Category Archives: Ireland

Nurnberg’s St Paddy’s Night – Kilbeggan, Jameson, Glendalough, Bushmills, Connemara

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We went all out this time – Irish music, a hearty Irish stew, and absolutely 100% an assortment of Irish whiskies! It was a merry evening that really ‘upped’ the ante for future Nurnberg Whisky Explorer gatherings!

So what did we explore whiskey-wise?

  • Kilbeggan 43% – A friendly Irish pub kind of dram!
  • Jameson Triple Triple 40% – A pleasant accompaniment
  • Glendalough Single Grain Olorosso 42% – Interesting to try
  • Bushmills 10 year 40% – Ye old standard
  • Connemara peated single malt 40% – A bit “blah”

Let’s begin with a pub crawl dram…

Kilbeggan Single Post Still Irish Whiskey 43% ~Eur 32

  • Nose – Fresh, clean, simple yet inviting, floral, honey with a light citrus twist
  • Palate – Toasted cereal, nutty – mostly almonds, creamy, smooth and sugary
  • Finish – Light and pleasant

What can we say? It was a perfect appetizer dram. Easy to drink, very approachable, and uncomplicated.

A step up from the standard Kilbeggan, this expression is from a single pot still. Nice stuff.

Jameson Triple Triple 40% ~Eur 32

  • Nose – Caramel, cooked fruits – a generic melange impossible to distinguish the different elements, very very sweet
  • Palate – Much more character than expected from the nose. Now distinct berries could be discerned, some citrus and cloves
  • Finish – Milk chocolate, dusting of cinnamon

A triple cask of ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry, and ex-Malaga, this is a wee step up from the normal Jameson fare. The combination created a dram which was sweet and sweet and sweet. Our verdict? A pleasant accompaniment when you don’t want to be distracted by your dram.

Glendalough Single Grain Double Barrel Bourbon and Olorosso 42% ~Eur 29

  • Nose – At first fumes – which isn’t so surprising for a young grain… then it settled down
  • Palate – Salty nuts, quite mineral, white pepper, spice yet also soft, it reminded me a bit of pancake batter, a hint of rose – like a light rooafza
  • Finish – Smooth with nutmeg

One only single grain of the evening, it was a welcome departure. Whilst others spent more time with the other Irish offerings, for me this was the one to return to…

Bushmills 10 year 40% ~Eur 28

  • Nose – Fresh hay, green apple
  • Palate – Juicy white wine grapes, malty, milky, like a fruity crisp with cream
  • Finish – Dry

Overall it held its own, reminding us why the Bushmills 10 year is a standard.

Connemara peated single malt 40% ~Eur 25

  • Nose – Green tea, iodine and seaweed
  • Palate – Grassy, grape juice, peat but not so heavy
  • Finish – Smoking at the end with cinnamon

Don’t laugh, but my notes were so scant, closing with just two words: Boring. Unidimensional. And now sigh…

Unfortunately, I did not take any photographs of our AMAZING dinner! For the carnivores there was a rich Irish stew. And for the vegetarians a delicious tangy spicy chili sin carne. Yum! Way too delicious and completely spoilt us!

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Friendly February Dram Exchange

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It was a surprisingly warm and sunny weekend for February. It was also a perfect opportunity for a few friends to get together and exchange a few drams. Some were already open. Others had been waiting for just this kind of evening.

We had 13 whiskies on offer and the hardest decision was where to start and where to stop? What did we have displayed to explore?

We chose to begin with the youngest and most recently opened distillery from the Hebridean Island distillery Raasay… Their aim is to produce a lightly peated whisky with rich flavourts. This was my first sample of the “real” Raasay as my earlier brush was a “pre” offering in their intended style “While we wait.”

We thought this would be a light dram to whet our appetite for more… what we discovered was a bit different!

Raasay Single Malt 46.4%

  • Nose – Fresh, young and vibrant, malty and maritime, slight smoke, more herbal than floral or fruity, after time a whiff of smoked meats
  • Palate – Surprisingly peaty – much more pronounced than anticipated, and yet not a “heavy” peat, the herbal quality follows through, with some bitter tannins, nuts, and quite autumnal
  • Finish – Cinnamon fading into a faintly bitter finish
  • Water – Initially didn’t think would be needed, but worth trying. For me, it became sweeter with a mineral or granite element
  • Revisit – Much later, I revisited the empty glass, the aromas were ashy, a bit like the remaining long-forgotten antique kitchen fireplace, from generations before

The thing about whiskies, slowing down to discern different aromas are the memories a smell triggers. For me, the hint of smoked meats took me back to Montreal. The palate overall was smooth and pleasant.

What more do we know? Their aim?

Our flagship Isle of Raasay Single Malt Whisky, 46.4% ABV, natural colour, non-chill filtered.

Lightly peated with rich dark fruit flavours.

We set out to emulate some older styles of Hebridean single malt whiskies, with subtle, fragrant smokiness balanced with dark fruit flavours.

It was matured in six different casks – this is what they have to say:

Two Isle of Raasay spirits – peated and unpeated – are matured separately in first fill Rye whiskey, fresh Chinkapin oak and first fill Bordeaux red wine casks. These six recipe casks marry together to create the perfect dram with real elegance, complexity and depth of character.

With this knowledge, we could see where the tannins came from, however elegant? Complex? And dark fruits? Not in what we found, however, it was an interesting start!

Next up? A revisit of a former friend – Aureum – which is unfortunately no more. What did we think?

Ziegler’s Aureum 7-year Single Malt (2008 – 2015) Chateau Lafite Rothschild 47%

  • Colour – Gold
  • Nose – Welcome! These are the kinds of aromas that explain why we were so captivated by Aureum. Sweet chestnuts, green and fresh, fruity… then deepens into chocolate, sweet vanilla custard then green apple, then a dessert feast of apple pie with vanilla ice cream!
  • Palate – First sip was a bit odd, then once calibrated to the unique style of Aureum with its use of chestnut wood, we found it to be smooth, sweet… getting sweeter with each sip!
  • Finish – Lingers with more sweet wood

Overall it was a clear reminder that this was once a distinctive distillery producing unique drams – aiming for craft and quality. I can only repeat that it is such a pity that Ziegler abandoned their decade-long foray into such single malts to go down the Freud route.

We then moved on to Ireland, to discover Ireland’s West Cork was nothing like the sociable dram we anticipated….

West Cork Calvados Cask Finish 43%

  • Colour – Light straw
  • Nose – No mistaking there is Calvados involved here! It reminded me of the kind of juice we used to make from our garden apples – pulp and seeds and all would go in. Then it shifted to something that could best be described as fresh-pressed coffee
  • Palate – We found it a bit “pushy” at first. Young, a bit brash, and curiously unfinished, dry and bitter with a hint of nuts of some kind
  • Finish – Limited, what there was we found bitter, like chewing an espresso bean
  • Water – We hoped it might bring out some other element – instead just kicked up the spice

Overall this didn’t attract new fans. Now I’ve had a few mighty fine whiskies with Calvados finish. Mackmyra Äppelblom 46.1% and Rampur’s Jugalbandi come to mind…  The folks over at West Cork don’t try to over-sell this as a complex dram, instead, point imbibers in the direction of cocktails – a ginger mule to be more precise.

I then steered us towards a pair of Chorlton‘s – a contrast and comparison of two Glentauchers. Both sherry casks, both lovely just in different ways – both deserving their own posts – just check out Glentauchers 8 year and Glentauchers 14 year! We then cracked open some exceptional chocolates – what a fabulous pairing!

That is where our journeys diverged. For me, I thought to continue the chocolate pairing and thought to revisit the Super Sonic Sherry Blend and the Amrut Port Pipe Peated. Whereas others explored the Amrut, Indri, Kamet, and Staoisha. Overall it was simply a lovely evening and a nice way to keep at bay the dull dreary February blues!

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Surprise me: Ireland’s Green Spot vs Tullamore D.E.W.

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Bring a few whisky folks together with no rules on what bottle to bring beyond “Surprise me!“…. let’s just say there are bound to be some “hits” along with a “miss” or two! We tasted blind and, curiously, ended up with a pair from Ireland!

First up was a fabulous opportunity to revisit Green Spot!

Green Spot 40%

  • Nose – Fruity! Mostly banana, sunshine on apples and pears, friendly and warm.. as it opened it shifted from ripe bananas to green banana peel, then was replaced by a crisp granny smith, waxy then finally floral – lovely!
  • Palate – Apple custard, mangosteens, very smooth, sweet, quite light yet still had substance – think vanilla cake with pudding chased by light spice, some toast, and oak
  • Finish – Light yet long, a hint of nuts
  • Return – After trying the others, we came back – a delightful perfume danced around the near-empty glass!

We really liked this one! Teasingly before the reveal, small insights were shared, Such as though without an age statement, it is generally known to be 7-10 years. Then it was matured in a mix of new and refilled bourbon casks and then finished in Sherry casks.

My initial guess was Green Spot but was confused as it sounded like this was a new player… With the reveal, we could clarify this is far from the case as the Mitchel family has been in the bonding business since the 1800s. As for the “Spots“, the story goes:

The Mitchells matured their whiskey in casks under the streets of Dublin in their network of underground cellars. When their fortified wine casks were filled exclusively with Jameson spirit from the old Bow St. Distillery, they were marked with a daub or ‘spot’ of paint which identified how long the barrels would be matured for. Blue for 7 years, Green for 10 years, Yellow for 12 years and Red for 15 years—hence the name Spot Whiskey.

For my part, it was truly a delight to revisit the Green Spot. An unexpected treat!

We moved on to the next mystery dram – another Irish whisky – this time from Tullamore D.E.W.

Tullamore D.E.W. 40% 

  • Nose – Harsh, sour apple juice or apple sauce… we waited to see if a bit of time in the glass would help reveal more – nope! At best, maybe some honey and cinnamon joined the sour mash, with a hint of salt
  • Palate – Burning when it hits, yet at the same time thin and weak, perhaps some plum?
  • Finish – Bitter nuts
  • Water – Added just in case it made a difference…. nope!

Yikes! What a contrast from the Green Spot! It was not complex… not terribly appealing. Truth be told, we didn’t know what to make of it. With our water experiment, I learned a new German word “schlimmbesserung” roughly explained as an attempt to improve which actually makes it worse!

With the reveal, we learned it was the Tullamore D.E.W. core expression – which is a blend of grain, malt, and pot still whisky. Produced by Grant & Sons, it is reputed to be the 2nd largest-selling Irish whisky in the world – behind Jameson. One has to wonder if the popularity has more to do with affordability (only Eur 14) than other factors…

Like many Irish whiskies, it was once a distillery but then, for many years it was a brand – with the liquid coming from Middleton. However, in 2014, The Grant & Sons folks built a new distillery near the old Tullamore distillery. So presumably some of the whiskey we tried came from the Tullamore distillery.

Can’t say they won any new fans with us. We were reminded that sometimes you win, and sometimes not!

So what did we try in our “Surprise Me” evening?

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Surprise me!

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Let’s be honest folks, we are influenced by brand, by past experience… our brains like putting things into easy-to-interpret boxes. Take the packaging and pre-conceived notions away, and one has to work all that much harder to understand – in this case – what lies in our whisky glass.

This was the genesis of our first session Nurnberg’s International Whisky of 2024 with a fun approach – called “Surprise me!” so named as participants brought a covered bottle, revealing the details only after trying. We had no guidelines, no theme, no notion of what would show up!

So what did we try?

Curious to know more? Click the above links to learn more…

Without any planning, it was interesting to see how there was nary a Scottish Speyside or Islay in the mix!

If you are curious to join one of our Nurnberg Whisky Explorer events – just find us on Meetup!

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More Minis – Nc’Nean, Tipperary, Gulliver’s 47

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Continuing my wee whisky mini explorations, I turned to a combination of two different sets… mixing up countries and styles!

For Nc’Nean, this mini came after I’d already purchased a full bottle with thoughts to bring it back to Mumbai for the Whisky Ladies. I knew it would be young but had been impressed with meeting the women leading the way with this fresh new independent distillery – committed to sustainable production, carbon-neutral, using recycled glass for the bottles, and most importantly passionate about crafting a fine dram in harmony with our planet.

Nc’Nean Single Scottish Malt Batch 7, 46%

  • Colour – Light gold
  • Nose – How delightfully fresh, fresh barley, light orange citrus
  • Palate – Initially prickly then gentled, quite young and active, some ginger, tinned pineapple, honey sweetness with something a bit rustic, tannins belying a wine cask influence? If yes, it was subtle and balanced
  • Finish – Waxy, a touch bitter like roasted nuts, light spice, a touch of orange oil

The challenge with tasting minis is that sometimes it simply isn’t enough! I was glad that I have a bottle to explore another time at leisure with friends.

I then shifted gears from Scotland to the Emerald Isles…

Tipperary 8 year Red Wine Cask Finish, Cask RC00117, 59.5%

  • Colour – What colour! A bright ruby
  • Nose – Bold blackberries, spice
  • Palate – Brash, a bit harsh and spicy, with some strong oak undertones, tannins and juicy red berries, like chewy red gummy bears
  • Finish – Sweet and tart at the same time, oak spice chasing

If Nc’Nean had a subtle hand, here there was no mistaking the use of a red wine cask with the Tipperary. So heavy, I wondered if it could have been finished in a decidedly “wet” cask leaving some wine behind? There is nothing shy about this whisky!

Whilst the Irish distillery is undisclosed, the folks at Tipperary have started their own distillery and in time will be putting out their own whisky. In the interim, this bottling of another is retailing for Eur 68.

And then on to a third country – England – with a lightly peated dram from The English Whisky Company:

Gulliver’s 47 Single English Malt 47%

  • Colour – Pale white gold, nearly translucent
  • Nose – Fresh sea breeze and smoke, angel food cake, citrus, layers of soft peat
  • Palate – Delightful! Gentle sweet peat, apples, buttery, lovely malty, most
  • Finish – Sweet tobacco leaf, lingering cinnamon

I really enjoyed this one – rolling around the palate – the peat was subtle yet satisfying. A rather nice dram.

What more do we know? It was aged in bourbon casks from Jim Bean, with the brand inspired by Samuel Gulliver an explorer who brought wines, spirits and liqueurs from around the world back to 18th century Britain. You can find this for Eur 60.

What fun to mix and match tasting from two new distilleries and one brand with a distillery to be!

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West Cork Distiller’s Black Cask Irish Whiskey 40%

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We were about to head out to an evening of surprises – a four-course meal in pitch blackness, learning how to navigate and rely on other senses. Before walking over to the restaurant, we decided we should crack open a small ‘mini’ whisky as a pre-appetizer. We had quite an array to choose from, however, we selected an Irish blend that neither of us had tried.

So who are these folks at West Cork? Started by three friends in 2003, they produce whiskey, gin, and vodka. Obviously… I had a wee mini whiskey! What did we think?

Black Cask Irish Whiskey 40%

  • Nose – Light, fruity and amiable, green orchard fruits like pear and granny smith apples, a touch of honey, spirited, camomile tea, a hint of vanilla
  • Palate – Light spice, malty and mineral, a bit bitter
  • Finish – Limited

There was no doubt this was a fairly young, raw whisky, yet equally pleasant and a good way to begin our evening! So perfect for our purpose.

What do the folks at West Cork have to say about their Black Cask expression?

A fine blend of grain (66%) and malt (34%) whiskey aged in first fill bourbon casks for three years, and polish matured for a further year in heavily charred bourbon casks. The result is a beautifully balanced whiskey with a vanilla and lingering sweetness.

If you are curious about more Irish whiskies, I have a whole section dedicated to Ireland, including 10 evenings focused just on exploring drams from the Emerald Isles!

From time to time, you can also find other whisky-related updates and activities on:

Jameson Quartet

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It has been a while since we’ve had an evening of Jameson here in Mumbai! And fitting that this time it would be with the Bombay Malt & Cigar lads, given the previous rounds were with the Whisky Ladies in 2018 and before that our original tasting group in 2015!

What did we try?

  • Jameson Distillery Edition 40%
  • Jameson Crested 40%
  • Jameson Black Barrel 40%
  • Jameson Caskmate Stout Edition 40%

No stranger to some of these expressions, it was still fun to revisit with the lads over a sociable evening of merry malts and cigars.

We kicked things off with the Distillery edition….

Jameson Distillery 40%

  • Nose – Started off with a gentle sweet citrus, then creamy vanilla, opening into a floral bouquet, heavy on the tuberose, over time the perfume was joined by caramel
  • Palate – Smooth, mildly malty, and woody, with a bit of coca-cola
  • Finish – A hint of spice

Overall we found this expression an amiable start to our evening. Our whisky host wondered if there was much difference between this expression and the standard Jameson blend. Not having the original on hand to compare, clearly, it was part of the distillery edition and was part of the Jameson stable.

What do the folks at Jameson have to say about their Distillery Edition?

Our Distillery Edition has been bottled exclusively for our home here in Midleton, Co. Cork, and now you can order it for your home or for that of your friend. It is a whiskey of exceptional depth, balancing pot still warmth with sherry wood to reveal notes of ripe fruit and fig with subtle vanilla and charred oak characteristics.

In this case, it was purchased in Cork, along with the other 3 bottles for under GBP 200…

We then moved on to the Crested, which none of us had tried (except our host at the Jameson visitor centre!).

Jameson Crested 40%

  • Nose – Orange peel, slightly roasted, creamy vanilla, sweet spices, particularly ginger, some prune and dates competing with honey, and above all – Cadbury Orange Chocolate!
  • Palate – Very smooth, fruity, warming into spice
  • Finish – Here is where there was a spiced edge – quite peppery

Though we enjoy good orange chocolate, this one didn’t stand out. It was also a wee bit unbalanced. Still smooth on the palate and easy to drink, but with a bit of a ‘spike’ that didn’t have sufficient character to pull through.

And what more do we know about the Jameson Crested?

Previously known as Crested Ten, the name was changed as it was a wee bit confusing – given it isn’t aged for 10 years. With its new look, it remains a blend with older aged Jameson with a “high measure” of pot-still whiskey, a “fair proportion” of which has been aged in sherry casks.

We then moved on to the Black Barrel – described as an effort to take tired old barrels and charr some new life!

Jameson Black Barrel 40%

  • Nose – Started with vanilla spice, charring does come through, fleshy fruit like custard apple, a bit of fudge
  • Palate – Was there slight smoke from the charring? Overall quite fruity with a dash of salt…. smooth as silk on the palate, more of that creamy vanilla
  • Finish – There with a hint of toasted nuts

Overall this one was a clear favourite… the most interesting of the quartet.

Like most Jameson, this is a blend of Single Malt and Grain. Whilst there is no age statement, they “flip” the typical age spiel to say it could be upto 16 years (and obviously over 3 years else it wouldn’t be whiskey!)

And what do the folks at Jameson have to say about their Black Barrel expression?

Double charring the wood fires up the barrels and gives them new life. Untold richness and complexity awaits in every drop of Jameson Black Barrel. It’s perfect on its own or on the rocks, but it’s also commonly known as the best whiskey for an Old Fashioned. Don’t trust us? Taste it. So, care to meet our beloved Black Barrel whiskey?

We closed with the Stout – aka finished in an ex-stout beer cask. We had a bit of a debate with this one… had we sampled blind, would anyone even discern a stout influence? Hmm…

Jameson Caskmate Stout Edition 40%

  • Nose – Subtle, shy, yeasty, some dry cereals, then gently revealed a little chocolate, some cream
  • Palate – Malty, yeasty bread, some caramel, a hint of chocolate
  • Finish – Coffee liqueur (at least this is what I found, most of the lads disagreed!)

This wasn’t my first time trying the Stout Edition. The Whisky Ladies had an evening with a Jameson Ambassador years ago…. If you are curious, you can read more about our experience here.

And the Jameson Stout official tasting notes?

  • Nose – An initial aroma of freshly cut hay is complemented by a crisp orchard fruit character – green apples and pears, with a twist of lime zest. Mild pot still spices appear, deepening from green tea to hazelnut and milk chocolate.
  • Taste – The initial sweet mouth coating typical of the Irish pot still inclusion is quickly complemented by the subtle touch of hops and cocoa beans from the beer cask finish.
  • Finish – Long and sweet with milk chocolate and butterscotch.

An interesting experience to revisit and discover variations on a Jameson blended theme… No matter what, you should find affordable amiable drams, happy to keep you company whilst you spin a yarn or two! Particularly if transformed into an Old Fashioned….

And if this isn’t enough Jameson for you, read on:

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vomFASS – Mackmyra Duo + Teeling

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Back in the days that I regularly travelled to Singapore, I heard about an interesting store – vomFASS – where you could find specialty spirits, oils, vinegars and more!

A friend in Indonesia even purchased one of their whisky blends which we enjoyed one fine evening in Jakarta! However I somehow never made it to their Singapore shop… I was certainly curious, but there was always some other work or play priority…

Fast forward several years and now I – remarkably and conveniently – live nearby a vomFASS shop in Nurnberg, Germany!  For those who haven’t yet encountered these folks, over the last 25+ years, they’ve grown far beyond Germany with franchises scattered around 20 odd countries. The concept remains – purchase both bottle and liquid, return to refill your bottle from the cask you liked – if still available – or try something new.

Naturally I couldn’t resist and found myself picking up a trio!

So what made it into a wee 100 ml “barrel to bottle” vomFASS experience?

  • Mackmyra “Valbo” 42.5%
  • Teeling Reserve Small Batch Sherry 16 year 43%
  • Mackmyra “Kungstorv” Peated 47%

Curious? Read on… Continue reading →

Vita Dulcis 23 – Ireland’s Connemara Peated 40%

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Over the years, Connemara just keeps popping up in various forums… including here with a guest post in 2016 and again later that year. However it has been a few years since I’ve sat down and given proper consideration to this lightly peated Irish dram.

Ireland – Connemara Original Peated 40%

  • Nose – Briney, sweet cereals, hint of smoke
  • Palate – Well… that’s a kick! Sweet, light peat with a cinnamon edge
  • Finish – That briney quality comes back

OK… I remember Connemara as being quite a light touch with peat. And it is true – this isn’t heavily peated. However it has much more kick than I remembered. Could it be there has been a shift in peat levels? A little more PPM earlier, then a few years with less and then back to a heavier hand? Or just mood and environment linked.. either way, this was certainly a sharper peat than I remembered on previous brushes.

Distillery official tasting notes?

An aroma of sweet barley with wafts of peaty smoke, kippers and well baked apple crumble. Tastes of lightly honey sweet, subdued clean rather than sooty smoke with peaty vegetal notes, sweet barley water, light spice and vanilla oak.

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Vita Dulcis 22 – Ireland’s The Quiet Man “An Culchists” 12 years 46%

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Back in 2018, I met Michael Morris of The Quiet Man on his 1st trip to Mumbai, India. It was a relatively low key gathering that enabled a few different discussions on the Irish whisky industry and a chance to sample their 8 year old – naturally not yet their spirit but with whiskies blended in a style they hope to achieve..

So I was curious to see how their journey has progressed – with this wee mini in my Vita Dulcis 2020 Advent Calendar.

Ireland – The Quiet Man “An Culchists” 12 years 46%

  • Nose – Initially a bit sharp, then honey, custard, baked goods – like butter brioche or fresh hot from the oven sour dough
  • Palate – A kick of chilli spice, then citrus, followed by chocolate orange like those Terry Christmas chocolates, a bit of cracked black pepper, wood
  • Finish – Honey

Overall it is pleasant, nothing particularly outstanding. What will be more interesting to explore is once they have their own spirit out in the world.

What more do we know? To be honest, the Quiet Man website wasn’t working for me beyond their landing page, so I couldn’t see if they provided any official tasting notes for this expression. I did find on a German website that it is ex-bourbon, though naturally the distillery is not disclosed.

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