Powers John's Lane Release 12 Year

As much as I love Scotch and bourbon, I'll never turn down a good Irish single malt/single pot still. This one happens to be the latter, and a highly-regarded one at that. Let's get into it. Nose: Immediately I get some green apple, pear, and honeydew. Shortbread cookie, toffee, malt, honey, and vanilla. Nutty as well: roasted chestnut, pecan, walnut, almond, cashew. Caramel and a rare biscotti note. A little apricot and just a touch of poundcake, plum, and raisin. Oak, clove, nutmeg. After considerable time in the glass, I get some tropical notes: coconut, pineapple, and, orange. Strong nose. Palate: More of the green apple, pear, and honeydew, as well as the shortbread cookie, biscotti, toffee, honey, and vanilla. Caramel and milk chocolate. Roasted pineapple, zesty orange, and ginger spice. Plum and raisin. More walnut, chestnut, toasted almond. Oak. Finish: Plum and raisin all the way. The almond, walnut, and chestnut are also present. Then the spices hit. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and a respectable hit of oak. Long finish, which is impressive at 46% ABV. One of my new favorites. Definitely one of the best values coming out of Ireland. Dangerously drinkable but also very complex. Along with the Knappogue Castle Wine Cask finish series, this sets the standard for 12-year old Irish Whiskey; scratch that, Irish whiskey in general. Fantastic value. I paid $67 and it was worth every damn penny. It's a hair behind Knappogue Castle's WCFS offerings--which quite honestly says a lot. Impressive whiskey, one that I'd highly recommend to any experienced drinker.

I've got an irish or two to add some notes on here, this one was one that a friend just keeps raving about and I saw it at a store I get credit for buying bottles at and for 65 bucks I said, why not. Throw in I had an expensive car repair, and the itch to buy new bottles is much less damaging to my wallet with this one. I'll just add, almost certainly colored but non chill filtered. Nose - So the first thing that pops into my head is bubble gum and a light touch of "stone" fruits (a stolen tasting note). The more I dig in the more I think of that white powder on the bubble gum that used to be in baseball cards. After that I get a touch of a spice and a bit of unfinished cut oak. Taste - So right off the bat there's this butter and vanilla driven sweetness from first fill bourbon casks. The whisky then gives off very distinct notes of irish unmalted barely which I can only describe as grainy and a bit unrefined. The whisky then transitions to a very pleasant spice, which I will say when I first opened this, it was a bit much on the spice so i'm not sure if my prior dram has softened me to this, but I'm finding the spice much more enjoyable and less of a "bit much" right now. There's a hint of chocolate and there's a bit of a sherry fruit element, it's soft and subtle but those sherry cask are just barely saying hi. The finish I get the classic irish smooth and mellow cream and soft oak finish. The only other thing I got when I really swirled this around in my mouth and let the whisky saturate everything was a hint of grape fruit on the finish. This is something I get often on these 10-14 year old mostly bourbon cask whiskies, but this is a first on an irsh vs a scotch. I rather like that finishing note myself. I'll be blunt, this one blew me away for the price and frankly for being 46% and irish. I wasn't expecting much. I honestly think this is about as nice an irish whisky that you can get for the money and it's a darn good 12 year old whisky in general. 2.5 score. I know that might seem low but wowing me from the price isn't the same as being a wow whisky. This is a very nice pour, and frankly any 12 year old irish being over a 2.0 is a real accomplishment. A really well made product at an affordable price.

The nose is starting to get to me... overripe fruits. Almost spoiled it.

N: Vanilla cream with peaches and pears. Some more tropical (mango) and floral scents emerge, maybe even a hint of banana. As it opens, a cereal note blends in with the fruit and kinda comes across as Fruit Loops, just subtler. Fun. Light ethanol seems ever-present - not enough to numb you, but can't escape it either. P: Cold (menthol?) stone fruit drops on you first. Then it gets supple and oily - like mixing whipped cream and olive or peanut oil (texture, not flavor), and yet somehow it works. There's a salty bread in there too. The fruit moves toward tropical and soft, ripe pear over time. Spices build through the pour: cinnamon early, moving to black pepper for sec, then settling at mild chili pepper. And that finish lingers for quite some time. I threw one ice cube at it (as I do almost always) and I think, more than most whiskeys, this evolved as it warmed and diluted. Worth trying that. I think there are slightly better, more complicated Irish single pot still whiskeys out there, but barely. A fascinating dram on the whole.

A dark and brooding whisky, with a nose of overripe bananas, and maple syrup. Thick on the palate, darker fruits show. Medium finish, with a built up burn after a couple sips. Definitely a thinking whisky, perfect for outdoors, cold winter nights.