Knappogue Castle 14 Year Twin Wood

Ah Eire. Many moons ago as a fresh 20 something year old I lived there for 3 years, met my wife amongst a flat of up to a dozen at anytime flatmates (was a big old house), drank many a pint of Guinness, discovered whiskey wasn't that as terrible as I thought (very well watered down not neat...it took another decade to achieve that and truly drink whiskey) and now here back in NZ I crack open a sample of a brand which wasn't in existence when I was there. To be honest there was only 3 or 4 distilleries and limited brands in those days. Fast forward and the diversity is mind boggling. Now the whiskey at hand...is it any good. Hmm...not bad but not Redbreast, Yellow Spot good either. Mild bitterness mentioned in the 12 year in reviews comes through here...not massively but enough to slightly overpower and distract from the rest of the dram. The potstilled nature comes through, vanilla, bit of pepper, very mild sherry influence. I'd give it a 3.5 but couldn't round to a 4. Not bad value at just over $80USD

Whiskey Club #9 Nine Irish