The March 8th meeting/tasting of the River City Whisky Society a great turn-out with 36 folks attending. And with this meeting being so close to St. Patricks Day we went with an Irish Whiskey theme, of course. We actually took that a step further and did a comparison of finishes in Irish Whiskey.
We began with Bushmills Original and compared that with the Bushmills Black Bush, which is matured in a Sherry cask. We then had three different expressions of Tyrconnell. Each 10 years old but with different finishes: Sherry cask, Madeira cask and Port cask.
As is our practice each of the tasters provided ranking and notes as they deemed fit. The following is how they were ranked and a few notes from our tasters:
Fifth Place: Bushmills, The Original, Blended, 40% ALC, $19
Notes: Citrus Nose, Bitter Nose, Slight Oaky Nose, Tastes of Light Honey, Flat Finish, Leathery Aftertaste, For Lighting Fires.
Fourth Place: Bushmills, Black Bush, Blended, 40% ALC, $28
Fruity/Citrus Notes on the Nose, Floral Taste, Strong Start, Pinot Grigio Taste on the Back End, Light Spice Finish.
Third Place: The Tyrconnell, 10 Years Old, Single Malt, Sherry Cask Finish, 46% ALC, $73
Apple on the Nose, Sweet on the Nose, Deep Flavor of Dark Chocolate, Taste of Maple Syrup, Long Sweet Finish.
Second Place: The Tyrconnell, 10 Years Old, Single Malt, Madeira Cask Finish, 46% ALC, $73
Strong Fruit Nose, Honey & Vanilla on the Palate, Sweet Mellon Taste, Coats the Palate, Wonderfully Spicy Finish.
FIRST PLACE: The Tyrconnell, 10 Years Old, Single Malt, Port Cask Finish, 46% ALC, $73
Heavy on the Nose with Floral, Brown Sugar Taste, Cherry Taste, Lots of Caramel and vanilla, Creamy Thick Finish.
The Port Cask Finish Tyrconnell not only came in first place but it did so by a large margin!
And if my research is correct, it appears the Catholics beat the Protestants this year at our tasting (most of you will get it).
Thanks to everyone who came out to the tasting and to everyone who has taken the time to read this post.
Slainte,
Doug