This taster was brought to our annual Expensive Taste KW cookoff and it did not disappoint. Matured in a refill sherry butt and bottled in August 2021 at natural cask strength of 59.2% you would think it would have been quite a spicy meatball, but it hit all the right notes. Smooth, with oily legs, and a touch of heat on the tongue, it was right at home for an afternoon of drinks and tasty food. A distillery that we have never tried before, we are happy we found this little gem.
All posts by Adam Buchholtz
Old Malt Cask – Ben Nevis 24
Notes from the distiller;
Nose: Toffee, Strawberries, and Vanilla
Palate: Sweet with Liquorice, Apples and Caramel
Finish: Long with lingering Pepper and Oak
SMWS Cask No. 137.6 The Garden Shed of England
The third and final taster of our June 2026 meeting. Notes from the bottle;
An earthy yet robust and muscular dram. Lots of tool sheds, mechanical oils, salt water and stray lemons whizzing about the place with glee.
Earthy and robust hit the nail on the head with this one. It closely resembles its name in that it literally tastes like a dank shed (who would’ve thought that would be drinkable). An 8 year old whisky, matured in first fill ex-bourbon casks. A spicy dram bottled at 66% ABV.
Macaloney’s Audit Failure
The 2nd of our June 2026 tasters. Procured from the independent distillery Macaloney’s, in British Columbia. Distilled in 2019, it was casked in Pedro Ximenez casks that were distillery smoked with Washington Peat. A solid drinker with a wonderful natural colour, it went down smooth, with a touch of smoke on the palette. Bottled at 52.5% ABV. We will surely be looking into other Macaloney’s offerings.
JP Wisers – Aged 24 Years
The first of our tasters for our June 2026 meeting.
Redbreast 27 – Ruby Port Casks
The 9th and final taster of our Irish Whiskey evening with Joe Duffy, this one came straight from the private collection of our President, Tamara Maurer. Sometimes in life, we like to save the best for last, and in this case, it held true. The Redbreast 27 Ruby Port Casks was an amazing dram. Bottled at cask strength, you immediately nosed the spicy alcohol with rich hints of peach, nectarine, and red fruits. The flavour continued that profile with sweet fruity notes of candied berries, peach, liquorice and to me a bit of wine gum candy. Being a cask strength whiskey you would think the alcohol would overpower you, but it was completely mellow allowing a sweet smooth finish and a warming belly feel. A perfect way to wrap up our Irish Whiskey tour and carry on into the late evening shenanigans.
Many thanks to Joe Duffy for the great guided tasting and for sharing some of the rich history of Redbreast and Jameson Whiskies with us. It truly made the evening an unforgettable experience!
Redbreast PX – Pedro Ximenez Edition
Another late add-on to our Irish Whiskey tasting brought us our 8th taster of the evening. Thank god we weren’t overindulging all the way along, because we would have been three sheets to the wind by now. The 8th taster was the Redbreast PX, a whiskey initially casked in Bourbon and Oloroso Sherry casks, before being finished in Pedro Ximenez Hogsheads. The nose was sweet with stonefruit, blackberry and plum. The taste was very sherry forward, super dry, with touches of sweet hay, grass, spiced wood and a bit of charcoal smoke. A very smooth dry finish followed. Another easy sipper from the Redbreast family.
Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition
Just when we thought our guided tasting was finishing up, out came our 7th taster, the Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition. Released as part of the same series as the Lustau the Tawny Port Cask Edition hit the nose with smoke, cranberry, grape, and a hint of shortbread. The flavour brought forward salted caramel, berry sweetness, and honey and flavours reminiscent of a wine casked whiskey. It had a quick, sweet finish and was another solid non age statement offering from Redbreast.
Redbreast 18
Moving onto the 6th and supposed final taster of the Irish evening brought us to the Redbreast 18. The nose revealed stone fruit and oak wood. The whiskey seemed really oily and coated the sides of the glass, leaving long legs. Flavours of chocolate, orange zest, cherries and creamed sherry swirled on the tongue. The whiskey provided a velvety mouth feel that was sweet and spicy going down with a wonderful lingering finish. An excellent Irish whiskey and one that I would love to have in my collection.
Jameson 18
The 5th taster in our Irish Whiskey evening, the Jameson 18 did not disappoint. The triple distilled whiskey, aged a minimum of 18 years in hand selected American and European oak casks smelled of fresh hay, green apple, honey and caramel. The woody smooth flavour of the whiskey was exceptional, hitting with toffee, brown sugar, and a touch of nutty spice. It all gave way to a smooth, easy finish. Top marks were given all around by the membership, as this dram was enjoyed by all.