Knappogue Castle 12 Year Special Barrel Release

Honey, vanilla, buttery biscuit, sweet, mellow and smooth with a bit more flavor than most. Easy sipper. Prefer it neat. An easy rebuy.

Very sweet. Smooth taste definitely lingers after a sip is gone. A great summer whiskey. No ice or water necessary.

A nice representative of a Irish whiskey. Sweet vanilla and a shortbread cookies. Vanilla with a bit of pepper on the finish

Picked this up as a store pick. Not disappointed. Straw colored appearance. Hints of apple, spice, and honey on the nose. The flavor is large. Mouthful of honey, pastry, spice, almonds, and green apple. Initially dry but has a slightly sweet finish. A little burn at the end from either the spice or 46% alcohol.

Contrary to most, this is where I started with Knappogue Castle. I used to pick these up from my local Gary's, which no longer exists. In fact, this was one of the first higher-end bottlings that I regularly purchased. I may be a little biased in my review for this reason. Let's get into it. Nose: Vanilla and heaps of fruit. Classic green apple, banana, and apricot. A bit of pear. Toffee, honey, sugar cookie/shortbread cookie. Floral, green, grassy. Plum. Oak and a touch of baking spice. Very nice nose. Palate: Vanilla and caramel. Pear, green apple, apricot in that order. more sugar/shortbread cookie, honey, toffee, and butterscotch. Faint plum and peach notes. Banana, whipped cream, and macadamia nut on the mid-palate. Floral, green, and oak notes. Reflects a lot of what I liked about the nose. Solid. Finish: Medium-to-long. Vanilla and caramel. Banana, apple, pear, apricot. A little bitter. Baking spice and oak take this one home. Great finish. Maybe it's bias. Maybe nostalgia. It's definitely influenced by the fantastic VFM (to be exact, that earned this one an extra half star.) $45 for a 12-year old single malt--from anywhere--at least here in NJ. I can sit here and name a long line of 12-year old Scotches that cost more and don't hold a candle to this. The bump up to %46 ABV does wonders for this over the standard 12-year Knappogue Castle. After some deliberation, I settled on 4.5 stars for this one. It's offers a flavor profile I enjoy from the first inhale to the last tingle on the finish. It's very likely that I enjoy this so much because it's one of the whiskies that shaped my preferences from the beginning. Either way, this Shop Rite version does the Gary's picks I used to buy justice. Great stuff.

You get an almost syrupy odor when you uncork this bottle. The initial taste is harsh before settling on flavors of caramel and vanilla. Too pricey for me given the taste.