Whiskey_Hound
Powers John's Lane Release 12 Year
Single Pot Still — Ireland
Reviewed
August 17, 2020 (edited April 25, 2021)
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.
67.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@Whiskey_Hound. Thanks for the tip! I was able to find the Pichon and the Marchesi di Barolo. I'm anxious to try both!
@jonwilkinson7309 Whichever one you can still at this point. I love all three, but if I absolutely had to choose, I'd recommend the Pichon Baron
@Whiskey_Hound. What Knappaugue Castle WCFS do you recommend? I'd like to explore KC more.
@Soba45 Yeah and that character just hasn't clicked with me yet. I imagine someday it will, but so far it's not for me.
@Soba45 whatthef🤬 that just makes no sense. Whatever about import tax, alcohol tax here is just too high
@1901 I'll annoy you further. Here in the arse end of nowhere it's €55 :-)
@ContemplativeFox The oilyness is the potstill nature of the spirit...i love it! :-)
Nice review, and like you this is one of my favourites. When you talk about VFM it annoys me that this is far cheaper in the US that it is in Ireland. Here it is €70 (approx $85)
@Whiskey_Hound I've tried Bushmill's, Redbreast, Teeling, yellow/green spot, and some of the other low end ones. I've like some of the high end ones there like the yellow spot, Bushmill's 16/21 and Redbreast 21 pretty well, just not as well as I thought I should for the money. There's this oiliness to most of them that I'm just not a fan of. I've been wanting to try Knappogue, Powers, Slane, and a few others though and I actually have several samples in the closet. Always on the lookout for recs though so I can cut through the chaff :)
@ContemplativeFox Which ones didn't cut it for you?
I still haven't found much Irish whiskey I've liked all that much. Maybe this will make me a convert :)