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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St. Patty's Day Tasting: Tullamore Dew 12 Year Old Special Reserve

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I'm not Irish, and I don't like artificially colored beer, but I do enjoy the occasional glass of Irish Whiskey, so I thought I'd review Tullamore Dew's 12 Year Old Special Reserve bottling in honor of the holiday. Tullamore Dew's standard bottling is the world's second best selling Irish whiskey (behind Jamison), and the brand is owned by William Grant & Sons and produced at Pernod Ricard's Midleton Distillery alongside Jamison, Powers, and other brands. While the standard Tullamore Dew is heavily advertised and can stand up to any other mainstream Irish whiskey, I hadn't heard much buzz about their 12 Year Old expression, so I thought I'd give it a try.

At $35.99 per 750 mL bottle in Pennsylvania, Tullamore Dew 12 Year Old Special Reserve isn't a cheap Irish whiskey. Along with being aged 12 years, this whiskey also has the distinction of being aged in used bourbon barrels and finished in Oloroso sherry barrels. It also claims to have a higher malt whiskey content (and therefore lower grain whiskey content) than other Irish whiskeys which should give it a fuller flavor. To me Irish whiskeys are meant to be smooth, easy-drinking, and very approachable, and achieving that in a 12 year old whiskey that will also appeal to those looking for more distinctive flavors is quite a challenge. Tullamore Dew does a good job of meeting this challenge, and my overall impression is good, although I'd like to try their 10 Year Reserve as well to see how much difference there is in the two.

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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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