Review | Jameson Remixed - Caribbean Beats 21 years old

This whiskey is the second addition to The Jameson Anthology series. The Jameson Anthology is designed to show new whiskeys down one of two tracks - Remastered will be old classic expressions reinvented, while Remixed will have a more innovative and experimental edge. The first bottling, released in early 2022, sat within Remastered - the Jameson 15 years old Single Pot Still. This expression last in the Jameson's range in 2000. 

Now the inaugural Remixed bottling has been launched to join it - the Jameson Caribbean Beats 21 years old. This unique expression of Jameson has been fully matured in ex-rum casks for 21 years - the first 18 years were in American oak ex-FourSquare rum barrels from Barbados, followed by a three year finishing period in ex-Havana Club Selección de Maestros rum casks from Cuba. 

Review / Powers Irish Rye

This new addition to the Powers core range is the first ever Irish whiskey to be made from 100% Irish rye. The release comes following trials at the Midleton distillery in Co. Cork, where Powers is distilled and matured alongside other well know brands such as Jameson and Redbreast. It has used an archive recipe uncovered by Carol Quinn, the Senior Achivist at Irish Distillers. As part of the trials Irish Distillers commissioned the planting of rye crops at Cooney Furlong Farm in Co. Wexford. This was chosen due to its proximity to the ancestral home of the Powers family - Edermine House.

Review / Gold Spot 9 years old

This new whiskey from Irish Distillers is a special bottling to commemorate the 135th anniversary of partners Mitchell & Son entering the whisky bonding business. The iconic Irish wine and spirits merchant has worked alongside the company on their Spot single pot still range, where they traditionally matured whiskeys in vaults under the streets of Dublin. The Gold Spot has been aged for a minimum of nine years. It features an intriguing marriage of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks with ex-Bordeaux red wine barrels and ex-Port pipes. The Gold Spot 9 years old is released at 51.4% ABV (102.8 Proof) in a historical hat tip to whiskies from Mitchell's archive. 

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (June 10, 2022)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. 

Review / Jameson Remastered 15 years old Single Pot Still

This whiskey is the first in a new series created by Jameson, the world's biggest selling Irish whiskey brand. The Jameson Anthology series will see new whiskeys put down one of two tracks - Remastered will be old classic expressions reinvented, while Remixed will have a more innovative and experimental edge. The first bottling sits within Remastered - the Jameson 15 years old Single Pot Still. This was an expression that last appeared in Jameson's range in 2000. The whiskey is constructed of three different pot still styles, all made at Midleton distillery in Co. Cork, that have been matured for between 15 and 17 years in either first-fill ex-bourbon barrels or first-fill ex-Oloroso sherry butts.

Review / Midleton Very Rare 2022 Edition

This whiskey is the latest addition to Midleton's annual Very Rare series. The Midleton Very Rare 2021 Edition is the 39th bottling in the legendary series. It is the second to be created by Kevin O'Gorman, who is just the third Master Distiller of the series since it first appeared in 1984. He follows Barry Crockett and Brian Nation. The 2022 Edition is a marriage of old and rare single grain and single pot still whiskeys aged between 12 and 33 years old. All the whiskeys used have been matured in lightly charred American oak ex-bourbon casks - this is in keeping with previous editions of the Very Rare series.

Review / Jameson Black Barrel Proof

This whiskey is a limited edition higher strength version of the popular Black Barrel expression from Jameson. The Jameson Black Barrel Proof is bottled at 50% ABV (100 Proof in old money) and has been created to show extra depth and richness. The whiskey is a combination of triple distilled pot still and grain whiskeys, and these have been matured in three types of cask - American oak, ex-sherry and double-charred ex-bourbon barrels. It is also non chill-filtered. The Jameson Black Barrel Proof will only be available in selected retailers in Ireland, including at Dublin airport, and will cost €60 a bottle. However, the exact number of bottles in the limited release has not been revealed.

Review / Redbreast Pedro Ximenez Edition

The Irish whiskey brand of Redbreast have announced a new limited edition expression that will slot into a newly created range. The Redbreast Pedro Ximénez Edition will join the Iberian Series of Redbreast single pot still whiskeys. The Lustau Edition, which was first launched back in 2016, will also join to become the cornerstone of the series. For this PX Edition the triple distilled Redbreast spirit has been initially matured in ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. These whiskeys were then re-casked to hogshead barrels that had been seasoned with Pedro Ximénez, a sweet dessert style of sherry.

Review / Method & Madness Rye And Malt

 

This is the latest limited edition from the innovative Irish whiskey brand of Method & Madness. The Method & Madness Rye and Malt is the first product that has been distilled at Irish Distillers' micro distillery within their larger Midleton facility. The Micro Distillery began production in 2015 and this spirit was created by Katherine Condon from the distilling team. The whiskey features a cereal mix of 60% rye and 40% malted barley. This has been double distilled and then matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels. The creation was inspired by the discovery of notebooks dating back to 1857 that showed rye was being used by John Jameson III.

Review / Redbreast 10 years old

This whiskey is a limited edition one-off bottling by the Irish single pot still brand of Redbreast. It has been released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Irish Distillers resurrecting Redbreast back in 1991. The Redbreast 10 years old features three different pot still whiskeys distilled at the Midleton distillery in Co.Cork and they have been matured in ex-Oloroso sherry casks for between 10 and 15 years. It has been created by Billy Leighton, the Master Blender for Redbreast, and Blender Dave McCabe. The packaging features a retro design that draws inspiration from when the 10 years old was last on the market in the 1950s and 60s.

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (March 12, 2021)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. 

Allotment Drams / Starward Left-Field & Midleton Very Rare 2021 Vintage

We have two more episodes from our Allotment Dram series of video reviews for you. The weather has warmed up and Matt is back at the plot with a new offering from the Australian whisky brand of Starward - the Starward Left-Field. This is an Australian single malt that has been matured in three different types of Australian red wine barrels sourced from the Barossa and Yarra Valley wine regions. Watch as he talks about this European exclusive.

Then on his next visit, he looks at another brand new whiskey. This time it is from Ireland and comes in the form of the 2021 edition of the legendary Midleton Very Rare. This is the first to be released under a new Master Blender, so watch to find out more about this super premium Irish whiskey and then discover his thoughts and tasting notes.

To keep up-to-date with our latest videos and to watch previous episodes of the Allotment Dram, please visit our YouTube channel here.

#AllotmentDram

 

Review / Midleton Very Rare 2021 Edition

This is the latest release by the super premium Irish whiskey brand of Midleton to its annual Very Rare series - the Midleton Very Rare 2021 Edition. It is the 38th bottling in the legendary series. The new edition marks the first to be created by Kevin O'Gorman who is only the third Master Distiller of the series since it first appeared in 1984 and follows Barry Crockett and Brian Nation. The 2021 Edition is made using old and rare single grain and single pot still whiskeys aged between 15 and 36 years of age, including some distilled in 1984 as a homage to the origins of the series. All the whiskeys used have been matured in American oak, which is in keeping with previous editions of the Very Rare series.

Review - Blue Spot 7 years old Cask Strength

This whiskey marks the completion of re-establishing the Spot Whiskey range to its former glory by Irish Distillers in collaboration with Mitchell & Son. It joins the other members of its historical family - Green Spot, Yellow Spot 12 years old and Red Spot 15 years old. The new version of Blue Spot is bottled at 7 years of age and is bottled at the natural cask strength of 58.7% ABV - this is similar in strength to the original Blue Spot, which disappeared from market in the mid-20th century. It is a marriage of single pot still whiskeys that have been matured in ex-bourbon, ex-Madeira wine and ex-Oloroso sherry casks, and features whiskeys aged between seven and 20 years of age. 

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (November 13, 2020)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. Here is the news from this week ...

Review - Midleton Very Rare 2020 Edition

This whiskey is the latest in the long line of releases by the Irish brand of Midleton. The Very Rare 2020 Edition is the 37th edition with the whiskey released annually since 1984. It is also the final one to be created by former Master Distiller Brian Nation.  This year's edition features single pot still and single grain whiskeys that range in age from 13 to 35 years and all have been matured exclusively in lightly charred American oak ex-bourbon casks. These were then married together by Nation who picked them from a small pocket of rare stock that is being matured only for use as Very Rare. The 2020 Edition sees a higher pot still whiskey content than many previous years and an increased use of re-fill casks.

Review - Redbreast Dream Cask 28 years old

This whiskey is the third release in the Dream Cask series from the Irish pot still brand of Redbreast. The Dream Cask Ruby Port Edition is the first from the brand to be finished in a single ex-Port cask. It stems from experimentation that took place during the development of the recently released Redbreast 27 years old, which is the oldest permanent expression in the core range.

Review - Redbreast 27 years old

This whiskey is the newest addition to the core range of the multi award-winning Redbreast single pot still range. It is the oldest to appear under the brand's name and the first to feature the inclusion of whiskey matured in ex-Ruby Port casks. This whiskey is not 100% ex-Port cask matured, nor finished in them, but 'enriched with' as the label so poetically puts it.

Review - Midleton Very Rare 2019 Edition

This whiskey is the latest in the long line of super premium releases by the Irish brand of Midleton. The Very Rare 2019 Edition is the 36th whiskey released in the annual range and features single pot still and single grain whiskeys that range in age from 13 to 34 years. For this year's release they have all have been matured exclusively in lightly charred American oak ex-bourbon casks and then married together by Brian Nation, the Master Distiller for Midleton, who picks them from a small pocket of rare stock that is maturing only for the Very Rare expression.

Review - Method & Madness 'Wild Cherry Wood Finish' and 'Acacia Wood Finish'

These two new whiskeys are the latest additions to Irish Distillers' experimental Method & Madness range of whiskeys. Both continue the brand's tradition of using unorthadox casks for maturation. Both are single pot still whiskeys with one being finished in casks made from cherry wood and the other in casks made from acacia wood. Both are also bottled at 46% ABV.

The Method & Madness range was launched in 2017 carrying the tag line of 'when knowledge and discovery collide'. The range is designed to push the boundaries of Irish whiskey and showcase some of the most innovative work that the blenders, coopers and distillers are producing. It also aims to combine the creativity of the whiskey makers and enthusiasm and fresh ideas of their apprentices. Many of the experiments are taking place at the Midleton Micro Distillery in Co. Cork.