Sweet, hadn’t seen it.
So far as Barbados rum goes I prefer Foursquare myself (Doorly’s, R.L. Seale’s, Foursquare Exceptional Casks Series), though I may be biased…
Mt. Gay make some excellent rum, but the Black Barrel fails to grab me. A quality rum for cocktails, but drunk straight it seems rather bland. The XO is much nicer.
Anyone after quality rums at good prices can check out: www.alembic.tw
No English website, but lots of rums from Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, etc.
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Costco now has Jameson Irish Whiskey.
NT$449 for 70cl.
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Need some of that. Cooler weather. Been meaning to experiment with Irish Whiskey. What ingredients are used that make it different from scotch?
All the same, wheat, barley, etc
The salient difference is that, traditionally, the mash for Scotch was cooked over a peat fire as opposed to wood. This accounts for Scotch’s “smoky” nuance.
Of course, savouring the exquisite irony, since the mid 20th century, pretty much all Big Factory Scotch, your Johnnies, your Chivases, your Ballanies, etc, have had that smoke-ish patina added by chemical means, fake smokiness.
Set up a shot of Jameson’s and a shot of any Scotch, and you’ll spot the difference straight off.
Someday we can get into the great Jameson’s/Bushmills (the world’s oldest distillery!!) history, which is pretty fascinating in its own right. And, like Scotch, there are the bazillion little Irish whisky (yes, spelled like that) distilleries all over the Isle that never get exported
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Funny, but totally true, during the 80s, when the previously unknown Nipponeser Scotches were starting to make their way out into the world, they were, of course, scoffed at and dismissed by the “real” Scotch nerds.
In point of fact, in the best otaku tradition, they were all meticulously produced using only the best imported grains and real assed peat for the tank firing.
So they were, in fact, way more “Scottish” than most of the popularly consumed brands of the time.
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Agreed. I drink it too fast to really enjoy it, but sometimes my wife gets me a bottle for Xmas or a birthday. Otherwise, I drink another bourbon.
If anyone is interested, there’s a cool liquor store near Jingmei MRT down Jingfu St past the Hi-life. The guy who runs it actually knows what he’s buying and he has a massive stock. I’m not a wine-guy, but their stock looks impressive. Whiskey prices are not the lowest, but at the very low end of the price spectrum. They also have the nice foreign beers you can sometimes find, and my beloved Sam Adams and San Miguel (PH).
Oh, that was a beautiful thing. Bee-yoo-tee-full. I’m in love.
Well good on you, sport.
You can see the difference from Scotch, yeah?
That’s shelf stock too, wait 'til you get your mitts on the good stuff…
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Yes, the lack of smokiness is very much welcome. I thought it would be missed (20 years of scotch drinking), but no. Good riddance and love the smoothness. I’m even prouder of my Irish heritage now.
Loads of non-smoky Scotch out there though!
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This one is not bad https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/hibernia/hyde-6-year-old-no3-the-aras-cask-whisky/
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I will always love scotch. But there is a cleanness and smoothness I really like about my first encounter with Irish Whiskey.
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Historically (i.e. pre-industrial era) Irish whisky was peated. The big distillers switched from peat to coal as they scaled up production in the 19th century. A few Irish whiskies are still peated (e.g. certain Connemara), and many Scotch whiskies are not.
The main differences are in distillation and mash bill.
Irish whisky has traditionally been triple distilled in pot stills, versus double distilled for Scotch. The triple distillation contributes to a lighter profile. However, certain single malts from Scotland (e.g. Auchentoshan) use triple distillation. In any case, like Scotch most Irish whisky is now a blend of pot still and column still spirit.
Mash bills for Irish whisky have traditionally included both malted and unmalted barley, versus 100% malted barley for Scotch. Again though, some Irish whiskies (e.g. Bushmills) use only malted barley.
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Got some Laphroaig Quarter Cask. Review to follow.
On the @Rocket end of the economic scale, loads of places have started stocking travelers of Teacher’s Highland Cream for, get this, a nickel less than the Grousenator.
Pretty nice, too, not all fruity like the Bell’s.
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A beautiful thing. And very smooth for that 48%. Haven’t had Laphroaig for a while. I’m remembering now why it gets such good reviews. At 899 nt, a bargain.
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That is a bargain. Where did you get it?
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