Ryan Metz hosted this night where we had five different Irish Whiskies. This was the first night we adopted the concept of a Whisky vault. At the end of a tasting night, whatever is left gets added to the vault, and is brought to future nights to be available after the themed tasting for the night is done. We also decided at this night to purchase Glencairn glasses that will come to each night. This was to ensure everyone gets a consistent nosing & tasting experience.
Whiskies:
- Round 1: Bushmills Black Bush
- Round 2: Writers Tears Red Head Single Malt
- Round 3: Green Spot Single Pot Still
- Round 4: Teeling Single Grain
- Round 5: Connemara Peated Single Malt
- BONUS: O’Casey’s Irish Cream Liqueur was used to make “Irish Car Bombs”
The idea was to get a wide range which would allow us to sample each type of Irish whiskey as well as a variety of flavours coming out of Ireland. In Ireland, whiskey is divided into four main styles: Blends (e.g. Bushmills Black Bush), Single Malts (e.g. Writers Tears Red Head), Single Pot Still (e.g. Green Spot), & Single Grain (e.g. Teeling Single Grain). There are not very many examples of peated Irish whiskey, like Connemara, but in the early days of making whiskey, peat would’ve been used as a fuel source and therefore would’ve been used to dry barley just like the practice in Scotland. The interesting thing that characterizes Irish whisky nowadays is the addition of unmalted barley in the mash. This, oddly, came about as a result of tax evasion! Whiskey makers were trying to limit the amount of malted barley they used because of a tax that the government had placed upon it.
Notable: Metzy found a new favourite in the Red Head, and the general consensus of the group was that everyone found the Connemara to be a stand-out on the evening. Honourable mention goes to Green Spot, as a delicate & subtle, but characterful and complex dram. Irish car bombs were a lot of fun…(recipe: pour half a can of Guinness, and drop in a shot consisting of half Irish whiskey, and half Irish cream)…the idea of having a bonus round consisting of a cocktail or “mixed drink” that fit the theme seemed to be well received as a smooth transition from the formal tasting portion of the evening to the informal relaxed after-party.
