Irish Whiskey in America: the underdeveloped market

Irish whiskey is exploding at the moment but the market for Irish whiskey in the United States focuses primarily on blended whiskeys and a lot will need to happen before the category is able to chip away at the incredible lead that our Scottish cousins have in the single malt category.

Irish Whiskey; Myth or Fact

Thus, this article is intended to debunk some of the common myths around Irish whiskey and to highlight some of things to look out for when buying Irish!
If you're a connoisseur or a new arrival to the category you might find a lot of the things that are touted as gospel turn out to be common misconceptions.

Jameson’s New Trilogies

Take a look into the two new trilogies from Jameson Irish whiskey. Appearing to be targeted at both travel and general retail markets, interesting things seem to be coming down the line for Jameson.

Irish Times Bushmills Blunder

So today I found myself flicking through the Irish Times business section and I was greeted with a quick caption article (see picture above) about how, drinks giant, Diageo had just purchased Bushmills distillery in Northern Ireland for £200million. A bargain basement price considering that they just sold, the same, Bushmills distillery to tequila giants... Continue Reading →

Old Pulteney 12 – A Review

So I've strayed away from the Old Pulteney range ever since I smashed a bottle of the 21 year old on the floor, in the bar I used to manage in Vancouver, when loading in new inventory.... I know..... Thankfully though, I was doing a good enough job there not to get in any real... Continue Reading →

Macallan Gold – A Review

So I have sold a tonne of Macallan gold but never actually tried it myself. Macallan's 1824 series sees the Gold officially as the baby of the group. They brought back the sherry finish/maturation that made them famous after the awful reputation that the fine oak series awarded them. The gold replaced the 10 year... Continue Reading →

Glen Grant 10 – A review

Roommate brought this home from the duty free in Switzerland. Not usually a dram I would have jumped out for but cant say no to a friend offering a dram! Colour: Straw Yellow Nose: Candyhop sweetness, hints of toffee and stewed apples. Palate: Light open, tofee sweetness, subdued spice, malt and pears Finish: Long dry... Continue Reading →

Aberlour 10 – A Review

Very approachable, entry level dram. On special in the pub this weekend for the Ireland vs Scotland game. Couldn't say no to a glass or two at knockdown prices! Colour: Rich gold. Nose: Sweetness upfront, fruit, toffee and nuts. Palate: Full bodied. Spice up front, caramel, sherry sweetness & thick malty taste. Finish: Medium finish.... Continue Reading →

Why it’s time to buy Irish Whiskey!

Whiskey fans in the US, it's time to buy Irish Whiskey. With the recently announced Quantitative Easing plan announced my Mario Dragi in the European Central Bank €60 billion euro in assets are going to be purchased by the ECB and National Central Banks, each month until September 2016. A big side effect of QE is... Continue Reading →

Whiskey Wankers: Irish Whiskey

So we held our monthly tasting session last night so I'm going to post a quick round up and review of the bottles as well on a separate post. The theme of the evening was Irish whiskey, both pot still and single malt. The Whiskey Wankers is a group of students from the east coast... Continue Reading →

Abelour A’Bunadh – A Review

So with all the talk of Quarter Cask and A'bunadh convincing so many staunch anti-NAS fanatics I felt like I ought to give this at least a try! Had this dram in the lovely Albanch bar on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Abelour A'bunadh - Batch 47. 60.7% Abv Nose: ripe fruits, strong alcohol presence, raisins,... Continue Reading →

Cadenhead’s Small Batch Little Mill – Review

Colour: Amber gold. Nose (without water) : Toasted nuts, nugat, honey comb, hint of raisins. Palate (w/o water): Delicate open, toasted wood, walnut, bourbon sweetness, light sherry influence, Finish (w/o water): beautiful lingering of toasted wood, burnt sugar, slight lingering spice and finally some light sherry notes. ==== Nose (with water): Sweet honeycomb, nut, toasted wood, raisin/sherry completely gone.... Continue Reading →

Non-age statements

Non-age statement whiskies are very much a hot topic right now. This is a trend of releasing bottles of whisk(e)y with a fancy name instead of a year statements that has been becoming more and more prevalent with the global boom in whisk(e)y sales. This new/not so new trend, is causing lots of controversy and... Continue Reading →

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