Jono Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Santa brought me this bottle...my first Powers.Color - light gold...like a lager beer.Nose - smells something like nail polish remover....the pot still effect? Almost too much like neutral spirits...aldehyde?...I detect a vodka like smell.Taste - the nose qualities carry over to the taste, light bodied, with a hint of sweetness in the taste...but I fail to detect full or complex flavors. It is drinkable...but I suppose the flavor profile simply reflects its pot still profile. Finish...smooth, short.I am rather disappointed...I know others really like Powers...but I favor Blackbush Black, Jameson. RedBreast has a strong pot still flavor but seems more complex. I assume that the triple distillation can cause an Irish whiskey to more closely resemble a grain neutral spirit. Am I off base here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Posted December 26, 2007 Author Share Posted December 26, 2007 To be fair, here are some reviews from another source...all rave about Powers Gold Label....obviously, taste is an individual thing:http://www.epinions.com/reviews/John_Power_Son_Gold_Label_Irish_Whiskey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamba Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 This has been my dessert whiskey lately. After the "heavy" bourbons/ryes I'll finish the night with a half pour of Powers gold label. Lovely everytime, like caramel apple candy. A little too easy-drinking if anything; usually I need to remind myself why I don't like hangovers so that I don't keep going!Lighter whiskies don't get enough respect. At $17 I think this stuff's a true bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Posted December 26, 2007 Author Share Posted December 26, 2007 Mamba, Just to demonstrate individual differences...I don't pick up the caramel apple candy taste....I am glad you do as it makes the flavor more enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frodo Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Santa brought me this bottle...my first Powers....I am rather disappointed...I know others really like Powers...but I favor Blackbush Black, Jameson. RedBreast has a strong pot still flavor but seems more complex.Hi Jono:My initial reaction is that whiskies like Blackbush and Redbreast are marketed at a different price point, and have more and older pot-still (or malt in the case of Blackbush) whiskies in them. I would rave about Powers relative to it's price point in comparison with JD or Crown Royal, all at similar prices up here. If I had a choice of older whiskies than Powers, I'm sure I'd go for that instead. Older isn't nessisarily better, but the Powers blend is kinda young for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Posted December 26, 2007 Author Share Posted December 26, 2007 I was drinking it neat...I think I will try it with some water...mabye on the rocks..it may create a more agreeable taste. For price point comparison tasting...Bushmills white label....would be a competitor...not a big fan of it either. What we do for science! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILLfarmboy Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 It has been some time since I have had any Powers Gold. I remember an almost creme soda quality; quite different from the orange 'creme savers' Life Savers quality I get from Redbreast. In the summer months I enjoy it on the rocks with a wee bit of added water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I tried Powers Gold for the first time in a quaint hotel bar in Killarney, Ireland in late November. Most in our tour group was drinking Guinness or mixed drinks. I ordered a Powers. I was the only one drinking whiskey. Powers is light, creamy, simple, and has a subtle pot still flavor. I liked it so much I followed up with a double. The Irish Distillers web site says Powers Gold is a blend of pot still and grain whiskeys. At around $20 in the U.S., I think it is a great value if you want a light and easy drinking whiskey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melting Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 It runs about $14.99 around here. I feel it's a great change of pace from some of the stronger whiskeys that I typically pour.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caradog Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Gearing up early for Saint Patrick's arrival...Seems like every bartender I know drinks Jameson, but lately Powers has been making the rounds, maybe a reaction to the saturation level of the "Jamie" (as they call it on "The Wire"). I def. prefer the Powers gold to regular Jameson, but age/barreling does wonders for the Irish mash bill, esp. with Bushmills - I have been really digging a bottle of Bushmills 16YO lately. Their MD Colum Egan seems on the ball, using port pipes to full effect on the palate and finish.I have had a Jameson 18 kicking around for a few years with barely a dent in it - it's got a real cat-pee/boxwood-smell thang going on (!) - wine people talk about this, but i just can't seem to hang. My Ma, a Jameson (and cheap Scotch!) fan, is originally from Wales, so I gave her a bottle of the Penderyn, the only Whisky distilled there - pretty mellow when I tasted it at WhiskyFest.Anybody try Clontarf? I think they get their unaged stuff from Irish Distillers - the Jameson/Redbreast/Midleton people...The Irish are a nice switch-up, but it's nice to come home to Bourbon after the snakes are driven out...the Irish feels like you've been drinking watered-down Sweet Tea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrispyCritter Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boss302 Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 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* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrinkyBanjo Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillman Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickynick Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Gearing up early for Saint Patrick's arrival...Anybody try Clontarf? I think they get their unaged stuff from Irish Distillers - the Jameson/Redbreast/Midleton people...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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbaker Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILLfarmboy Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbaker Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILLfarmboy Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 And he has been tending bar for 40 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boss302 Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 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 14I don't know what he's talking about-- I can't taste any peat in Irish whisky whatsoever.Redbreast might not be a blend, but it is unclear whether or not it is only made in one distillery. Either way, it doesn't draw from the stocks of nearly as many distilleries as Jameson or Powers, so it is definitely more of a "small batch" whiskey... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILLfarmboy Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Peated Irishes are uncommon. One of the main distinguishing features of Irish whiskeys, that sets them apart from Scotch, is that they are non-peated. To my knowledge "Connemara Single Malt" is the only peated Irish currently being made and "Redbreast" is indeed not a blend. I'm looking at the side of the box, it says: Unique among whiskeys, Redbreast is a 'single', unblended, pure pot still Irish whiskey which has been triple distilled and matured in oak casks for not less than twelve years.How anyone with 40 years experience as a bar tender can taste peat in Powers Gold, is a mystery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbaker Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 I don't know what he's talking about-- I can't taste any peat in Irish whisky whatsoever.Couldn't tell ya. I was just reporting. Furthermore, I think it's interesting that he says that it has the peaty-ness which is the sign of a good whisky. If you push that out philosophically, what he's saying is that most Irish whiskies are not good, and that most Scotch whiskies are good. Where do his sympathies lie, you wonder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 "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."His ignorance is stupendous.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I suspect he's confusing peatiness with copper influence of the pot still -- which will vary depending on the state of the current cycle between re-coppering.I've had some older Jameson 12yo which is quite different than a newer version, and I also originally credited it to 'peatiness'. But, I eventually came to realize that it was probably the difference between when each was made -- the older one was much more influenced by the still's copper than the newer one. It wasn't peat at all, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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