ctbeck11
Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey
Blended — Ireland
Reviewed
November 23, 2021 (edited December 1, 2021)
Nose - cereal grain, ethanol, lemon, shortbread, green apple, peach, bitter herbal and floral notes, cinnamon, vanilla, mild to moderate ethanol burn.
Taste - light caramel, vanilla, cereal grain, cinnamon, ethanol, lemon, apple skin, orange zest, shortbread, bitter herbal notes, dusty corn, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing short with shortbread, bitter citrus, and light baking ethanol flavors.
Coming off the heels of Blue Spot, I’m ready for a disappointment with this one. And I got one. Well, maybe it’s not a disappointment if I was expecting it, but I digress. The nose is quintessential cheap, young Irish whisky. It’s mild, grainy, slightly citrusy, moderately bitter, and blandly sweet.
There’s really not much to say about this one. It’s a worse version of Bushmills Original and Jameson, and probably closer in quality to the Total Wine Busker miniature I tried a while back. It’s not undrinkable, but I wouldn’t actively choose to drink this again. Thank you to @ContemplativeFox for providing the sample!
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@cascode Yep, it has that classic, grainy Irish profile that soured me to the category originally. I’m glad that prejudice is being overturned by some of the better expressions I’ve tried more recently.
"Cheap young Irish" sums up the whisky and the original "creator" (LOL) / promoter.
@Ctrexman Writers’ Tears has been on my radar for a while now, but I never get around to buying one. First recommendation I’ve received for Black Barrel. I’ll add that one to my list.
In fact Im gonna pick up another bottle of Black Barrel to see if its as good as I remember
@ctbeck11 Redbreast is still my favorite but for lower cost Jameson Black Barrel and Writers Tears are tough to beat. They blow away the standard issue stuff for low mid $30s
@Ctrexman I wholeheartedly agree. Sipping on some Redbreast tonight, and the Proper Twelve feels like a long forgotten fever dream.
I pithy the fool.......seriously Ive never tried this and wont. Black Bush is decent solid Irish but I think the step up to a pot still blend or pure pot still is well worth the extra expense.
@Scott_E We’ll see. I bought them both thinking I’d likely be disappointed, but figured they’d be nice additions to my week of Irish whisky reviews. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
@ctbeck11 the best laid plans…. However, Plan B seems to be the better plan. Enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving!
@Scott_E @DjangoJohnson Well I stopped by the liquor store today to pick up a Bush, but left with a Dingle and a Redbreast Cask Strength. Still no Bush.
@DjangoJohnson @ctbeck11 The Bush of Black is a fine one as well, IMO. Same price range as the red. Pairs well with a mild cigar.
@ContemplativeFox @ctbeck11 I don't mean to play it up too much. Mainly I like it because it's about as good as Tully or Jameson and it's 21.99 in stores in my region, so if I'm looking for an 80-proof shooter or mixer, or even something to just end the night easily, Red Bush does the trick. Black is probably higher quality, but it's also about 8$ more where I am.
@DjangoJohnson Thanks for the recommendation. I’ve always skipped over the Red in my mind for some reason. I’ll give it a try.
@DjangoJohnson I haven't tried that one yet. I'll have to give it a try :)
@ContemplativeFox I think I prefer my Bush of the Red variety. More cost effective, better than White and sweeter.
@ctbeck11 Yeah, I'd take black bush any day.
@ContemplativeFox At least it’s priced in reasonable territory, slightly higher than Bushmills Original and lower than Jameson. Only a dollar or so cheaper than Black Bush though, and Black Bush is more than a dollar better than this one.
Yep, this was not a good dram. I don't get all of the fuss about it. I mean, aside from the branding.
@pkingmartin Haha it was heading in that direction, but not quite. It was bitter and pithy, which I’m guessing is why you hated it so much.
Did you get the flavors of UFC fighters choke-holding and elbowing your tastebuds? I feel like 🦊’s bottle had those in it whereas other bottles might not and could be much better.