We were driving by a CostCo and decided to hit their liquor store (which you don’t need a membership to shop at) and picked up this huge bottle of Kirkland Irish Whiskey.
The nose on this Kirkland Irish Whiskey hints at butter cookies but it is really hard to appreciate through the alcohol.
The mouth feel is clean, but has lots of sharp edges that continue to a stab of alcohol on the finish.
Of course I couldn’t try this without comparing it to Jameson right?
It is really hard to see in the pictures, but the Kirkland Irish Whiskey is just a tiny bit darker than the Jameson. Picking the Jameson by nose was very easy, it all comes down to the alcohol burn. Neither has a strong nose, but the Kirkland Irish Whisky really hits in with the alcohol in comparison. Even my wife, who does not like whiskey, could pick out the Kirkland Irish Whiskey as the one that smelled “stronger” of alcohol.
The mouth feels are very similar – and even the very first note on the tip of my tongue makes me wonder if the Kirkland Irish Whiskey might be sourced from Irish Distillers Ltd, which also owns Jameson, and from what I can find on the public forums, it does appear these two are coming from the same source.
A lot of other reviews have commented on the sweet creaminess of the the Kirkland Irish Whiskey, but I didn’t really appreciate it except for maybe a little bit of sweetness.
For me, the flavor comparison is close, but even though Kirkland Irish Whiskey has an age statement – I think the Jameson is smoother and easier to sip.
Jameson scored an 80/100, and while this Kirkland Irish Whiskey is a huge value, it is not as good, and I’m scoring it a 65/100 putting it at the uppermost range of Mixed Drinks Only.
Pros
- Holy carp, this was only $18 bucks.
- Very economical if you are making mixed drinks.
- Aged 4 years.
Cons:
- Very faint nose that is hard to get to because of how alcohol forward this whiskey is.
- Rough edges on the finish.
- Even though its twice as much volume for a few dollars less, I would still go with a bottle of regular old Jameson.
