Kavanagh Blended Irish Whiskey

The nose is pretty typical of an Irish whiskey, but is nothing special. The palate is surprisingly solid for the price. It tastes quite clearly of apricot, which is always a good sign. It's sweet and also a bit rich. It isn't as flavorful as Bushmill's Black Bush is though and it certainly doesn't taste as much of apricot. That said, despite being a bit less sweet, it is a little richer. It holds its ground surprisingly well for a store-brand drink. There is definitely some mineral presence, which is fairly disappointing. There's a bit of but of a minty flavor here. It's also kind of vegetal. It's sweet enough, but also kind of bland. There's a little smoke, but not much. Kind of watery and bland with an uninspiring bitter note on the finish. It tastes quite young. Markedly inferior to Green Spot and Bushmill's Black Bush. There are some nice apricot and tangerine notes in here, but the overwhelming blare of rough alcohol really messes it up. This is not quite sippable, but it would be a good mixer. At least it isn't super watery even though it is only 40% ABV. This tastes less natural than Bushmill's Black Bush. It has more of a generic butter backing and hints of icing sugar. It may have sweetness, but it also has that awful Irish whiskey bitterness. There's some honey me that in it that is nice and kind of rich eventually, but it's still a very rough drink. I could vaguely sip this on some occasion, but it would be a tough sell. I would like the minerals and salt to be decreased in this. There is too much of an alcohol flavor in here, unfortunately. The hints of honey, fruit, chocolate, etc are unfortunately just hints and the rest of the flavor is harsh Irish whiskey.

smooth and semi-sweet, good basic Irish whiskey

Solid option. Mostly used for mixing and cocktails.