Irish Whiskey, magical, yet widely unknown!

Posted by Keith Saunders

Posted: March 11, 2008 - 1:51 pm

Everything's coming up clovers!

Well, maybe next month.

This month, however, St. Patrick's Day will bring out the Irish in all of us. Let's raise our glasses to toast a wonderful but unknown spirit, Irish Whiskey.

There are four different types of whiskey styles in the world, Irish, Scotch, American and Canadian. Each has their own unique style.

All of these wonderful spirits are produced in a similar way but there are degrees of production styles that vary from the countries products and choices of grain, number of distillations, type of stills, maturation period and type of oak barrels used.

The least known and oldest of these is Irish whiskey.

Irish whiskey is often compared to Scotch about as often as American and Canadian whiskey's are compared to each other. Each of the pairs have very common characteristics.

Irish whiskey's are usually fragrant, with a full body. Unlike Scotch, the malted barley used in Ireland is dried over coal fires rather than with peat smoke in pogoda huts. This maintains the natural flavor of the barley.

This is the defining characteristic of all Irish whiskey.

Unmalted barley, distilled with malted barley in a pot still, is one of the most important components in Irish whiskey. This flavorful pot stilled whiskey is blended with both the lighter grain whiskey and more flavored malt whiskey to produce the final well-balanced blend.

Another chief difference between Irish and Scotch, besides the color of their kilts, is Irish whiskey is distilled 3-times for a greater purity and smoothness.

The Scot's and other countries distill only twice.

To complete the magic of Irsh whiskey, it is aged a minimum of 3 years in oak casks before bottling.

To create the distinct characteristics of each brand the use of old and young whiskey's are additionally matured in other barrels that previously were used for maturing sherry, rum, brandy or bourbon.

This gives many of the Irish whiskey's a sweetness not found in others arround the world.

I put together a flight of three of the best Irish whiskey's for tasting this month at the Petroleum Club and now I'll share my tasting experience of them with you and where you can pick them up for yourselves.

Tullamore Dew-Spicy, lemony and malty notes with charred wood undertones giving it a soft buttery, rounded flavor that lingers in the mouth. It mixes best in an Irsh Coffee.

Price-24.99 at the Brown Jug Warehouse and Gold Rush Liquors.

John Powers Gold Label-Spicy, honeyed and full-bodied. Flavored with a touch of oak, it has a clean light finish. This is the most commonly consumed Whiskey in Ireland, that should say something about it's appeal. Best to add an ounce of water with this to bring out its beauty.

Price-$25.99 at Brown Jug Warehouse or $23.99 at Gold Rush Liquors.

Red Breast 12 yr. aged-Pure pot stilled Whiskey. Matured for a minimum of 12 yrs in Oloroso Sherry and Bourbon casks. The nose is very sweet, honeyed with a bit of spiciness. Caramel floods the palate with butterscotch hints to balance it out. Light peppery tones with a touch of Anise finishes this long, long finish. It lingers on the tongue for about 40-50 seconds after it's gone. Best to drop 2 ice cubes in to slowly bring it to it's best level.

This is a difficult Whiskey to find. It can only be had at the Brown Jug Warehouse. Price-$54.99.

I'm told because of the festivities about to begin, one or all of these products may go on special for the next week. Check your local liquor store to find out more.

Look for recipes all week long to better enrich your experience with these wonderful but mostly unknown Whiskey's.

Lets not wait until next year to enjoy something right in our mist all year round!

Cheers!

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