As the great philosopher, Yogi Berra,
once said, “It’s déjà vu all over
again.” Why, it seems like only twelve
months ago that I wrote a review of
Irish whiskey. And, though it is quite
tempting to NOT write an article about
anything Irish in March, I can’t resist.
After all, it’s about what the reader
wants…isn’t it? Besides, it’s kind of
fun. So in that classic shamrock-tinged
vein, here are five whiskies for your
perusal. As always, here’s hoping that
one of them is your pot o’ gold.
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Michael Collins (blend):
Wonderful youthful freshness on the
nose, with notes of vanilla,
cantaloupe, anise, and a decided
malty sweetness. This dram has a
very light body, that segues nicely
into its short, smooth finish which
bursts with citrus (tangerines) and
honeydew, vanilla creams, and
slightly dry oak. A very tasty (and
dangerous) everyday whiskey! The Big
Fellow would be proud. |
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Michael Collins (single malt):
Worlds apart from the blend. The
nose is extremely “earthy”; full of
caramel, toasted oak, wood smoke,
Peking duck, and the faintest hint
of citrus. With water, cocoa notes
emerge. More medium-bodied than the
blend, the single malt’s finish is
slightly vegetal, with oak, peat,
orange-oil, and chalk rounding-out
its palette.
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Knappogue Castle 1992: What a
great, subtle nose! Young and
“meadow fresh”, full of grapefruit,
oranges, honey, and malt – this one
really woke-up the senses.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill
from there. Very light-bodied, the
rest of the dram in no way resembled
its start. The finish was almost
brackish, with roasted pecans, oak,
caramel, and menthol. On the plus
side, the finish was short.
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Knappogue Castle 1993: More
“traditional” than the 1992 version,
the nose contains caramel creams,
honey, vanilla, and orange soda. A
medium-bodied dram, the 1993 had a
hot, oaky finish, full of tobacco,
malt, and pencil shavings. It also
had me thinking, “Hey, that ‘92’s
not so bad, after all.”
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Knappogue Castle 1994:
Finally! A beautiful complex nose
that reminded me of a summer field
in bloom, with melons, lemon zest,
vanilla, and a touch of honey. The
nose almost recalled a Chardonnay,
but also contained graphite and
gauze to “ground” it. The 1994 had a
medium body with good mouthfeel. The
medium-long finish had a nice depth
to it, with more honey, burnt
caramel, and nectarines, as well as
a pleasantly sharp, oaky dryness.
Now that’s an Irish whiskey!
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Questions or comments are welcome, I can be reached at
glen@whiskyguild.com
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