Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy

I’m still not an Irish whisky fan but this is real nice compared to most.

Oak, vanilla, hint of citrus on the nose, citrus and cinnamon on the palate, medium finish

Nose: Vanilla Taste: Some sweetness, I got orange and lime notes from it with mild woody notes Finish: Smooth and I found the woody notes lasted longer than the citrus notes The citrus notes revealed themselves after my third tasting but were much more prevalent after a drop of water was added

Hi, I'm Dustin and this review might trigger some people. So bought this recently because of my "Irish guy" and if you know me you know him, he RAVES about this. So I had to get into it. The first thing is WOW this is a nice box. And I mean that as a guy, read my reviews, who has had some nice bottles and with them some nice boxes. This might be near the top, right there with my best kavalan boxes and in some ways this is better even than them. OK so I wasn't impressed and with that, I'm trying this next to John Lane's 12 year to see if I'm crazy. Nose - First off the nose is soft and it's a struggle to pull things out. Certainly jammy, oak notes are here, it's very approachable, calm, but has the bones of some older oaked influence and some traditional irish unmalted barely grainy notes coming through. This would totally work as a higher end starter whisky if that makes any sense. Oh it's opening up more and now I'm getting more citrus notes, a bit of a bite from them, very cool change, but still that jammy sweetness balances it out. Taste - Again this is approachable upfront but there's a very good spicy kick at the end, almost too much for my starter group I listed above. There's a good oak note here. It's sweet, but overall it's a very generic irish whisky. So my first impressions were that this was mostly 12-15 year old whisky with some 20 year old stuff. I'm told it's mostly 10 year old with up to 25 year old whisky in it. So there's something to be said about the complexity of the oak and there's a nice spice and flavor profile here. It however does nothing to wow me and does nothing that 200 dollar bottle should do. Finish is however pretty good and long, but it's mostly just well aged irish on the finish, not old, just well aged. OK so back to that powers. It's bolder, fruitier, the spices are the same flavor but the way they approach your tongue is different, they're more scattered vs concentrated. It gives the powers a bit more of a younger and less refined feel. The Barry really is an irish take on showcasing oak and in a good way. The powers is bubbly and fruity and it's like meeting a lovely 21 year old blonde at a bar and talking to her. You're smiling because she's lovely and she's just full of energy and life, but lets be real....she doesn't have much to say. The barry is more of an interesting conversation with someone less "interesting on the eyes". It's objectively better, but I'm not sure I'd not have more fun with the powers. The thing is, while I do objectively see that the Barry Crockett is more expensive and better whisky, it's not that much better. But at the same time, maybe it is? And I say this because as I nose and drink the two side by side, I see the refinement that Barry has, I see the more concentrated older oak notes vs the more bubbly and sweet notes of the powers. But these are two whiskies coming from really really similar bases and neither strike a note of "wow" neither strike a note of "special" and neither have an off character that might send me elsewhere. So score, I gave the powers a 2.5 and frankly, I think I'd rather drink it. It's just a bit more flavorful and sweet, but Barry Crockett is a more refined whisky. So an objective score which isn't just about how much I like something, I have to give the edge to Barry crockett, but is it enough better for a higher score? Yeah, I think there's enough here. I'm going 2.75 and I know Im going to get some upset Irish whisky lovers on this one. I feel this is the irish whisky you get for a doctor or a lawyer to put on his shelf who wants a bit more flavor than a "very rare" gives. I don't think this is something anyone should buy who isn't just a die hard irish lover. And don't get me wrong, it's very well made whisky but it's very well made 100 dollar whisky and it's not the best of anything.