In Preperation For St. Paddy's Day, What's Your Favorite Irish Whiskey?

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May 9, 2018
1,687
86
Raleigh, NC
Alright, it's time to button down the hatches and gear up for some merriment, celebrations, good food, and of course...some Irish whiskey. I know I will be likely celebrating in style, just hate it falls on a Sunday this year. I want to toast a glass of some fine Irish whiskey, but never really ventured much into the field past Jameson, Tullamore Dew and a little Bushmills.
Most of my whiskey tasting as been in or around American bourbons, and for good reason. We make a lot of good whisky, but I'm more interested in what you think are the best tasting Irish whiskeys that are on the market. So what say you, pipe faithful? Name me a good Irish whiskey to toast y'all with!

 

techie

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 20, 2018
589
10
My favorite so far is Jameson Gold Reserve. Expensive at around $100 but it's outstanding - far different than the regular Jameson. My next favorite, if you want to try one other than the usual offerings, is The Irishman Single Malt (about $35). Knappogue Castle 12 Year is another good one.

 
May 8, 2017
1,593
1,627
Sugar Grove, IL, USA
Well, my favorites are Redbreast (any version, but most like the cask strength) and Midleton Very Rare, but all of these are pricey. Connemara is a nice peated whiskey. But for St, Paddy’s Day, it’s got to be Paddy’s! Cheap and pretty darned tasty. It will appeal to bourbon drinkers more than most other Irish whiskeys.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
From distant memory, I remember enjoying Jameson more than Bushmills. I admit that when I buy a bottle of whatever, it can sit around for years. A good thing and a bad thing. A bit of Irish coffee for St. Pat's is a good thing.

 

techie

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 20, 2018
589
10
Knockeen Irish Poteen - had to look that one up! I don't think I'll find that one in any shops near me. Lol.

 

mau1

Lifer
Jan 5, 2018
1,124
837
Ontario, Canada
I'll crack open a bottle of Green Spot Irish Whiskey that I have sitting in the cabinet, and compare it to a bottle of Redbreast that's half done. A wee dram of both for tasting purposes, and then sit back and chose one for the evening.

 

seldom

Lifer
Mar 11, 2018
1,035
940
The family and friends I have in Ireland generally drink Powers. Same with me although I also drink a fair amount of Tullamore Dew.

Powers my friends. It's a nice whiskey without the hullabaloo. Best selling whiskey in Ireland.

 

mau1

Lifer
Jan 5, 2018
1,124
837
Ontario, Canada
Of my 8 great-grandparents, 7 were Irish and one was French. My mother's family came to Canada about 1840. My French ancestor came to Canada in 1658. There were less than 1,000 French settlers in New France then.
I honour both cultures, but on St. Patty's Day, I pour some Irish whisky and put on a couple of albums from my extensive collection of The Chieftains.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Green Spot is good. Redbreast is good. I'll always be happy with a good old shot of Jameson, though. I have a gig on the day, so I'm sure I'll be partaking. It's at a retirement community, though, so I'll probably not go too crazy!! :D

 

timelord

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 30, 2017
949
1,966
Gallifrey
Bushmills Single Malt would be my favourite Irish - well, my dad used to live 30 mins from the distillery. But for St P's I have some real Poteen.

 

gerryp

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 8, 2018
704
2,368
56
Arabi, LA
Jameson is a good sipping whiskey, but most people around here shoot it. I recall liking Bushmills Black Bush more...it's been a while, I should revisit that one.
Tullamore Dew is smooth enough for a shot, but is also good for sipping. Its versatility makes it the winner in my book.
Tully Pheonix is even better, but too expensive to not sip it.
The bar I worked in sold a lot of Powers. It's up there with Jameson/Bushmills base models, maybe a little more complex.
Honorable mention: At under $20, 2 Gingers is a very good option.

 

didache

Can't Leave
Feb 11, 2017
480
8
London, England
Jameson, Bush (Black), and Powers are almost a trinity of common Irish whiskeys. All will serve you well.
But moving up a class, I add a vote for Redbreast - a much superior drink.
But even better than that imo is Teeling - it probably isn't that easy to find, but very well worth the effort and the cost.
https://teelingwhiskey.com/age-check/
Mike
PS - I lived just down the coast from the Bushmills distillery - on a clear day with the wind in the right direction, I swear you could smell it!

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,249
108,349
No whiskey here.
Blacks-Spiced-Irish-Rum-776x1176.jpg

How Rum Became an Irish Drink

 
May 9, 2018
1,687
86
Raleigh, NC
I just slipped by my local ABC store, as some of you might know, you have to go to a special, stand alone store in North Carolina to buy liquor, and that's all they have. Well, except for a few mixers.
I was looking at the options and saw Redbreast 12 year and 15 year, Teeling, Powers, Paddy's, Jameson, Bushmill (Original, Black, and Red). The Redbreast is certainly the most expensive, but does sound really good, especially the 15 year. It's $105 a bottle. I wouldn't mind picking it up, but I think I might just dial back a few notches.
Teelings is really sounding good to me at the moment, but you're right about Paddy's, it's nice and cheap. Teelings isn't far off at $35 a bottle.
Jameson and some of the others are nice, I like them a lot, but I think I want to stear in a direction of something a little different this year.
Duane, that was an interesting read. Makes me want to get a bottle of rum too!

 
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