On a bit of an 'Irish kick' of late...

[jazznut]

It started with my nabbing a bottle of Jameson Special Reserve 12 Year Old a while back... Lovely whiskey, that one, with a nice balance between crispness and lushness, not to mention it being eminently drinkable.

Then, my bro laid a bottle of the Limited Reserve 18 Year Old on me at Christmas... Completely different beast, this bottle was/is. Longer on the palate, with a reverberating sensation of essential oils and a more mature dryness adding complexity and depth. Not one to swill back, but rather a whiskey to slowly savour and meditate on.

After these two Jamesons, I remembered that I still had a bit of Bushmills Black Bush kicking around in the cabinet, and brought that out for comparison's sake. Quite full and round, with a decided Sherry cask influence. But nowhere near the 'excitement' factor of the others. Good, solid blend, all told.

Having enjoyed my experiences so far, I bit the bullet and purchased a couple of bottles of Bushmills 1608 400th Anniversary (one for drinking and one in reserve) for a not inconsiderable sum. I was very surprised right from the first sip, as the whiskey continually shifted back and forth between seeming lightness and palate-searing depth as well as between incredible, sweet smoothness and scintillating, razor-like sharpness. Beautiful stuff!

OK... Time to revisit that bottle of Redbreast Pure Pot Still 12 Year Old. As always, a standard-bearer amongst Irish whiskies, offering lots of flavour development and tempting one to pour a second. A deservedly established classic.

Just for the heck of it, I continued on with a pair of venerable Canadian whiskies, Gibson's Finest Rare 18 Year Old and Wiser's Limited Edition 18 Year Old. Both amply proved how truly excellent Canadian spirits can be, with those archetypal rye and oak notes bouncing off the underlying smoothness to great effect. Both are worthy of your consideration should the opportunity to taste them present itself.

Cheers!