Tag Archives: #irishwhiskey

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Redbreast 27 – Ruby Port Casks

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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!

News, Whisky of the Month

Redbreast PX – Pedro Ximenez Edition

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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.

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Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition

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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.

News, Whisky of the Month

Redbreast 18

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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.

News, Whisky of the Month

Jameson 18

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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.

News, Whisky of the Month

Redbreast 15

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The 4th taster in our evening of fine Irish whiskey brought us to the Redbreast 15. The nose came through with orchard fruit, caramel and nutty undertones. The flavour starts slowly but builds to include fresh tree fruits, toasted oak, and a touch of spice. It is a well rounded, easy drinker that lingered on the tongue. An overall easy drinker and a fine expression of Irish Whiskey.

News, Whisky of the Month

Redbreast Lustau Edition

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The 3rd taster in our Irish evening was the Redbreast Lustau Edition, which is a sherry cask finished whiskey. The nose has sherry tones, cranberry and red fruit. With the first sip, the sherry washes over you with ripe fruity freshness followed by some nice spiciness. The fruit and spice play nice while the velvety whiskey washes over your tongue. The finish was kind of quick, a tad dry but still very smooth. This taster received rave reviews from most of our club membership. If you can get your hands on a bottle of this, it comes highly recommended.

News, Whisky of the Month

Redbreast 12 Year old Single Pot Still Whiskey

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This was our 2nd taster of the guided tasting with Joe Duffy. The Redbreast 12 is one of their core offerings and is usually available at most LCBO’s. It is a solid dram at a decent price point for Irish Whiskey. One the nose you get lots of red fruit, plum and cherries came to my mind, along with hints of apple, raisins, wood and nuts. Upon tasting it comes across as a very sherry forward taste, with hints of sweet fruit and dark chocolate. The finish is super smooth, not much length to it, and finishes quickly. The Redbreast 12 is an easy drinker, best enjoyed amongst friends.

Whisky of the Month

Kilbeggan Triple Cask Irish Whiskey

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A delightful release from Kilbeggan that is matured in three different cask types (Bourbon, Pedro Ximenez Sherry, and American Oak). This premium blend delivers a characterful Irish whiskey with rich notes of summer fruits and vanilla, leading into an oak spice finish. We sourced this one for approx. $65 CAD.

Bottled at 43% abv.

Pictured on the right below:

This was just a great flavourful whiskey! Well done a nice easy drinker with a little punch of dry sweetness. Thanks for a nice affordable whiskey from Kilbeggan!

Whisky of the Month

Waterford Irish Single Malt Whisky

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As part of our March triple tasting we dove into a “brand new to the club” whisky from Waterford. The Waterford Organic Single Malt whisky is an all organic offering that is branded as single farm origin.

From Waterford website:

“Using 100% Irish barley, widely considered to be the world’s finest, our Single Farm Origin series is an uber-provenance range of limited edition natural whiskies that explore Irish terroir one farm, one place, at a time. They are expressions of precision and rarity, showcasing barley flavours derived from individual Irish farms and harvests.”

Quite the interesting distillery, but sadly during our research about this bottling we’ve learned they have closed down. It appears that they are still selling of the remainder of their inventory, and will continue to use up the any previously distilled whisky in future releases. Good news for those who might be looking to try this one out. You still have time!

Pictured below on the left hand side:

Sadly I didn’t take many notes on the whisky, but I have to leave the reader with this; it was one of the most unique Irish whiskies I’ve ever tried. Very smooth, earthy with some cereal sweetness. Backed by a nice lingering mouth feel. Worth a try as we sourced the bottle for approx. $90 CAD. Very reseasonable for a unique Irish Single malt whisky. What a great way to kick of March!