Knappogue Castle 12 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey

For my second Irish whiskey review heading into St. Patrick's day (there are at least two more coming soon...) I'm reviewing Knappogue Castle 12 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey (KC12). That's a mouthful of a name, but it's worth remembering because each part of that long name tells you something about this unique whiskey. Also it is very much a mouthful of a whiskey - one of the most flavorful and interesting Irish whiskeys I've had in a while.

Like most traditional Irish whiskeys, KC12 is triple-distilled which serves to give it a cleaner, lighter, more refined starting point than your average Scotch which is only distilled twice. It's aged for 12 years in used bourbon barrels which is also very traditional for Irish whiskey. Unlike most most mainstream Irish whiskeys KC12 is a single malt - meaning it's 100% whiskey made from malted barley as opposed to a blend of whiskeys made from malted barley, un-malted barley, and sometimes other grains like wheat or corn. Being a single malt, this is a bit pricier than many Irish whiskeys at about $46 per bottle, but compared to single malt Scotches of the same age that's a bargain, and for my money this is much more interesting than most Scotch at the same price point. Knappogue Castle also stands apart from most Irish whiskeys because there is no caramel coloring added. Because of this you may notice a slight variation in color from bottle-to-bottle, but I appreciate the distiller giving us an honest look at the whiskey's natural color.

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Oh Taste & See: Clontarf 1014 Irish Whiskey

St. Paddy's day is coming, and will hopefully bring spring weather with it. Although I'm not a big Irish Whiskey drinker I do like to try a few this time of year, especially since their lighter flavors tend to go well with the arrival of spring and make for a nice break after a winter of rich, heavy bourbons and Scotches.

Clontarf 1014 is a whiskey that's been around for a few years, but is still not super common in bars or liquor stores - at least in my area. This is the first time I've tried it, and I have been pleasantly surprised with a more complex dram than you'd expect from a $20 Irish blend. The name was a bit clunky to get used to since I couldn't figure out what the 1014 stood for, but after a little research I now know that it was the year that the Vikings were driven from Ireland - sounds to me like something worthy of a celebratory drink!

Color: Clontarf 1014 has a deep, honey-amber color with light legs. It's a bit dusty or opaque when you hold it up to the light, giving it a nice weighty look in the glass.

Nose: When you have this whiskey neat, the nose is mostly solvent and boozy smells. You can pick up some grain notes and faint honey and lemon rind. Water brings out a bit more oak and honey, but it really opens up with a cube or two of ice. Once it chills you lose the boozy solvent aromas in favor of some good malty heft that's much more interesting.

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Oh Taste & See: Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey

Irish whiskey is very popular among my circle of friends, and in Philadelphia in general. I would say the most common whiskey I hear people ordering around town is Jameson, with Bushmills also getting plenty of love.

While it's definitely popular, I have always found the lack of choice among Irish whiskeys to be a bit boring. At any given bar you're lucky to find three or four different brands of Irish whiskey, even if they stock dozens of Scotch or Bourbons labels. This lack of variety is largely due to the fact that Ireland today boasts only a few distilleries, with most owned by two large conglomerates. You can read a bit more about the history of Irish whiskey in this post, but today's tasting is about a slightly less common, and delightful whiskey called Kilbeggan produced by the "distant third place" distiller of the Irish whiskey world - Cooley. Cooley is cool because it's the only major Irish whiskey maker that is still independently owned by Irishmen.

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Whiskey Movie: On the Irish Whiskey Trail

Netflix can be a dangerous thing - thanks to their modern technology and endless library of titles I spend untold hours watching movies that I never would have known existed in pre-Netflix days. On the Irish Whiskey Trail fits this description. I found it on Netflix while browsing through the documentary category, and added it to my queue on a whim. Turns out On the Irish Whiskey Trail is more like a commercial for Irish Whiskey disguised as an hour-and-a-half long travel documentary. If it wasn't for the fact that the film ends with a visit to independent distiller Cooley and a nod to up-and-coming craft distillers I would assume that On the Irish Whiskey Trail was bankrolled by Irish Distillers - part of spirits giant Pernod Ricard and the owner of the three largest Irish whiskey brands.

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