7 of the Best Irish Whiskeys to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

Branch out and try some great Irish whiskey you may not have had before

It's easy to go to the store and just nab the first, or cheapest, bottle of Irish whiskey on the shelf. However, perhaps it's time for an upgrade this St. Patrick's Day. Here are a few of the best bottles of Irish whiskey for today's celebration, with a focus on either new releases, alternative expressions from big brands, or lesser-known offerings.

7 Great Irish Whiskeys to try

1) Glendalough Double Barrel (42% ABV, $27.99)

While dozens of prominent Irish whiskey brands exist, until recently there had been only three major distilleries producing the stuff. Enter Glendalough, touted as Ireland's first craft distillery. The brand offers older whiskey expressions which consist of stock they purchased elsewhere, but the Double Barrel is made by them at their own facility.

Double Barrel is column distilled and consists of a malted barley and corn mash bill. It's aged first for three and a half years in ex-bourbon barrels, before a final six months in ex-oloroso sherry casks. Hence the double barrel tag. Both barrels clearly influence the final product, offering notes ranging from toffee and brown sugar, to dried fruit, nuts, and honey.

2) Green Spot Single Pot Still (40% ABV, $59.99)

Distilled at the Midleton Distillery by Irish Distillers, and exclusively for Mitchell & Son, Green Spot is a single pot still Irish whiskey which has been aged in a mix of ex-bourbon barrels and ex-sherry butts. It debuted in the U.S. in 2014 and has been a game-changer for many in their view on Irish whiskey. Green Spot is a smooth, fruity dram, mixing in lighter spicy and oaky notes, and it's well regarded for a creamy, rich, and complex palate.

If you already know and love Green Spot, and are willing to splurge a bit more, check out Green Spot Château Léoville Barton ($89.99). This expression is made by finishing the whiskey in ex-Bordeaux wine casks for 12 to 24 months.

3) Jameson Caskmates (40% ABV, $29.99)

When Jameson's master of whiskey science, Dave Quinn, grabbed a few drinks with buddy Shane Long, head brewer at Irish microbrewery Franciscan Well, the idea for a new collaboration was born—Franciscan Well took barrels from Jameson to age their Irish stout. Once emptied, those barrels were returned to Jameson, and refilled with Jameson Original, finishing the whiskey for an extra six months in barrels seasoned with that stout influence.

Find a range of darker, richer flavors and influences in this spirit as a result, such as dark chocolate, butterscotch, coffee, the sweet malt of the beer, along with even a light touch of hops. Sip it neat, and better yet, pair it with your favorite stout.

4) Knappogue Castle 12 Year (40% ABV, $36.99)

Knappogue Castle offers single malt Irish whiskey named after, well, Knappogue Castle in County Clare, Ireland. After purchasing and beginning work to restore the castle in the mid 1960s, Mark Edwin Andrews II also has other plans -- acquiring stocks of Irish whiskey. Andrews would go on to patiently age and bottle his wares.

Exceedingly rare Knappogue Castle 1951 bottles are the actual remnants of Andrews' original stash. A more accessible way to check out the brand, though, is with their youngest expression, Knappogue Castle 12 Year.

Aged in ex-bourbon barrels, Knappogue Castle 12 is a pot-distilled Irish malt whiskey. It offers a light and smooth sip, with an herbal and spicy side, plus a fuller, richer backbone of vanillin notes and fruits.

5) Redbreast 12 Year (40% ABV, $59.99)

The Redbreast brand is also produced at the Midleton Distillery by Pernod Ricard's Irish Distillers. While the age statement is 12, that actually serves as more of a minimum. According to the brand, the whiskey included is often several years older.

Redbreast is a single pot still Irish whiskey aged in a combination of ex-bourbon barrels and ex-oloroso sherry casks, with more of a focus on the sherried whiskey than in other expressions. This helps to build a creamy, sweet, and complex palate.

The hefty sherry influence is shown with dark red fruits and honey, and it's backed up with baking spices and oak. While Redbreast offers older whiskeys, many enthusiasts prefer the 12 Year.

6) Teeling Small Batch (46% ABV, $34.99)

Another brand now with their own operational distillery is the Teeling Whiskey Company. Their Dublin facility is the first new distillery built in the city in over 125 years. The brand sticks to a consistent 46 percent ABV (92 proof) for their releases, and also offers a Single Malt and Single Grain, which are equally worth exploring.

Teeling Small Batch is the brand's flagship though. It's finished in ex-rum casks from Flor de Caña. While the juice in the bottle now is still from Cooley, which had originally been opened by the Teeling family before they sold it to what's now Beam Suntory, in the coming years it will be phased out by whiskey made at their Dublin location. It's a spicy, drier dram, also with honey and a range of red fruits, making for a good balance of bold and smooth flavors.

7) Tullamore D.E.W. Trilogy (40% ABV, $89.99)

Tullamore D.E.W. released Trilogy at the start of 2016, and it's the oldest whiskey the brand has ever offered. The spirit is first aged in ex-bourbon barrels, before moving into ex-oloroso sherry barrels, and finally, ex-rum casks from Trinidad. And those rum barrels were the key to Trilogy's creation.

According to brand ambassador Tim Herlihy, he was tasting the as of yet unnamed, in process Trilogy with Brian Kinsman, master blender for William Grant & Sons. "We were looking at what could we do as it was an exceptional whiskey, but we thought we got to give it a bit more of a different influence," says Herlihy. "At the time it tasted fantastic but it was very close in flavor profile to our 12 year old."

Kinsman mentioned the rum barrels they had, and Trilogy was born. The result is a unique twist for an Irish whiskey, with dark, rich sherry notes playing with the more traditional bourbon flavors, as well as the 15 years in the cask and the hard-earned wood influence that represents.

"The rum cask provides these really interesting rummy, raisiny notes as well that really balances out that pot still spice in a wonderful way," says Herlihy.

It's triple-distilled, aged in three types of casks, and consists of three types of whiskey, with pot still, malt and grain whiskeys all included, so "Trilogy" was the perfect fit.

from Eater - All http://ift.tt/1Ws2z9O
via IFTTT