Tyrconnell Single Malt

I'm tasting this from a sample, but Total Wine in Albuquerque sells it at $39.99 a bottle. This is only my second Irish whisky, and it's considerably better than the other (the Sexton). The nose was delightfully complex, but the taste and the finish were considerably less so. This is a good whisky, though, and at a lower price I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. The mash bill is 100% malted barley. There's no age statement, but from the light color I'd guess that it didn't spend a huge amount of time in the used barrels. The color is that of 14 karat gold (I compared it to my wedding ring when that occurred to me, and they matched). The legs are thin and short, and run at random places and times around the glass. This is an 86 proof whisky (though the Irish put an E into the word). NOSE: I had a surprise with salt water coming off first. Next there were notes of honey, meadow grass, butterscotch, and something sweet that I couldn't identify. That unknown note was very like something I can't identify in Balcones Pot Still Bourbon's nose - which is weird, because the mash bills are very different. When I put my nose fully into the glass I got an additional note of honey lemon. TASTE: It begins sour, though not unpleasantly so. There was a definite, though not extreme, alcohol burn, with a tinge of honey. Last there came something faintly woody - oak, perhaps, though it was so slight I couldn't be sure. FINISH: Short, with oak transforming to spicy oak, and ending with spice.

First Irish Whiskey

Haven’t had an Irish whiskey for a while. Really liked this easy drinker. Light and subtle.

Fruit, fresh and smooth on nose. Very balanced and strong on taste.