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Fahrenheit 173 - Aged Spirits
"If it's not good enough to drink slowly, then it's not worth drinking"
Five blended Irish whiskeys | 14 Mar 2010 | ||
Interestingly, four of these five whiskeys are produced at the same distillery, namely Midleton in County Cork in the far south of Ireland. The fifth whiskey, Black Bush, is made at practically the other end of the "Emerald Isle" - at the Bushmills distillery in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. But I'll start off with the most famous of all Irish whiskeys: Jameson, or Jamie as it's called by its fans =)
Jameson (NAS):
Fresh, fruity nose with apricot and orange but also a note of oak that mars the freshness a little.
Fairly sweet palate with nice fruity notes but also fairly spicy and fiery. Sadly, just a hint of
"pure pot still" -
a few years ago the pot still character was more pronounced.
(81 p)
Jameson 12 y.o.:
Weird nose with sherry fruits, barbecue sauce and a loud, sulphury off-note. The palate is much nicer: sweet
and smooth with both "pure pot still" fruits and sherry fruits,
but the sherry doesn't quite agree with the pot still character.
Conclusion: swill it but don't smell it!
(79 p)
Tullamore Dew:
Youngish nose with a note of sawdust, also dry and "dusty" (reminiscent of rye whisky).
Light, fresh palate with very nice notes of apples and pears, also fairly spicy and a little fiery.
(82 p)
Powers:
Very nice fruity nose (typical of "pure pot still" whiskey) with citrus and apricot. On the palate
it's at first fresh and fruity then develops spices. It's light-bodied yet a little fiery with a spicy,
warming (yet slightly disappointing) finish. A classic, old-fashioned Irish whiskey.
(83 p)
Black Bush:
Very nice nose with lovely fruity notes. Very nice, complex palate - quite rich and sweet
(from the sherry wood maturation) but also spicy and a bit fiery.
The finish is drying and fairly oaky and leaves you wanting more.
(85 p)
Related links:
All my tasting notes on Irish whiskey
Black Bush - whisky of the month on Whisky-Pages
The Ireland Whiskey Trail
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