The Irish Whiskey Classics - Our Irish Snug Review

Irish Whiskey has some classics and some characters. We’ve been lucky to taste and meet many of them so here we review three Irish classics that are a great starting point if you want to learn more.

The whiskies:

Bushmills 10 – An elegant single malt

Tullamore 12 – A rich blend mixing pot still, malt and grain

Redbreast 12 – A full throated, classic pot still

The Bushmills was the youngest whiskey of the evening and our first of three hosts Seamus Lowry kicked us off by explaining which host was the oldest in the group. It was clearly going to be an Irish evening in every sense.

Bushmills 10

Nose: Green apple skin, mint, spring grass

Palate: Baked apple, super smooth with a little peppery spice, milk chocolate

Larkfire: Opens up the fruit, becoming fresher, light pastry and creamier in mouthfeel

Seamus went on to explain

‘Helen Mulholland (Master Blender) calls this the distillery in a glass and she maintains this is the most difficult malt to put together because of the light nature. A heavy sherry cask can hide a multitude of sins.

‘Bushmills is triple distilled, with the first two distillations refining the spirit and the last still defining. The third still has a larger neck which adds reflux (and sweetness) to the distillate. All of this allows the original spirit to live a little in the glass showing the anise or liquorice notes.

‘This is a two-cask whiskey predominately American Cask but with some Oloroso cask we obtain from the Paez Cooperage in Jerez.’

Bushmills was a whiskey this writer has not had for years and was fresh and complex for the price point (Normally £30 - £35). An elegant, mature malt that even at 10 years allows you to understand the distilleries individuality. The Oloroso cask gives a backbone, without pushing some of the ‘green’ character to the side.

Seamus Lowry (Bushmills), John Quinn (Tullamore Dew and Irish Whisky Association) and Gerard Garland (Redbreast / Midleton)

The classics continued with a whiskey that blends malt, pot still and grain. Tullamore Dew has had a lot of recent investment, not least in a new distillery in 2014. Their blends are increasingly popular and rightly so.

John Quinn, global brand ambassador but also President of the Irish Whiskey Association, kicked us off.

Tullamore Dew 12

Nose: Marzipan, Boozy trifle, Toasted nuts

Palate: Toasted Fruit Scone, sultana, pears, tropical fruit and icing sugar

Larkfire: Milk chocolate, almonds and fruit coming forward

John explained that a mixture of ex bourbon (1st and 2nd fill), ex sherry butts and even ex Irish whiskey casks delivers the dried fruit and spiced notes. This complex blend has a high proportion of pot still and this also adds a richness.

Tullamore Dew has eight different full cask matured elements with no ‘finishing’ involved. This makes a very unique blend that delivers complexity but also an approachable, all too easy to drink whiskey.

And then we had a true Irish toast...

Here's to cheating, to stealing, to fighting, and to drinking. 

If you cheat, may you cheat death.

If you steal, may you steal a heart.
If you fight, may you fight for a brother.

If you drink, will you drink with me.

John was also very kind about adding Larkfire to one of his beloved whiskies. As so many people have stated before ‘An experiment that I didn’t expect to work’. In fact, John was surprised that it enhanced the flavours, allowing you to distinguish them and softening without hiding any of the whiskey craft involved.

Post the second dram the three hosts friendly rivalry went up a level but they also explained the ‘buddy’ system that is now operating. This allows the sharing of expertise, experimentation and even whiskey across the industry.

In 1980 there were only two distilleries on the island, in 2010 there were only four. Now, approaching 38 there is clearly an explosion of talent and different approaches. The buddy system allows the older brands to learn from this experimentation and the newer brands to have access to experience and expertise. An approach many industries could learn from...

We now moved onto a superstar of a whiskey that has led the charge of the pot stills and opened many eyes to whiskey with an e.

Redbreast 12:

Nose: Strawberry jam, musty bookshop, candied ginger, hot cross bun

Palate: Thick creamy arrival, drying vanilla, dark wood spice, hot cross bun, long finish

Larkfire: Increasing wood spice, honey, dark fruits arrive with rich custard

Gerard Garland took us through the pot still method but he also asked us to look at the structure of the whiskey in the glass. Long legs with an oily thickness gave us some clues to the mouthfeel.

Gerard went on: ‘Explaining the mouthfeel to Spanish or Italian barmen I tend to explain it as a fine olive oil in the roof of the mouth. In this part of the world our love for butter makes that a more obvious characteristic.’

Redbreast has a legendary finish and this allows you to get down through the complexity of this whiskey. Like Father Ted’s Mrs Doyle asking you if you want a cup of tea, it went on and on and on.

Gerard also commented after adding Larkfire ‘It opens up the fruitiness, tasting this water and it’s natural purity, I found it got to the true nature of the whiskey’

These three Irish classics gave us an entertaining evening and an insight into why the Irish market is booming. Quality, innovation but also bags of personality which is ultimately true of the Irish character.