Paddy’s Irish Whiskey is distilled by Irish Distillers, at the Midleton distillery in County Cork. It is a blended offering that is just about as affordable as Irish Whiskey should get. If you find a sub $20 bottle I’d really question what went into it.
The nose is really subtle. It’s a little malty, a little sweet that blends with a little alcohol.
The sip is just about as subtle. This is a thin whiskey. The mouth feel is watery, but its also beautifully simple. I’d say this is perfect for those times when the friends or the food is the focus, and the whiskey is going to flow freely, which is perfect as this Paddy’s Irish Whiskey is just about as affordable as it gets.
The finish is a little spice that overpowers the malt, but not in a bad way.
Paddy’s Irish Whiskey scored a 66/100, making it Sip Worthy, if event only by a point. Don’t let that score scare you off however. At this price, that score is really impressive.
Pros
For $20 bucks this is a great buy.
Great budget whiskey.
Affordable whiskey for new drinkers.
Cons:
Not a lot of complexity. Will underwhelm a more appreciative pallet.
Not a lot of anything on the nose.
If you drink a good bit of this, you might have a hangover. I’ve noticed that some bottles give me a headache the morning after, and this is one of them.
According to their website, Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey uses a unique Solera System aging process to make their whiskey. What is the Solera Aging Process?
It kinds looks like a pyramid. If you watch the little video they provide you can see they basically created a named process for blending younger and older casks before they draw off the final product to be bottled.
Solera System
So what does the end product of this pyramid process smell and taste like?
The nose is light charred oak, sweet vanilla and alcohol. None of the notes are particularly strong, they all just kind of sit there.
The first impression on the sip is vanilla and sweet until the swallow, which is dry oak and char as it goes down your throat. That char may be a shock for some. The front of your tongue picks up the sweet vanilla and when it hits the back of the throat it is raw and oaky and very strong compared to the opening.
There is an interesting duality on the swallow of this whiskey. It is a little dry from the time in the oak barrels but it is also very, and I’m struggling for the right word here, watery? There isn’t any real mouth feel to this whisky, it is just watery with no substance. I feel like something with this much oak should have more oil, something more substantial?
The stark difference between the soft sweet opening and the hardness on the swallow really cost this blended whiskey points. Blade and Bow scored a 48/100, meaning this whiskey is destined for Mixed Drinks Only.
I was a little disappointed in Fistful of Bourbon as a sipper. It scored a 53/100 when ranked against other sipping options. You can read the full review here.
What do I do with bourbon that isn’t sip worthy? I make Manhattans of course.
If you can find or buy this online at the $25 price point, this is a great bottle to make mixed drinks. The Vermouth and Orange Bitters takes this rough edged bourbon and turns it into a smooth, tasty, Manhattan.
I feel like I got ripped off as I payed $40 bucks for my bottle of Fistful of Bourbon. At $25 this would be a great bottle for mixed drinks like a Manhattan.
A Fistful of Bourbon Manhattan scored an 80/100, and mixes into Sip Worthy Manhattan.
Uncle Nearest 1856 has created a lot of stir over the last two years by winning multiple awards and having an ever growing number of sippers recommend it to their fellows, which is exactly how I ended up with a bottle in my hands. Several friends had mentioned Uncle nearest 1856 to me, but up until this week I’d never seen a bottle on a shelf, so when I did, I grabbed it, even though I was really looking for Brut for my wife to make mimosas on Kmiss morn.
2019 & 2020 Most-Awarded American Whiskey
Uncle Nearest 1856 is a blended Tennessee Whiskey with some big shoes to fill. According to their website:
Uncle Nearest is the most awarded new American premium whiskey brand in United States history, garnering 75 awards since its July 2017 debut, including being one of two brands named “World’s Best” at Whisky Magazine’s 2019 World Whiskies Awards, and earning 15 Best in Class. Cigar & Spirits Magazine also named Uncle Nearest one of the “Top 5 Whiskies in the World.”
Did it live up to the hype?
Let’s start with the nose. The first thing you will get when you put this Uncle Nearest 1856 to your nose is alcohol burn. You can really smell that 100 Proof, but the good news is that just beneath that is a swirling, complex nose that fills your olfactory nerves with sweet brown sugar, nutmeg, caramel, maple, and a hint of cut grass.
Just like the nose, you do get a rush of alcohol on the tongue on that first sip, but it quickly gets balanced by that brown sugar, caramel, and wood char, that is all perfectly balanced. This is a very smooth sipper. The mouth feel is light and yet complex, with the wood char mixing with the sweetness that switches between Maple and Brown sugar in a very delightful way before ending coasting to a long, smooth finish.
Uncle Nearest 1856 scored an 84/100, putting it ahead of most of its piers by a large measure. What cost it a few points? For me, that 100 Proof does balance out, but it may be too much for newcomers to the whiskey world, and while it is very smooth, the maple and brown sugar may be too sweet if you’re a Scotch lover.
Uncle nearest 1856 also made it into my Whiskey Safe, which means I will keep an untouched bottle safely stored away so I can enjoy it many years from now, and I only had to drive an hour to find my second bottle.
Wonderful nose that mixes maple, caramel, and nutmeg.
Perfectly blended char, maple, brown sugar, and nutmeg on the tongue.
Long, smooth finish on the palate.
Extremely smooth.
Uncle Nearest 1856 made it into my Whiskey Safe!
Cons:
That 100 proof can create a little burn on first touch.
That 100 proof can also hurt you the day after. It is very smooth and goes down easy, and that might leave you with a headache the next day, as it makes it easy to over indulge.
This may be for moderate to advanced sippers. It might just be “too much” for the new whiskey drinker.
I can’t wait to open this bottle of Uncle Nearest 1856 and taste what everyone is raving about. This is billed as “the winningest” whiskey of 2019 + 2020.
McConnell’s Irish Whisky was apparently very popular before I was born. Up until 1958 it was known world wide as a solid Irish Whiskey choice. The dram that is available now in 2020 may not be what’s available in a few years. Why? Conecuh Brands is working with Great Northern Distillery until a new, dedicated facility is built, which will be the future source of McConnell’s Irish Whisky.
The current dram is a blend of 5 year and younger whiskeys, or if you want to be true to the McConnell’s branding, whisky.
The nose is pleasant. It’s light and full of cereal and malt and is quite enjoyable on the nose.
The first note on the pallet is sweet and malty but its quickly overpowered with a bit of alcohol burn that really shows this whiskeys rough edges on the finish.
Overall this is Sip Worthy, but only barely. McConnell’s Irish Whisky scored a 66/100.
A friend at work mentioned this Fistful of Bourbon so when I saw it on the end cap at my local liquor store I figured I’d pick up a bottle and give it a try.
Fistful of Bourbon is a blend of whiskey combined from five different whiskeys. The marketing material brags about having 100 years of experience blending whiskey.
Do did they do? Well, I have to be honest that I was a little worried when I first searched for the website and the very first thing I see is a page about cocktails.
Why is this the first page? Well, to be honest I don’t think this is a whiskey the creators figured would be a sipper.
The nose of this Fistful of Bourbons starts with alcohol burn that slowly reveals some charred wood underneath.
The first sip is consistent with the nose. The initial taste is strong alcohol and jagged edges that slowly fades. It does open up with a little bit of water with does let you appreciate some of the more subtle flavors. There is wood char and spice there, but the alcohol burn just barely lets it poke through here and there.
For me this Fistful of Bourbon scores a 53/100, putting it firmly in Mixed Drinks Only territory.
This Tullamore D.E.W. is named after Daniel E. Williams. Williams was the distillery’s general manager, and is credited with crafting the brands distinctive flavor profile and characteristics.
Tullamore DEW is a blended whiskey, created by combining pot still, malt, and grain whiskey.
The nose is floral, sweet, and quite nice.
That nose matches the initial touch of the tongue, but is quickly overpowered by spice and wood char that goes on and on. The aftertaste lingers, overpowering the sweetness and the softness of the initial sip.
It’s this overpowering spice that cost Tullamore DEW 12 year points. If there was a little more balance between the soft openings sweetness and the spice and long woody char, this would have done better than the 73/100 that is scored.
Tullamore Dey 10 Year
Pros
If you can find it around $40, that’s a buy.
Lovely, sweet floral nose.
Smooth and easily sipped.
Sweet, malty notes that swirl with spice.
Long spicy finish that lingers long after the swallow.
Cons:
This cost me $55 locally, which is too much for this bottle.
The sweet notes are quickly overpowered by the spice and oak.
The initial swallow is sweet but the aftertaste quickly wipes that out with spice and wood char.
