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theScotchlife

Enjoying Scotch Whisky and a few other things

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John

theScotchlife.com is about my love of the whisky of Scotland. I do talk about a few other things on it also.

Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey

As promised, here is another quick review of an Irish Whiskey that I hope you may encounter as opposed to food colored beer. I looked for something in the “cheap” range today at the ABC store for Irish Whiskey, what I found was this rather gentlemanly looking bottle proudly displaying KILBEGGAN for around $17 for the 750ml bottle. As an aside, its nice to see a region of whiskeys that are not as expensive as your good Scotch products. I’m sure the Irish would like the higher prices though….. Anyhow I wasn’t expecting an experience. It is a blend and the baseline product for Kilbeggan. That being said, I found this to be a very drinkable whiskey and could see this as an everyday whiskey. It doesn’t really overpower or wow you but certainly does not disappoint. Of the Irish whiskeys that I have purchased I would feel free to incorporate this one into meals and recipes also. Its slightly sweet also so with desserts like creme brûlée or other cream based desserts would go well. This would make an excellent digestive.

As far as the nose: Nothing overpowering. I was thinking fruits, maybe a hint of vanilla. After adding water more fruit forward but again, nothing to get wrapped up about.

The palate: The first sip came and went, politely. I enjoyed the finish though, not overpowering but a nice solid or rounded feel. I’d love to have with some creamy seafood dishes. After adding water a bit spicy and a slight oak taste came in. I would actually prefer this whiskey without water. I would also, in a wine sense, equate this to drinking a very well rounded red. Especially the finish.

As for color, light gold or amber coloring.

Again, this is another fine product from Ireland and one that is reasonably priced. If you wanted to stock a bar and needed an all purpose Irish whiskey or wanted a good cooking whiskey I’d be confident in purchasing this product.

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Jameson Irish Whiskey – review for St. Patty’s Day

JAMESON IRISH WHISKEY

As the blessed holiday that is known as St. Patrick’s Day is upon us, I thought I’d look into what whiskeys may be imbibed from Ireland as opposed to the green colored beer. Face it, it has been awhile since college, you don’t have to drink green beer anymore! And if you are like me, you find that drinking beer, especially in the cooler months, leaves me feeling full way too soon. So drinking whiskey is the obvious answer!

I took off to the liquor store to gather some research material, Irish whiskey, since all I have here is Bushmills and I’ve written about the Malt 10 in relation to the Woodford Reserve Bourbon casks that the Malt 10 matures in. I will comment on the Bushmills Black Bush product this week also (a fine whiskey but very different than the Malt 10).

I asked the ABC employee” what are people purchasing for St. Patty’s day?” “Jameson.” This really didn’t surprise me. I think I first tried Jameson on an airplane because they were out of gin. Not sure, but I did find something that I really liked, called Jameson Irish Whiskey. Common whiskeys are often overlooked these days with all of the premium brands of whiskeys coming about. I have to admit, it’s hard to get motivated to write about an everyday whiskey when you are just days away from tasting some of the rarest Scotch whisky known to man in a few days in Vegas. But in my encouragement to learn more and more about whiskey and wanting to share that with all who are curious I think we should not overlook the pioneer brands.

So after a brief discussion of Irish whiskey and the benefits of Bikram Yoga, I brought home some Jameson and a few other things I will be writing on for this week. All Irish!

As far as mixing Irish whiskey, you will have to figure that out on your own since the possibilities are endless. I am an advocate of drinking whiskey as the master distiller imagined it, by itself, perhaps with a little water or on ice. Period.

Nose: The vanilla “notes” were like trumpet notes. They were very pleasant but hard to get past, I think I picked up some of the cask (wood) smell but not sure.

Palate: Very simply, what you smell is what you taste. This is a GOOD thing! Although I like to be surprised occasionally, I liked the fact that there was no curveball coming at me on this whiskey. It was very soft and smooth. I can imagine eating cashews or walnuts with this with a big grin on my face.

Oh, sorry, slightly amber in color, it’s very light, more of a yellow.

I added some VOSS water, just a dab, to it to see what would happen. Not much actually. What did happen is that the whiskey hitting my palate now oozed a creaminess that I enjoyed immensely and was not very present before. I can imagine smoking a creamy Diamond Crown Cigar with this one and an even bigger grin on my face.

Jameson touts its product as more refined than Scotch whisky and American Whiskey, it probably is. Being triple distilled really helps, only Woodford Reserve is triple distilled that I know of. I will write later on the differences of single, double and triple distillation because I find it interesting.

So, all that to say, feel confident in buying Jameson Irish Whiskey for this St. Patty’s day celebration and for your whiskey cabinet. I think you will find a new friend.

Cheers! 

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RT @JohnHansell: New whiskies heading to the U.S. http://f.ast.ly

RT @JohnHansell: New whiskies heading to the U.S. http://f.ast.ly/gqrjc

vogueweekend:Gi

vogueweekend:

Girls of Milan + Paris Fashion Week

Don’t know what I need to add to this, sometimes when you travel the world, the fashion channel is the only thing a guy from “the States” wants to watch.

I love paddock girls, and motorcycles.

I love paddock girls, and motorcycles.

Whisky Chef – Single Malt TV

Whisky Chef – Lagavulin & Scallops (via SingleMaltTv)

Imagine the Islay “Angels’ share!”

Imagine the Islay “Angels’ share!”

Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 12yr.

Such a distinctive smell, like it should be a dessert…. Maybe that is what it is! Bowmore and I first met in Ottawa, the beautiful capital of Canada, where we cozied up to each other in the Fairmont Hotel. Soon my workmates also were interested in my newly purchased Scotch also. It was almost like high school, I was in high demand because I had a bottle of whisky! Only we were grown ups with expense accounts. Anyhow, I reacquired a bottle of Bowmore at my local store and was pleased to see it stocked well and on sale.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bowmore, they (Bowmore) state that they are the “original Islay distillery,” and since I’m firmly planted in the “the States” I have no reason to doubt that. There are certain scotchs’ (i.e. Lagavulin) that last quite awhile in my cabinet because I count them as “special” and not a daily drink or a house scotch. The Bowmore 12yr. is one of those that I like to enjoy my time with.

This whisky holds very true to the Color/Nose/Palate notes on the packaging and all I’d personally add is that it is a very lively and citrus like product. That it is an Islay product I believe makes it unique. When I smell and taste this product I think of Tiramisu or some chocolate type of dessert. As far as the peatiness that an Islay product carries, I find this one to be much more balanced and reserved. For some reason I think adding water to it brings out the peat exponentially. Perhaps exciting the seas?

I enjoyed mine with french truffles.

Cheers!

Tour De Gall Culture: vanityfair.com

Link: Tour De Gall Culture: vanityfair.com

I found this article to be very true and hysterical. Please heed the advice on the size of snails and what restaurant to avoid in Paris.

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