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Related: Culture Forums, Support Forumswhiskey question
I am an enjoyer of Canadian Blended whiskeys (nothing really expensive though) and was wondering what Irish Whiskey is all about.
I don't like Scotch, or Bourbon.
Any thoughts?
ghostsinthemachine
(3,569 posts)and others are whisky? Why no e? What's up with that?
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)But they are both wrong, since the word 'whiskey' comes from the Gaelic uisce beatha, meaning water of life.
elleng
(130,127 posts)UISCE!!!
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)There is some mild peat flavor, but nothing like Scotch. There are much better brands, but Jameson Irish whiskey is a good one to try.
Irish Whiskey is usually 80 proof, so sort of "mild" like most Canadian whiskey. Thinking back 40 years, I started with Canadian for quite awhile before trying Bourbon. Well, I really started with Boone's Farm, but that stuff was really awful.
In the last year I have pretty much quit all of those, and find a nice pour of Mescal is the way to top off a night while playing a mandola or guitar.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)From Wikipedia:
Key regulations defining Irish whiskey and its production are established by the Irish Whiskey Act of 1980,[7] and are relatively simple (for example, in contrast with those for Scotch and Bourbon whiskey). They can be summarised as follows:
Irish whiskey must be distilled and aged on the island of Ireland; that is, either in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland
The contained spirits must be distilled to an alcohol by volume level of less than 94.8% from a yeast-fermented mash of cereal grains (saccharified by the diastase of malt contained therein, with or without other natural diastases) in such a way that the distillate has an aroma and flavour derived from the materials used
The product must be aged for at least three years in wooden casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres (185 US gal; 154 imp gal)
If the spirits comprise a blend of two or more such distillates, the product is referred to as a "blended" Irish whiskey
There are several types of whiskey common to Ireland, including those referred to as "single pot still", "single malt", "single grain", and "blended". But in contrast to the Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009, the Irish Whiskey Act of 1980 does not actually contain a definition of the terms "single malt Irish whiskey" or "single grain Irish whiskey" or specific rules governing their production, so the exact definitions of these terms may not be clearly established.
And then there's...
http://mentalfloss.com/article/30278/whats-difference-between-scotch-whiskey-and-bourbon
The law. While knocking back a dram of bourbon is a decidedly carefree exercise, making it is exceedingly technical and requires that the whiskey meet a rigid set of criteria. The Federal Standards of Identity for Bourbon stipulate what is and what isnt bourbon. For a whiskey to call itself bourbon, its mash, the mixture of grains from which the product is distilled, must contain at least 51% corn. (The rest of the mash is usually filled out with malted barley and either rye or wheat.) The mash must be distilled at 160 proof or less, put into the barrel at 125 proof or less, and it must not contain any additives. The distillate must be aged in a new charred oak barrel. (Most often these barrels are white oak, but they can be any variety of oak.) If you distill a whiskey in your kitchen that meets all of these standards, congrats, youve made bourbon. Also, youve broken the law; the ATF is probably outside your house right now.
The main difference between scotch and whisky is geographic, but also ingredients and spellings. Scotch is whisky made in Scotland, while bourbon is whiskey made in the U.S.A, generally Kentucky. Scotch is made mostly from malted barley, while bourbon is distilled from corn. If youre in England and ask for a whisky, youll get Scotch. But in Ireland, youll get Irish whiskey (yep, they spell it differently for a little colour).
On this side of the pond, we have our own local color, too. The difference between Tennessee Whiskey, like Jack Daniels, for example, and Bourbon is that after the spirit is distilled, Tennessee Whiskey is filtered through sugar-maple charcoal. This filtering, known as the Lincoln County Process, is what distinguishes Tennessee Whiskey from your average Bourbon, like Jim Beam. The name, Bourbon, comes from an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky.
On top of these types of whiskey, we also have Rye, which can refer either to American rye whiskey, which must be distilled from at least 51 percent rye or Canadian whisky, which may or may not actually include any rye in its production process. Confusing! Right?
hack89
(39,171 posts)El Supremo
(20,365 posts)I also like blended Scotch.
trof
(54,255 posts)Kind of a 'sweetness scale'.
Sweetest to least sweetest:
Bourbon
Rye
Canadian
Irish
Scotch
Just my take.
I'll take Scotch and 100 Pipers is the best cheap blended Scotch there is .
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Either BevMo!, the huge chain out here, doesn't have 100 Pipers or it isn't exactly "cheap". (Yes, I sorted by price. ) Until now I had thought that all cheap Scotch was Clan MacGregor!
Alas, the two jugs of Scoresby I have will be it for a while, as there is no BevMo! near me; I had been having booze delivered -- with a $50 delivery charge! -- while I was laid up with a broken ankle.
trof
(54,255 posts)Yuk.
Tried Scoresby's. Didn't like it.
I buy 100 Pipers by the case in Florida, just 20 miles from here in coastal Alabama.
Liquor store gives a 10% case discount. Works out to about $17.50 per 1.75L bottle.
pkdu
(3,977 posts)...so many more to try
GreydeeThos
(958 posts)Major Nikon
(36,814 posts)Unlike the other two which are made under pretty strict rules governing what can be called those things, both Canadian and Irish whiskeys have pretty loose standards. So if you try one and don't like it, try another because it's bound to be quite different in character. So it's pretty hard to generalize either Canadian or Irish whiskey, but I find both of those are usually lacking the depth of flavor you often find with Bourbon and especially some Scotch.
Mosby
(16,162 posts)It's really good. If you have a total wine anywhere near you it's worth the drive, they beat everyone, everyday including costco.
Paladin
(28,202 posts)OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)but mostly only single malt. And you have to try a bunch of them to find the one that suits you. The difference between 10 year old and 18 year old Laphroaig is amazing and that's in the same family. (the price difference is pretty crazy too).
Then factor in where they come from - Laphroaig is from Islay (island off the southwest coast of Scotland ) and Islay Scotches are known for their heavy peat smoke flavor. (although there are distilleries on the island that use much less peat. Laphroaig, Lagavullin and Ardberg are pretty peaty)
Contrast that with the Balvenie from Speyside which is across the country in the northeast. MUCH lighter (in flavor) than the heavy peats of Islay. Balvenie Caribbean Cask is one of my favorites too.
There are many regions that distill Scotch and each has its own distinctive characteristics and I wish I could say I have tried them all (working on it!) but of the ones I have tried, the general consensus for me is older is better and I love the smokey peat of Islay. My point here is that if you try enough of them, you'll likely find one to love.
I have also had terrible scotch from plastic bottles with screw-on caps. Cheap scotch is nobody's friend. That's not to say blended is always bad - I wouldn't turn down a glass of Buchanan but in the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you my family is a sept of the Buchanan clan - not that that means anything other than family pride and an affinity for things Scottish and I know which kilt to wear. (And Buchanan's Scotch is owned by a south american conglomerate nowadays anyway)
As for Irish whiskey, Bushmill's and Tullamore Dew are the only 2 I've tried and I greatly prefer TD. But there again, there are several different versions that I haven't tried so maybe the more expensive Bushmill's is something I would like...
My dad thought he hid well a bottle of Canadian Mist under the sink when I was in my teens. Didn't matter if it was well hidden or not as it was safe from me after one taste. But that was nigh on 40 years ago so maybe I'd appreciate it more now. One of my friends drinks Crown Royal black almost exclusively and it's OK to me but If I'm gonna spend my money on whisky it will nearly always be Scotch.
I was out of town last week on business and met up at the hotel bar with our consultant and my boss and they had a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle on the shelf but they wouldn't sell any of it to us. They had just gotten it in and it wasn't in their computers yet and they had no idea what to charge for it. We tried though, lol, we tried hard to talk them into a taste.
onethatcares
(16,131 posts)that made my scotch sampling a disaster. Been so long ago I forgot why I even tried it or what kind it was but it might have been DeWars.
I'm just looking for a different flavor to enjoy and am going to get a bottle of Tellemore Dew to sample.
Then, since things are going pretty well for me, I"m going to buy a bottle of more expensive older Canadian Whiskey to toast myself with. Don't know which yet, but stay tuned, I'll let you all know.
Thanks so much for the information from all of you.
onethatcares
(16,131 posts)was the recommendation of a gentleman in the liquor store.
tonite, over ice
thanks again
elleng
(130,127 posts)I never touch any of it. Dad liked Canadian, my daughter+ like Jameson, and I have no recommendation but did enjoy reading the histories here; brings me back to trips to Scotland and Ireland.
onethatcares
(16,131 posts)this is a very good smooth whiskey. I am pouring it over ice and watering it down.
Next is to pour it over ice and take away the cubes.
I like my whiskey chilled.
Gonna put the bottle in the fridge.
malthaussen
(17,065 posts)You don't like scotch? I'd bet a nickel you tried the blended crap. There are hundreds of single malts around, every one is different.
The same applies to Irish. There is blended Irish, and single Irish (Tullimore Dew, mentioned above, comes in both single and blended variants). The essential difference between single Scotch and single Irish is that the former is distilled twice, the latter thrice. Hence, Irish single tends to be smoother. There are many fewer variants of single Irish, however.
In terms of blended whisky (or whiskey, if you prefer), the question is what goes into it, and how long is it aged (age also applies to single malts, of course). For example, a popular brand of blended Scotch whiskies, Johnnie Walker, comes in several variants. A blended whisky is, of course, a blend of several different single malts. Personally, I think they're lousy, but de gustibus non est disputandum. In any event, the only way to find out what you'd like is by sampling many varieties. An onerous task, I know, but one must persevere.
-- Mal
onethatcares
(16,131 posts)probably preserving my liver as we speak. The Jameson is a blend that is triple distilled. Pretty easy on the palate as far as I can tell.
thanks for the input, it will not go to naught.