My Favorite Irish Whiskeys

In the spirit of St. Paddy’s day this week, let’s talk about some of my personal favorite Irish Whiskeys!

Jameson Black Barrel: A special place in my heart

Jameson Black Barrel has a certain sentimentality to it for me because I drink it every year around Christmas as a bit of a tradition between my Dad and me. That's a long story, but here’s what’s important to you: for just a few more dollars than regular Jameson, you get more rich of a flavor, with caramels and vanillas and even a light oakiness that makes it pop MUCH more than it’s flagship counterpart.

Redbreast 12 year: Maybe my favorite

Redbreast 12 year just might be my favorite “Go-To” Irish whiskey. It’s delicate and simple at first, but hides a floral complexity that you might not expect. I haven’t forked over the cash to by my own bottle of the cask strength version, but I have had a sample, and it is worth the hype. Those more complex notes jump up to the forefront with a bright pop that accompanies the expected sweet cookie/granola flavor… amazing pour.

Green Spot: Not my favorite, but maybe yours

Green Spot is a weird one for me. It has a certain bitterness to it that I am not too big a fan of, and I have repeatedly said reminds me of “licking an envelope”. That being said, it certainly has a cult following, so I think it deserves to be on this list. Its extremely complex, with perfumey notes coming to the forefront and your standard “typical” Irish whiskey notes taking more of a back seat (although they are certainly still there). I don’t “like” it in the sense that I find myself craving it, but it ranks highly on my list in the sense that I respect it, and I know that some day my palate might change, and it could be my new favorite.

ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT: Midwinter Night’s Dram

In case you haven’t seen, we now give away a free bottle of whiskey EVERY MONTH on the Patreon Page! This month I went with a delicious finished rye that I’ve only had the pleasure of trying once: Midwinter Night’s Dram. There are only 3 days left to enter the giveaway, but it is super easy - just sign up for one of the paid tiers of the Patreon! You will get all of the Patreon benefits (including the free gift for Novice and Expert), and you’ll automatically be entered to win the giveaway every single month. Each tier gets a different number of entries, so please be sure to read the descriptions before signing up!

Once again, I want to give a special shoutout to my friends at BondedBottleShop.com for making this possible. I have always wanted to be able to do giveaways like this, but there is no easy way to do it legally, thanks to the US’s confusing liquor laws. They have made this giveaway possible, and they have a fantastic selection, so go check them out!

Cigar Review: JR Revival

I did NOT expect to like this cigar so much, so I knew I had to talk about it in this month’s Noobsletter. This is one of April’s cigars of the Week, so if you join the Perfect Pairing Club before March 26th, you can get your own!

Construction: Maybe it’s just because I finally got my humidor dialed in properly, but no burn issues on this bad boy. I had a great draw and a solid ash for the whole smoke.

Profile: This is what really knocked my socks off. I was expecting standard Connecticut flavors, and don’t get me wrong, they’re in there, but there’s also a bright, floral sweetness that almost reminds me of a hard candy. Pair that with the sweet, creamy caramel latte notes that are closer to what you’d expect, with just a hint of spice, and this is one of the most complex Connecticuts I’ve had. (spoiler) I even said this on the podcast for this cigar… it might be one of my top 3 Connecticuts of all time.