Back in May I wrote a blog entitled ‘Irish Whiskey – Which Way Forward?‘
I posed the question could Irish Whiskey deliver a suitable supermarket brand own label to compete in that category which hitherto was largely absent of Irish product.
I’m pleased to say Aldi 26 Year Old Irish Reserve has answered that question.
Irish Whiskey can deliver!
Irish whiskey is on the same shelves – in the same supermarkets – competing on the same level playing field with Scotch – and by all accounts – it’s winning!
Whiskey fans in Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales are currently driving round to Aldi stores attempting to hunt down this elusive whiskey.
Ay Ay Ay Yeah! As this up coming Irish band sings.
My own local store in Athlone still didn’t have it 3 days after the advertised release date ! So to avoid disappointment I drove up to the next store in Roscommon to secure a bottle.
But then a few days of anxious nail biting that I wouldn’t get a bottle has to be put into perspective of the 26 long years this whiskey has spent maturing quietly in oak barrels before I finally managed to actually drink it.
Now I’d normally like my aged whiskeys to be non chill filtered with no added caramel & preferably at cask strength – but this attracts a three figure price tag. In the meantime Aldi release a 26yo at only 50 euro – so it’s 40%, probably chill filtered & probably with added caramel.
So is it worth it?
Sure!
Now the nose is rather soft & delicate for such an aged expression. Just a hint of the depth of character with vanilla & soft fruits coming through.
Initially the taste is rather soft too, but slowly develops into a lovely rich and dry mouth feel which delivers a wonderfully warm tingling burn.
It’s in the long lingering finish that the whiskey begins to shine for me. Gently releasing the oak tannins, soft fruits with hints of vanilla & caramel from the decades in oak barrels – which I take to be ex-bourbon.
Sit back, sip, savour & enjoy.
Irish Whiskey is definitely back in town!
Sláinte.
WestmeathWhiskeyWorld 
Thanks for the blog , I’m going to try and pick some up today, Midlands UK , wish me luck !!
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Happy hunting!
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That one sounds really nice. I never had any of Aldi’s premium malts so far, but I tried some by Lidl and was pretty impressed. If Aldi launches some nice bottles here in Germany before Christmas, I might end up grabbing one.
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Getting a bottle is hit & miss in Ireland – so good luck in Germany!
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@Whiskey Nut do you have a Instagram account ?
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No. Should I?
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Strong on the fruit on the nose mucker, good whiskey over all. Just tried it tonight. Have the 29 year old scotch too but will try on my 29th birthday in December. Cheers for the blog man
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Glad you found Irsh Reserve in the UK.
Some folks had difficulty getting hold of it in Ireland.
Enjoy the 29yo – it didn’t make it over the water – so let me know how it went.
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Good review of what I’m sure is a fine whisky. I blog solely about affordable Scottish single malt whisky but this has given me a little bit of an enticement towards trying the Irish stuff. Interestingly, Irish whisky is nigh on always triple distilled which gives it its usual sweet and smooth character; the only Scottish distillery to do the same is Auchentoshan making triple distilled whisky somewhat of a novelty to a Scotsman.
An enjoyable read, thank you.
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