Woodford Reserve’s “2022 Kentucky Derby Commemorative Bottle” and the artist behind it

PRESS RELEASE provided by Woodford Reserve: Versailles, KY (March 1, 2022) — Today,Woodford Reserve®, the Presenting Sponsor of the Kentucky Derby®, is honoring “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” with the release of its 2022 commemorative Derby bottle. This year’s bottle features the artwork of Kentucky native Jaime Corum, an equine artist known for her stunning […]

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PRESS RELEASE provided by Woodford Reserve:

Versailles, KY (March 1, 2022) — Today,Woodford Reserve®, the Presenting Sponsor of the Kentucky Derby®, is honoring “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” with the release of its 2022 commemorative Derby bottle.

Woodford Reserve Derby Bottle Artist Jaime Corum — WR Derby Bottle Artist Jaime Corum. Courtesy Image

This year’s bottle features the artwork of Kentucky native Jaime Corum, an equine artist known for her stunning horse portraits. Corum’s painting, titled “Dreams in Bloom,” features three thoroughbreds racing neck-and-neck, surrounded by a spray of vivid spring flowers, including the iconic red roses of Derby.

“The attention to detail in Jaime’s artwork is remarkable – and so realistic,” Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris said. “This year’s bottle celebrating the 148th Kentucky Derby will make a gorgeous addition to anyone’s bar.

Woodford Reserve also announced that it has partnered with retailer Williams Sonoma to help bring a favorite Derby cocktail to parties nationwide. The Woodford Spire was introduced at the track in 2018 – and it quickly became a favorite.

As part of Woodford Reserve and Williams-Sonoma’s partnership, the Woodford Spire joins the line of co-branded cocktails mixers for sale nationwide that includes the Mint Julep and Whiskey Sour. Made with cranberry and lemon, the Woodford Spire is an official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby.

“The Woodford Spire is a staple for any Kentucky Derby celebration, and this year, Williams-Sonoma is making it easier than ever to make this delicious cocktail,” said Assistant Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall.

The Woodford Spire 16-fluid-ounce bottle will soon be available on WilliamsSonoma.com and Williams Sonoma retail stores. The one-liter Derby bottles of Woodford Reserve Bourbon are on sale across the United States and the globe with a retail price of $49.99. It is available for pre-sale starting March 1 on ReserveBar.

Corum’s portraiture captures the conformation and spirit of the horse in a way that’s unlike anyone else, with skill developed through years of studying art, enhanced by her personal experience with horses and the equestrian world.

She spent her formative years riding horses, painting and drawing them in her free time, and continued to focus on her equine subject after receiving her Masters of Fine Arts from The University of Kentucky. Each equine artwork begins with the foundation of her understanding of equine conformation and movement and enhances that with the intangible quality of the horse’s character, capturing the essence of each equine subject.

“As a born horse lover, the Kentucky Derby has always been a time of great anticipation and excitement for me, and a great source of pride in my home state,” Corum said. “I am honored to help celebrate the 148th running of the Derby with this new artwork for Woodford Reserve.

“For me, Dreams in Bloom symbolizes that greatest moment on the First Saturday in May when the horses are in the final stretch of the race. A trio of front-runners have separated from the field, and from these three, one winner will emerge. They strive with every sinew in their being for the lead, giving their all. In this moment, time stands still, colors heighten, the roar of the crowd disappears until, in a flash, the new champion crosses the wire in front. For that fortunate one, the dream of winning the Kentucky Derby comes true.”

Woodford Reserve Derby Bottle — Courtesy Image.

Woodford Reserve’s Derby bottle has been an annual collector’s item anticipated by bourbon and racing fans since 1999.

Throwback WR Derby Bottles…

See 2021 WR Derby Bottle HERE

See 2020 WR Derby Bottle HERE

See 2019 WR Derby Bottle HERE

See 2018 WR Derby Bottle HERE

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Old Forester Announces Next 117 Series Release: 1910 Extra Old

Brown-Forman brand Old Forester has announced the third installment of the 117 Series called 1910 Extra Old. This limited-edition release is Old Forester’s standard 1910 Old Fine Whisky that is then added to a secondary barrel for an additional 18 mont…

Brown-Forman brand Old Forester has announced the third installment of the 117 Series called 1910 Extra Old. This limited-edition release is Old Forester's standard 1910 Old Fine Whisky that is then added to a secondary barrel for an additional 18 months.

Master Taster Jackie Zykan says:

This release in The 117 Series is a curious exploration into the intensity of the proprietary heavily charred 1910 barrel. This liquid was allowed to rest for 18 months in this secondary barrel, extracting significantly more of the heavily charred influence.

1910 is an Old Forester release that commemorates October 22, 1910 when a fire on the bottling line halted the production of Old Forester. Mature whisky ready to be bottled was instead stored in a second barrel.

This release comes in at 93 proof (46.5% alcohol) and will be available beginning on February 23rd. It carries an MSRP of $49.99 and offers the following tasting notes:

Nose: On the nose, this expression showcases notes of dark brown sugar, sugared pecan and rich chocolate.
Taste: The palate brings with it a medium-bodied expression with a depth of warmth that swiftly transitions from sweet notes of intense caramel to the spice of dried tobacco.
Finish: A balanced ending that is gently rounded out with notes of green apple and raw walnut.

My Take

Fifty dollars for a double barrel seems like a decent price. Sadly, only the original Old Forester 1910 is showing up on the State of Ohio website as being for sale in Ohio. If it does come here, I would compare this to the Woodford Double Oaked... it's a bit higher proof (93 for Old Forester, 90 for Woodford Double Oaked) and a bit cheaper ($49.99 for Old Forster vs. $52.99 Woodford Double Oaked). With that, it's definitely worth giving a look if you see this in the wild.

What do you think? Drop a note in the comments below.

Source: Old Forester

Midleton Very Rare Sets the Benchmark for Collectible Irish Whiskey

The blended Irish Whiskey has a rich history of collectibility with a series of vintages and ongoing series’.

The post Midleton Very Rare Sets the Benchmark for Collectible Irish Whiskey appeared first on Whisky Advocate.

The Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection debuted in 2020 with the oldest single malt Irish whiskey ever released at the time. The second release is even older: a 46 year old single pot still whiskey distilled at the Old Midleton Distillery under master distiller Max Crockett in 1973. The Silent Distillery Collection is changing outmoded perceptions about what Irish whiskey can represent. “It’s wonderful to take our seat at the table with other distilleries around the world,” says master distiller Kevin O’Gorman. “Back in the early 70s, Old Midleton was a very different distillery,” he adds, noting the major upgrades in technology at the new Midleton Distillery. “The huge pot still was powered by coal, it had different distillation rates, and there was a worm tub rather than a condenser. The principle of distillation and attention to detail were the same, but they are two different eras, which results in a completely different taste profile.” This closed-distillery single pot still whiskey has robust aromatic oils on the nose, with rich fruit, vanilla, and toffee, and tastes true to the traditional heavier, oily pot still style.

Collecting Midleton Very Rare

Attaining the complete set of Midleton Very Rare releases is one of the toughest challenges for Irish whiskey collectors. While this annual series of blended Irish whiskey began in 1984, the release volumes vary from year to year, making some vintages very difficult to acquire. Such is the level of interest that new auction records are frequently broken before too long. Here are the Midleton Very Rare vintages that have set record hammer prices for their respective decade of release.

Release Decade	Highest Hammer Price	Bottling	Auction House	Sale Date
1980s	$36,286	Midleton Very Rare 1988	Irish Whiskey Auctions	March 21, 2021
1990s	$3,584	Midleton Very Rare 1991	Irish Whiskey Auctions	Nov. 30, 2020
2000s	$7,282	Midleton Very Rare 2009	Irish Whiskey Auctions	Feb. 21, 2021
2010s	$1,790	Midleton Very Rare 2014	Irish Whiskey Auctions	March 21, 2021
2020s	$1,318	Midleton Very Rare 2020	Whisky Auctioneer	Jan. 11, 2021

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Irish Whiskeys Of Great Age Showcase Excellence in Maturation

Carefully managed stocks are leading to highly aged Irish whiskies that can rival scotch and Japanese whiskies with their balance and beauty.

The post Irish Whiskeys Of Great Age Showcase Excellence in Maturation appeared first on Whisky Advocate.

Irish whiskey is starting to challenge the assumption that ultra-aged whisky is the preserve of Scotland and Japan. The decimation of the Irish whiskey industry in the mid-20th century left very few operational distilleries and precious little stock. Extraordinarily old casks are therefore rare, but the rising importance of Irish whiskeys of great age—at least 25 years and older—is still among the more interesting manifestations of Ireland’s whiskey renaissance.

Bushmills has the largest stock of aged single malt whiskey in Ireland. In 2020, it launched The Rare Casks, an annual series sold exclusively in the U.S. The first release was Bushmills 28 year old, which received 16 years of secondary maturation in a cognac cask after its traditional Bushmills aging in bourbon and sherry casks. Bushmills built up stock in the 1990s and was actively experimenting with non-traditional cask types when this cognac cask was filled, without any definitive plan for using it. But this Rare Cask Release No. 1 holds a special place for Bushmills master blender Helen Mulholland: Back in 1992, she performed the laboratory analysis on the batch of malted barley that was used for this expression. “I have watched it every single year as it got better and better,” she says.

Mulholland remains convinced that triple-distilled spirits work well with extended maturation, because age and cask influences build layers of flavor. “Triple distilled probably works much better than double distilled because it’s able to take that length of maturation without becoming over-woody or over-flavored,” she says. “The house flavor of Bushmills is sweet and fruity, and because it has that smoothness and subtlety, it’s easy to enhance without letting the cask overpower it.”

Bushmills master blender Helen Mulholland believes triple distillation works best with extended maturation because it allows the age and cask influence to build layers of flavor.

While the Bushmills initial maturation is in bourbon and sherry casks that produce vanilla, honey, and dried fruit flavors, those notes can be enhanced by finishing in later years, enabling the whiskey to fully integrate with other flavors. “You still want Bushmills to be there, and it has to be one liquid,” says Mulholland. Such complexity cannot be rushed, as the cognac cask slowly adds layers of sweetness and caramel flavors. “You stop seeing the cognac as they become entwined, more gentle, more settled, and more rounded,” she adds. Rare Casks Release No. 2 was 29 years old and finished in Pedro Ximénez casks.

If you’ve never tried an older Irish whiskey, what should you expect? “There is an explosion of flavor, and a refined grace from the fruit and the wood,” says Chasko, who has overseen numerous ultra-aged Teeling single malt releases in the company’s Vintage Reserve Collection. “Sometimes, you would swear they didn’t have any alcohol in them at all, it’s so well-balanced; it is like drinking nectar.” The custodians of such liquid history have a great responsibility, and the task is only possible with a strategy of active cask management. At Midleton, maturing grain and single pot still whiskeys are moved into well-seasoned refill casks so the wood doesn’t overpower the whiskey.

While still a minor player compared to Scotch and Japanese whiskies, the secondary market for collectible Irish whiskey has been soaring, with Irish Whiskey Auctions, Celtic Whiskey Auctions, and Whisky Auctioneer among the best places to check for rarities. Often the most competitive bidding is reserved for vintages of Midleton Very Rare, but now there’s a new addition to hunt down each spring: Midleton Very Rare 2021 is the first vintage to carry the signature of Kevin O’Gorman, who was named master distiller in 2020 following the departure of his predecessor, Brian Nation. O’Gorman has put his own stamp on this release, choosing whiskeys between 15 and 36 years old, aiming to deliver a particularly elegant vintage by boosting the contributions of grain whiskey and first-fill bourbon casks to enhance the floral notes. The addition of single pot still whiskey from 1984 was of particular interest to O’Gorman, as it marks the year Midleton Very Rare was first released—and forges a link to Barry Crockett, Midleton’s master distiller emeritus and the series creator.

Irish Whiskeys Of Great Age To Try

Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Chapter 2 1973
97 points, 53.6%, $45,000
Chocolate orange, pot still spice, milk chocolate, sesame seeds, shortbread with buttercream, and gingersnap.

Teeling Vintage Reserve Collection 24 year old
96 points, 46%, $500
Crème brûlée, vanilla pod, fruit syrups, sticky jam tarts, orange flan, brown sugar, spice, and hints of smoke.

Bushmills 28 year old The Rare Casks Cognac Cask (Release No. 1)
95 points, 46.7%, $500
Apricot, pineapple, lemon zest, thick-cut marmalade, orange, grapefruit, lime, peppercorn, and clove.

Midleton Very Rare Vintage 2021
94 points, 40%, $208
Rich caramel, dry spices, apple strudel, vanilla fudge, seasoned oak, banana, toasted coconut bananas in custard, and caramelized sugar.

Redbreast 27 year old
93 points, 54.6%, $500
Orange peel, pine cone, vanilla, walnut, raspberry, cherry, plums, and active spices of pepper and chiles.

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Inventive Cask Finishing Is Reshaping Irish Whiskey

Irish whiskey allows for a wide range of cask types with curious distillers experimenting with different finishes to surprising results.

The post Inventive Cask Finishing Is Reshaping Irish Whiskey appeared first on Whisky Advocate.

Ireland’s distillers are world leaders in whiskey finishing, with names like Teeling, West Cork, Glendalough, The Irishman, Tullamore D.E.W., Tyrconnell, The Whistler, and Jameson frequently expanding our horizons. Irish whiskey’s technical rules allow for a broad approach to finishing—which can come from either an alternative wood such as virgin Irish oak, or a cask previously seasoned by another spirit, like port, rum, or even tequila.

But finishing with alternative wood types is far from an easy path. After finding initial success with a French chestnut finish in its Method & Madness range, Midleton moved to French wild cherry, acacia, and most recently mulberry wood. But the trial and error of these experiments can be arduous. “The cherrywood tested our persistence, composure, and patience,” notes O’Gorman. French wild cherry, Prunus avium, is an open, porous wood in the same subgenus as sakura, Prunus serrulata, the increasingly popular finishing cask used in Japan. “Cherry was a very difficult one to work with, and mulberry is going along similar lines,” says Midleton master blender Billy Leighton. “With cherry, we had the casks made; it was very pronounced and different—my first descriptor was hedge clippings,” he says. “It had a green note, but also had a wood-sappy character as well.”

O’Gorman was on the verge of abandoning the trial when a suggestion was made that seemed to work. “It was a flush of the cask with whiskey, and then we filled it again,” says Leighton. Seasoning the cask with whiskey extracted some overpowering flavors that had been dominating the profile in the trial samples, and after months of work, this proved to be the right approach. It also became a valuable lesson when an order of mulberry casks arrived that were smaller in size, at 50 to 80 liters. The casks were filled with Midleton’s medium-style single pot still whiskey (they make light, medium, and heavy styles), aged between 5 and 6 years. “Maybe it was because of the size of the casks, but the wood influence just happened overnight,” says Leighton. “We’ve been very careful about what we put into the cask, how long it stays there, and when we do a re-casking to try and tone down those distinctive, heavier characteristics. These casks are almost like new wood—a little sappy in character, but maybe a touch smoky as well.” Thus far, he’s excited by the sweet, caramelized toffee apple flavors that have been developing.

Another finish favored by Ireland’s distillers has been beer-cask finishing. Ireland is world renowned for its craft beers and stouts, and brewers’ experiments with whiskey casks led to the Jameson Caskmates range. Caskmates was first conceived in 2013, when brewer Shane Long of Cork’s Franciscan Well Brewery borrowed barrels from Midleton Distillery to produce an Irish whiskey-finished beer. When the barrels were returned to Midleton, the maturation team had the idea of filling them with Jameson Original. “It was a big surprise,” says O’Gorman. “The first beer style we used was a rich malty stout, and the whiskey developed additional chocolate, toffee, and coffee notes that were really intriguing.” The eventual result was the Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition. The citrus, hoppy, floral notes of Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition followed in 2017, and today the range encompasses a broad array of limited editions linked to local craft brewers.

The Caskmates team at Midleton now acquires beer and stout from Eight Degrees Brewing in Mitchelstown, County Cork. Seasoning the casks with beer is a risky process, because beer’s lower alcohol strength raises the risk of microbial spoilage. The beer must be fresh: extreme care is taken to move the casks quickly and never leave them empty, while ensuring their bungs are secure, without any spillage around the bungholes. After two to three months, the beer is emptied out and the casks are filled with Jameson Original for a similar length of time.

Jameson has participated in more than a dozen collaborations with U.S. brewers, starting with KelSo Beer in Brooklyn and then Bale Breaker in Yakima, Washington, Revolution Brewing in Chicago, Angel City Brewery in Los Angeles, and Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. in Westchester County, New York. Additional projects are in the pipeline with U.S. craft brewers, as well as brewers in Norway, Canada, and South Korea. Given their limited nature and their appeal to craft beer fans and Jameson collectors, some of these $30 bottlings have fetched close to $1,000 each on Ireland’s secondary market.

Innovatively Finished Irish Whiskeys To Try

Midleton Dair Ghaelach Knockrath Forest
94 points, 56.5%, $320
Lemon, vanilla, meringue in creamy custard, and spices with glimpses of chocolate, coffee, and singed oak.

Glendalough 7 year old Black Pitts Porter Barrel-Finished
92 points, 46%, $50
Dark chocolate cookies, cocoa powder dark fruits, honey, roasted peppery spices, and praline.

Method & Madness Chestnut Cask-Finished
92 points, 46%, $90
Orange peel, sandalwood, granola, toast with honey, toasted cedar, spruce, spice, pecans, almond cream, and lemon.

The Whistler Imperial Stout Cask-Finished
91 points, 43%, $40
Chocolate orange, milky coffee, cocoa powder, pepper, ginger spice, black cherry, peppercorn, and dark fruits.

Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition
90 points, 40%, $37
Crisp grains, green apple, coconut macaroons, spices, stewed fruits, chocolate, peppery spice, and cooked apple.

Tullamore D.E.W. Cider Cask Finish
89 points, 40%, $40/liter
Toasted waffle and sweet cider, sugared golden apple slices, white pepper, caramel, vanilla, pepper, and clove.

West Cork IPA Cask Matured
88 points, 40%, $33
Warm bread, honey sweetness, citrus peel, lime zest, pepper, ginger, dark berries, fig, and spices.

The post Inventive Cask Finishing Is Reshaping Irish Whiskey appeared first on Whisky Advocate.

Single Pot Still Remains Ireland’s Signature Whiskey Style

A once forgotten style, single pot still whiskey is making a major comeback as Ireland’s upstart distillers embrace tradition.

The post Single Pot Still Remains Ireland’s Signature Whiskey Style appeared first on Whisky Advocate.

Single pot still Irish whiskey was a breakthrough winner in Whisky Advocate’s Top 20 whiskies of 2020, with three expressions—from Kilbeggan, Drumshanbo, and Teeling—making the list. This is a style anchored to Ireland, and has yet to be widely imitated in other nations. Brace yourself for a cascade of fresh single pot still whiskeys from the many new distilleries that have fired up their stills across Ireland in recent years.

Although 95% of Irish whiskeys are blends, single pot still is seen by many as Ireland’s path to becoming the choice of whiskey lovers around the world. At Midleton Distillery in County Cork, distiller Katherine Condon describes single pot still’s character for those yet to discover its delights. “They’re spicy, robust, and full-bodied, with a great element of depth and complexity and a wonderful creamy mouthfeel,” she says. The spiciness is a distillate character credited to the unmalted barley, while triple distillation is used to skillfully shape the spirit’s character. And while the malted and unmalted barley comprise the lion’s share of the mashbill, up to 5% other grains can be included.

Green Spot is an excellent starting point if you’re new to single pot still. It’s a whiskey matured in bourbon barrels and seasoned oloroso sherry casks for at least 7 to 10 years, delivering a robust, full-bodied spiciness backed by flavors of green apple, clove, raisins, and toasted oak. Discovering Green Spot leads you to Mitchell & Sons, the Dublin-based wine and spirits merchant that entered the whiskey bonding business in 1887—at the height of the Victorian-era whiskey boom—when Irish single pot still was all the rage. Empty wine barrels from Mitchell’s wine importing business were sent across town to John Jameson’s Bow Street Distillery to be filled with whiskey, and then shipped back to mature in the Mitchell cellars. Mitchell & Son devised a simple system of labeling their casks with a daub of paint to identify the age of the whiskey inside: blue for 7 year old, green for 10, yellow for 12, and red for 15 year old. But Ireland’s bonded whiskey business died out in the 20th century, leading to the extinction of many great bonded whiskeys. Green Spot hung on at Mitchell & Sons long enough to be revived in collaboration with Irish Distillers. Then Yellow Spot was reintroduced in 2012, followed by Red Spot in 2018. The recently reintroduced Blue Spot, which vanished from shelves more than 50 years ago, completes the range’s comeback.

A man and woman operate a piece of whiskey making equipment

Midleton’s master distiller Kevin O’Gorman and distiller Katherine Condon. Condon describes single pot still whiskey as spicy, robust, and full-bodied.

With no known bottles of Blue Spot in existence, the Midleton team scrutinized old documents to extract historical information. They learned that Mitchell & Son imported madeira during Blue Spot’s heyday, the whiskey was aged for 7 years, and was bottled at higher strength. “We put together those three pieces of the puzzle to reimagine Blue Spot,” says Condon. Modern Blue Spot combines whiskey matured in bourbon, sherry, and madeira casks. The age statement reflects only the youngest whiskeys in the bottle, but Blue Spot also includes older whiskey drawn from casks that were sourced by Midleton master distiller Kevin O’Gorman on his travels to the island of Madeira in 2000.

Irish Distillers’ other noteworthy single pot still whiskeys include Redbreast and Powers, and thanks to years of planning, all of them carry significant age statements. Newer distillers with 3 to 5 year old single pot still whiskeys to bottle have turned to some interesting experiments with the mashbill. Some have been flexing the ratio of unmalted to malted barley in their recipes; Teeling picked a 50:50 ratio, while Kilbeggan and Drumshanbo have added oats. Kilbeggan’s Small Batch Rye, though not labeled as a single pot still whiskey, includes 30% rye with its unmalted and malted barley. And though its liquid is still maturing, Blackwater Distillery in West Waterford has tapped into some intriguing historical recipes for its mashbill, using wheat, rye, and oats.

Midleton’s recipe is a 60:40 ratio of unmalted to malted barley, but Condon has stepped outside the single pot still box with a 60:40 oat to malt mashbill. Condon says the oat project was a bit worrisome at first. “We were concerned about having porridge all over the brewhouse floor,” she says. “But it worked out. It’s definitely a lighter-style distillate compared to our malted and unmalted mashbills and it needs more time [to mature] than we initially thought, but it has a lovely mouthfeel and a confectionery sweetness, like cotton candy.”

Single pot still whiskey appears to have a bright future, with the potential to drive Irish whiskey to new heights. The vision among Ireland’s distillers is that single pot still will one day have a presence on the global whisky stage that’s similar to that of single malt scotch.

Single Pot Still Irish Whiskeys To Try

Kilbeggan Single Pot Still
93 points, 43%, $45
Melon, candied peel, nutmeg, cinnamon, honeysuckle, orange, apricot, vanilla, roasted hazelnut, and fizzing pot still spices.

Drumshanbo Single Pot Still
92 points, 43%, $63
Creamy sweetness, caramel, brioche, satsuma, dried apricot, pear, apple, lime, plum, toasted coconut, and pot still spiciness.

Blue Spot 7 year old Single Pot Still
91 points, 58.7%, $80
Baked apple, spiced nuts, toffee, cool mint, tangy citrus, dried cherry, walnut, baked lemon, and peppery spices.

Teeling Single Pot Still
91 points, 46%, $75
Cinnamon cereal, melon, white grape, apple, pear, nutmeg, pepper, ground almond, stone fruit, and caramel.

Glendalough Single Pot Still
90 points, 43%, $55
Shortbread, ground almond, finely ground pepper, caramel, dried apple, clove, mild spices, and bakery treats.

The Busker Single Pot Still
88 points, 44.3%, $30
Red apples, almonds, strawberry tart, grilled muffins, biscuits, spice, vanilla, toasted granola, plum, and blackberry.

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The Great Irish Whiskey Revival Pairs Innovation and Tradition

Through historic mashbills, creative finishes, the use of peat, and advanced age statements, Irish Whiskey is as exciting as ever.

The post The Great Irish Whiskey Revival Pairs Innovation and Tradition appeared first on Whisky Advocate.

The Irish whiskey restoration is in full swing. Over the last decade, the number of operational distilleries in Ireland has increased from 4 to nearly 40, and Irish whiskey’s soaring sales have made it the biggest growth story in the world. Following the collapse of Ireland’s economy in 2008, craft distilleries began sprouting up all over the island—occupied in abandoned spaces that formerly housed bakeries, sawmills, woolen mills, breweries, jam factories, and even a church. Within a decade, Dublin was reborn as the most vibrant whiskey city in the world, and Ireland’s distilleries hosted a million visitors in 2019 as whiskey lovers took notice.

During Irish whiskey’s lowest years of the 1960s and 1970s, blended expressions provided a straightforward route for rebuilding, and Irish blends, championed by Jameson, Bushmills, and Tullamore D.E.W., remain the driving force today. But now Ireland’s distillers are cultivating a far greater depth and diversity of styles, bringing Irish whiskey to a turning point in its long history. Here are four points in the whiskey space where Ireland’s distillers are looking to reach the next level of greatness—and they’re only a taste of what’s happening across the Emerald Isle.

Single Pot Still Whiskey

Learn More About Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Innovative Finishing

Learn More About Cask Finished Irish Whiskey

Peated Irish Whiskeys

Traditionally, peat was anathema to Irish whiskey, representing Scotland—even though Ireland possesses deep peat reserves. And through the ages, the Irish have had a close relationship with the land, cutting and lifting turf to burn. “If you go back far enough in Irish history, everything was peated—you and I would have been peated, as there would have been an open fire in the middle of the room and no chimney,” notes Alex Chasko, master distiller at Teeling Distillery in Dublin.

Learn More About Peated Irish Whiskey

Whiskey of Great Age

Learn More About Irish Whiskey of Great Age

The post The Great Irish Whiskey Revival Pairs Innovation and Tradition appeared first on Whisky Advocate.

Old Forester Gets Even Older

Brown-Forman-owned Old Forester has become even older with their release of 1910 Extra Old – a limited edition bourbon whiskey that is the third addition to their 117 series. Old Forester 1910 Extra Old was matured in a heavily charred secondary barrel for 18 months, bottled at 46.5% alcohol by volume [93 proof] and is […]

Brown-Forman-owned Old Forester has become even older with their release of 1910 Extra Old – a limited edition bourbon whiskey that is the third addition to their 117 series.

Old Forester 1910 Extra Old was matured in a heavily charred secondary barrel for 18 months, bottled at 46.5% alcohol by volume [93 proof] and is said to contain notes of caramel, chocolate, dark brown sugar, green apple and walnut.

Old Forester 1910 Extra Old is being made available in Louisville, Kentucky, and in select states for $50 per bottle.

Rosebank Distillery – Falkirk

With the rebuilding of this iconic Lowland Distillery nearing and opening later this year. I have the latest press release and details of the new distillery manager Malcolm Rennie, who joins...
thanks for reading Whisky Boys Whisky Blog

With the rebuilding of this iconic Lowland Distillery nearing and opening later this year. I have the latest press release and details of the new distillery manager Malcolm Rennie, who joins...

thanks for reading Whisky Boys Whisky Blog

Whiskey Quickie: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C921 Review

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Elijah Craig Barrel […]

The post Whiskey Quickie: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C921 Review appeared first on BOURBON PURSUIT.

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C921. This 12 year old bourbon is 120.2 proof and $70 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!

DISCLAIMER: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost courtesy of the spirit producer. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.

The post Whiskey Quickie: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C921 Review appeared first on BOURBON PURSUIT.