Kiss me whiskey, I'm Irish.... Or did I get that backwards?

Of course we are all a bit Irish when it comes to St. Patrick's Day, right? But why is it some people only tend to start asking me about Irish whiskey at that point? I mean, is that the only time you are supposed to drink Irish Whiskies? Our local liquor establishments start the push on advertising on March 1 - BUY IRISH WHISKEY!!! Does this in turn kickstart whiskey drinkers like Pavlov's dog or am I missing something? Maybe I'm simply a whisky geek who enjoys drinking it year round because we always have at least 4 different types of Irish whiskey open at the house and it's often one of the first ones we will offer to people because of how light and delicious they can be.

So, here's a few quick recommendations, since many seem to be asking and it's only March 3rd?? I chose a few that I think are readily available in North America as well as Europe. Price point I used was Canadian.

Under $50

Writer's Tears - Great introductory Irish whiskey. This is blend which is a light but sweet dram made from single malt and single pot still whiskies. A balance of delicate fruit dipped in honey deliciousness that is easy to drink. Careful, I am not kidding when I say it's really easy to drink!


Under $100

Teeling Single Grain - Yes, you read that correctly. The Irish also make single grain whiskey and this one is quite unique. This whisky spends its entire maturation in a Cabernet Sauvignon barrel. This is a full bodied whiskey that exudes spicy qualities as well as some really luscious red fruit. A bit tannic or drying in nature but such a satisfying dram you will find yourself wondering how come your glass is already empty? 

Green Spot - An immediate favorite of mine and albeit difficult to find these days, if you have a chance to get a bottle, do! This whiskey is aged 7-10 years in ex-bourbon as well as ex-sherry cask which gives it a very rounded profile. It's a bit more oily in nature rich with flavors of dried fruit, spices and a long lingering finish. It's a bottle to hold on to and drink slowly.

Red Breast 12 year old - A staple in my collection as well as many of my friend's. Matured in ex-sherry cask this whiskey has a warm and full bodied texture that is fortifying in nature. Spicy with a very creamy mouthfeel. As quickly as it appears at our local liquor store, it disappears. 

There are many more Irish whiskies on the market and a fair share of them making it over to North America these days which is great because there is a resurgence in their popularity with new distilleries opening with every passing year. Take the time to try a few and add them to your collection. Many are still at a very affordable price point, are good value for money and are worth every penny you put down. These four are probably the ones I tend to recommend the most if you are starting out on your Irish whiskey journey. If you feel I've missed a few, please let me know in the comments section. Important to get perspective and share our opinions!

Here's hoping you get to raise a few drams come March 17th but then again why wait until then, go ahead and be a bit crazy. Beat the rush and get your Irish whiskey fix done early or better yet don't be scared to claim to be Irish all year long ;)

Part Irish, part saucy but always a Lassie,

Cheers!  

Drams of 2013, Number 8... The accidental Irish tourist - Writers Tears

2013 has been a year of many wonderful whisky discoveries. I struggled at first to remember writing every single one down. I thought it was rather time consuming and having to drag my pink book everywhere was a royal pain in the ass. However I have to say in hindsight just like every other project I've worked on a bit of preventative maintenance before/during always pays off in the end because by documenting everything as it happened it did two things: A) Made me realize how many drams I actually got to try this year and B) it resulted in 342 nosing/tasting notes.   

Dram #8 - Writers Tears was completely accidental in nature. In March I attended the Celebrate Whisky Event in Halifax NS. It turned out to be a pretty great night considering I was suppose to be flying solo since Graham was working behind one of the whisky tables. I had an extra ticket that I sold to a very nice lady named Phlis McGregor and we ended up spending some time together that night, trying different whiskies that we both had "targeted" for the evening. She and I would part ways and then find each other later on and spend a few minutes discussing what we were nosing/tasting. At one point we decided to try and find a specific whisky together which we thought was at table 24. It wasn't... we had got our numbers mixed up. However a long skinny bottle on the table called Writers Tears caught my eye that I didn't recall hearing about or seeing before so I said to Phlis: "Might as well try it since we are here". So we stood in line, waited until we got to the front and the young man proceeded to tell us a bit about the whisky. As soon as he said the word "Irish" I almost instinctively crossed my arms and tucked my glass in thinking: "Meh? An Irish whiskey I've not heard of" and quickly became disinterested in trying it.

Background: Irish whiskies we have in Eastern Canada: Bushmills, Jamesons, Kilbeggan, Connemara or Tullamore Dew. NOT that there is anything wrong with these = breadth of my experience with Irish whiskies limited. Phlis looked at me like: "Aren't you going to put your glass forward?" so I did; still somewhat reluctantly I have to admit. 

Nosed, tasted -> BOOM! Another one of those wow moments where I wasn't sure how to even describe what I had just experienced. I looked over at Phlis to see if she liked it but she wasn't beside me anymore. Found her at a small table a few feet away where she was busy frantically writing notes. I quickly proceeded to do the same.

IPhone photo - trying to get a close up, hehe!

Color:  Bright amber, reminds me of a pale ale. Legs are super thin and extremely runny. A bit of an oily texture to it, sticks to the glass in certain spots.

Nose: Glorious hay right after it's been cut in late August. Fresh, clean/green followed by a very distinct lime or lemon zest, just bursting with citrus notes. (later on wrote - caramel with a ? beside it)

Palate:  Smooth, delicious mouthfeel with a minted marmalade rollercoaster. This is fabulous! 

Finish: So long and lingering. Mint is still at the forefront but honeyed. Reminds me of a whisky toddy with /mint leaves and honey in it. 

I had never tasted a pot still Irish Whiskey before but truly loved this one on first nose/taste. I bought a bottle that very night. I've since introduced it to many friends most of which have turned around and bought their own. As a result of trying this whiskey I began to seek out other Pot Still Irish Whiskies and since have tried: Red Breast and Green Spot just to name a few. In June I discovered there was only one bottle left on the east coast so of course, I bought it.

Writers Tears is now one of my favorite Irish Whiskies and I can't thank Phlis enough for giving me the "evil eye" that day in March.  :)

For more information about Writers Tears please visit their website:  http://www.writerstears.com/

Available widely in the US and in BC, AB, ON for Canada.  Retails about $50... 

The countdown continues as we make our way toward:

Stay tuned!

Johanne