 yrs and are superb - these are as good as almost any Irish whiskeys you will taste. Some of this stock was also bottled by Cadenhead and there's a new one called Willy Napier.

All the other Knappogues are quite good, but not outstanding, in my opinion. Jim Murray marks them very high, needless to say, and I suspect this is because of his involvement with the brand.

Castle brands also produce the Clontarf range, which is well received, but not to my taste. I think they're all charcoal filtered and have a strong vanilla flavour.

The Powers pictured above is an old one, probably from the 1980s. It is so far removed from the current Powers that you would probably find little in common apart from the honey. It probably contains some of the old style heavier pot still whiskey from the John's Lane Distillery.

Anyway, I found it so strange that I was not sure at first, but now I love the old bottles, much more than the modern production (I'm drinking some of the old stuff now).

By the way, if anyone comes across more of the Knappogue Castle 1990, I'd love to buy some.

Regards

John

[Ghoste]

Interesting differences in the colors by the way Dougdog.

[brockagh]

Anyone interested in collecting rare pure pot still Irish whiskey might be interested in this Old Irish Gold Dublin Whiskey

[DrinkyBanjo]

I've had two different Knappogues and have been relatively unimpressed. I've had the 1992 (I think) that I bought about 4 or 5 years ago and now I have the current 1994. For some reason it just doesn't grab me.

Is it just me?

[1holegrouper]

Anyone interested in collecting rare pure pot still Irish whiskey might be interested in this Old Irish Gold Dublin Whiskey

Interesting - but I wouldn't want to spend over a hundred dollars unless I was absolutely sure that the taste was worth it. I guess it might be a good pick for a quasi-investor/collector.

[brockagh]

I think it's a very nice whiskey and unlike anything available today. However, I have a friend who is also a pure pot still fan who does not like the Old Irish Gold I gave him to sample. So nothing is guarenteed when it comes to taste.

If you have ever tasted the old pot still whiskeys from Bow Street or John's Lane and liked them, you'd like this.

[brockagh]

PS - The bottle will include a separate sample for anyone who does not want to open it.