Irish Whiskey Awards 2021, My Blind Judging Results

The Irish Whiskey Awards 2021 were held – in person – at the wonderful Powerscourt Distillery.

Limited capacity excluded my attendance – but I did contribute my blind judging results for the awards.

Blind judging is a great leveller.

Presented before you are identical vials – codes are used to identify the whiskey inside.

Blind judging c/othewhiskeynut

No logos, no back stories, no information as to distillery of origin or casks used, no fancy bottle or labelling, not even whether you’re tasting single malt, grain or blended whiskey.

Just the vials, a glass & your palate.

It’s the most transparent & honest way to explore the flavours of the whiskey before you.

For 2021 I received 3 packs of whiskey for scoring – I, L & B – & didn’t attempt to guess the category or whiskey sampled so as to concentrate on the flavours & differences between each offering.

The reveal – always after the awards evening – gives an insight into my palate preferences.

Category I – Single Malts 12 to 15 Years

Consisting of 12 entrants my average score was 72.5 with a difference of 6.

I found these to be variations of a common theme – not surprising as only 3 or 4 distilleries were producing back in 2009 or earlier – with very tight scoring.

There was a winner,

Jack Ryan Founder’s Touch

With 4 sharing 2nd spot only 1 point behind – Tullamore DEW 12, Gelson’s 12, Pearse 12 Founder’s Reserve & Lough Ree Bridge Series Elfleet Bay.

The actual Award winner was Gelston’s 15 – which came below average in my scores.

Category L – Cask Strength

8 entrants, average score 73.8, difference 6.

Again a lack of diversity with tight scoring.

My winner was,

Dark Silkie Cask Strength

I didn’t detect the peat influence yet it obviously mattered as Dark Silkie was 2 points ahead of the trio that came 2nd – Natterjack CS, Teeling Fill Your Own SPS & a surprise entrant, The Brollach.

Award winner Dunville’s PX 12 CS again was below average.

Category B – Blended, Limited Release

12 entrants, average score 75.9, difference 12.

This category pleased me no end! A more diverse & entertaining array of whiskey resulted in higher overall scores.

A clear winning podium produced,

The Whistler, Calvados Cask

As winner with stablemate Whistler Imperial Stout 2nd & Pearse Marriage Of Malts 3rd.

Award winner was Writer’s Tears Ice Wine Cask.

Thoughts

Congratulations to all the IWA 2021 winners.

They have captured the popular tasting profiles of the judges participating & are clearly crowd pleasers.

They are however not my palate choices. None of the winners broke beyond my averages scores.

By presenting my winners I’m being honest & transparent as to what tickles my tastebuds.

The blended limited release category offered me a far greater diversity & heightened enjoyment all round.

Given too that almost all my winners used sourced product it suggests to me more attention is given to the blending & maturation process over distillation techniques by the brands involved.

These scoring results are also reflected in the content of my blog.

Everyone’s palate is unique & one person’s winners might be another’s losers.

Enjoy what pleases your palate & don’t be afraid to say so.

I enjoy blended whiskey best!

Sláinte

Bottle images courtesy Celtic Whiskey Shop & Sliabh Liag Distillers.

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Dingle Single Malt Batch 4 & Dingle Distillery Reserve, 46.5%

Attending the Irish Whiskey Awards 2019 has it’s attractions.

Like having a tour round the fabulous – and extremely shiny – copper pot stills of Dingle Distillery itself.

Gleaming! c/othewhiskeynut

As well as tasting the latest Batch 4 release – along with a special Distillery Reserve.

Apart from the spartan label – I had limited time to ask questions. It is fully matured in port casks was all I could glean. Perhaps it’s a component of Batch 4?

Distillery Reserve c/othewhiskeynut

The rich dark fruity nose was a delight.

Very gentle on the palate to begin with. It took a while for the wonderful port influence to make it’s presence known – but when it did – very rewarding.

Not overly complex, it’s youth hadn’t developed hidden depths. A simple yet satisfying single malt.

Batch 4 by comparison was more rounded – even cultured – with greater depth courtesy of the triple barrel ageing  – bourbon, port & sherry.

Batch 4 at Dingle c/othewhiskeynut

The nose was gentle & light – yet the palate opened up right from the start.

Sweet warming vanilla & caramel from the ex-bourbon casks mingled with darker fruits from the port interwoven with a gentle drying spice from the sherry.

There was a lot going on and plenty to pull out from this one.

Both were highly enjoyable single malts displaying differing flavours & influences from the woods matured in.

It also demonstrated – to me at least – the art of blending different individual single malt components together to build a more layered & complex whole.

A big thank you to Dingle Distillery for the warm hospitality & conviviality displayed throughout the evenings awards.

Sláinte

My Blind Tasting Irish Whiskey Awards 2019

Hot off the heels of the actual Irish Whiskey Awards 2019 are the results of my own blind tasting findings.

It certainly won’t attract as much fanfare – but it might be of interest to any readers out there interested seeing where my palate goes.

Blind tasting to me is the ultimate leveller.

It’s just you, your palate and the whiskey.

There is no information – not even the categories – and I love it!

There are simply identical bottles filled with whiskey for the judges to sample, rate and enjoy – which is exactly what I did.

This year I only managed the one tasting session – and the results were broadly similar to my previous findings.

Category B

34 entrants – average score 74.

Such a large group of entrants could only be Irish Blends Under €60 – which it was.

My scores were very tight. Ranging from 70 – there were a few – right up to 81 – of which there was only one.

Dunville’s Three Crowns Peated, 43,5%.

Dunville’s 3 Crowns Peated c/oCelticWhiskeyShop

No contest really. The only peater in the pack. I love peat.

2nd & 3rd followed closely.

Pearse 7 Year Old Distillers Choice & Pearse 5 Year Old Original Blend.

Category D

4 entrants – average score 73.5

Correctly guessed as New Irish Whiskey.

Scores ranged from 70 to 77 and again reflected a ‘work in progress’ theme to the offerings.

My clear winner?

Dingle Single Malt Batch 4, 46.5%.

Batch 4 at Dingle c/othewhiskeynut

Category E

4 entrants – average score 78

The power of these suggested Irish Cask Strength – and so it proved to be.

Scores ranged from 73 to 81. The winner turned out to be the biggest surprise of the session.

Wild Geese Untamed, Cask Strength, 65%.

Wild Geese Untamed c/oTTBOnline

Didn’t see that one coming! A welcome return for Wild Geese Whiskey.

I wish all the entrants – especially all the winners – both my own personal preferences as well as the actual winners – much future success.

Sláinte

Irish Whiskey Awards – Blind Tasting

It’s that time of year again when preparations for the Irish Whiskey Awards – to be held in Dingle Distillery on October 17th 2019 – begin with an invitation to members of the Celtic Whiskey Club & Irish Whiskey Society along with other industry representatives to attend a series of blind tasting sessions to select the winners for the evening.

Having taken part for a number of years these sessions give a wonderful insight into the current Irish Whiskey scene – provide a chance to meet up with fellow whiskey fans – and test your palate to find the whiskey that suits!

2018’s entrants were both varied, enjoyable & to my palate at least – great quality.

Breaking with previous protocol – no categories were given – so you could only guess if you were having a single grain or single pot still simply by what your palate told you – and I often guessed wrong!

The following are the results of my 2018 blind tasting.

Irish Blends Under €60

This is usually one of the most hotly contested categories with the largest entrants – and biggest sales!

My scores (out of 100) were rather tight – ranging from the low 70’s to mid 80’s. Out of 25 blends – average scores were 77. I only gave 4 marks of 80 and above.

Top of the pile was Dunville’s Three Crowns Peated.

Dunville’s Three Crowns Peated c/oCelticWhiskeyShop

A decent peated blend is always a favourite of mine!

Following closely behind was Clonakilty Port Cask Finish,

with Dubliner Whiskey Master Distiller’s Reserve & Pearse Distiller’s Choice coming in joint 3rd.

Single Malts Under 12 Years

Also with 25 entrants – this was a bumper field reflecting the growth in Irish Whiskey.

With a slightly higher average score of 79 there were 9 bottles with scores of 80 & above.

The winner? Connemara Single Malt .

Connemara Single Malt c/oCelticWhiskeyShop

Peat wins out again!

3 joined in 2nd place; Dunville’s PX12 Year Old, Jack Ryan Toomevara 10 Year Old & Tyrconnell 10 Year Old Port Cask.

Single Grains

I really enjoyed this category of only 7 entrants. I found them all to be clean & refreshing whiskey with a good depth of flavour & complexity which resulted in a high average score of 83.

In a closely fought contest featuring a head to head to discern the winner – Teeling Single Grain just pipped the post ahead of Hyde #5 Burgundy Finish.

Teeling Single Grain c/oCelticWhiskeyShop

Cask Strength

A small yet powerful field of only 4. All scored above 80 with an average of 82.

Congratulations to The Whistler 7 Year Old Cask Strength.

The Whistler & Year Old Cask Strength c/oCelticWhiskeyShop

Joint 2nd winners were; Hyde 8 Year Old Single Grain Cask Strength & Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength.

New Distilleries

Again a small field of only 4 with a varied selection of entrants. The low average of 77 reflects a certain ‘works in progress’ as to the quality – and age? – of product coming exclusively from the newest whiskey distilleries in Ireland.

There was a clear winner however.

Dingle Single Malt Batch 3

Dingle Single Malt Batch 3 c/oCelticWhiskeyShop

Kilbeggan Small Batch Rye & Pearse Lyons Distillery Reserve Cask Strength came in joint 2nd.

I find it reassuring to note some of the same names keep cropping up in my winning choices; Teeling, Hyde & Dingle for example. And it should come as no surprise I enjoy a dash of peat – along with a good bourbon cask matured whiskey. Although if a finish is required port & sherry seem to do well!

I raise a toast to congratulate all my winners – and the actual winners on the evening here.

Looking forward to see what 2019 brings!

Sláinte

Many thanks to all at the Celtic Whiskey Shop for organising the tasting sessions as well as the awards ceremony itself & the bottle images above.

Irish Whiskey Awards 2016

Tullamore Distillery c/othewhiskeynut

An added bonus at the Irish Whiskey Awards 2016 was being shown round the new Tullamore Distillery.

Tullamore Warehouse c/othewhiskeynut

Barrels aplenty quietly maturing in the warehouses.

Tullamore Distillery c/othewhiskeynut

The spotless condition of the production floor.

And a glass of Phoenix Whiskey straight from cask.

Tullamore Phoenix c/othewhiskeynut

Phoenix – a mythical bird that rose from the flames of;

a) The early 20th Century crash of Irish Whiskey Distilling and it’s subsequent rebirth today.

b) The closure of the original Tullamore Distillery in 1954 and it’s glorious new awakening in 2014.

or

c) The 1785 hot air balloon disaster that burnt half of Tullamore down after the balloon allegedly hit a distillery chimney.

You could say that for option c) – it was a bit of a Hot Ride!

Slainte

PS  – A bonus prize for naming all the whiskey celebs under the Phoenix!

Mix Master – Cut Faster

We were greeted by a mixologist at the Irish Whiskey Awards 2016.

Expertly adding a touch of glamour using Tullamore DEW Original whiskey.

There was style,

Flair,

And a degree of performance,

And that was just the moustache!

 

Sláinte

Irish Rye?

Brian Nation‘s speech at the recently held Irish Whiskey Awards 2016 held in the fabulous surroundings of the Old Bonded Warehouse in Tullamore certainly piqued my interest.

A number of points were raised that particularly caught my attention.

The first was the spectacular rise of Irish Whiskey in the global market and how everyone associated with ‘BRAND’ Irish Whiskey – from producers to publicans, distributors to bloggers – had a duty of care to promote and protect the integrity of that brand.

Oh dear!

Was my first thought.

I’ve just been branded myself!

But what is Brand Irish Whiskey and who defines it?

Before I could process those thoughts another key word leapt out at me.

Innovation.

There certainly has been some wonderful innovation in the Irish Whiskey scene lately.

The new entrants into the market have been at the forefront of this in my opinion.

A trio of Teeling c/othewhiskeynut

The multi award winning Teeling Whiskey Company use rum casks to finish their Small Batch blend and Californian wine casks to add flavour to their Single Grain. Neither casks being commonly used. Single Grain is also unusual. Before Teeling Single Grain was released Greenore – now renamed Kilbeggan Single Grain – was the sole representative in this category.

Both these Teeling expressions won Best in class awards on the evening with Kilbeggan Single Grain winning Gold.

West Cork Distillers are also new entrants and have been making spirits often under the radar of the mainstream.

The Pogues Irish Whiskey c/othewhiskeynut

The bold design of their Pogues bottle together with the brand association attached to the famous/infamous group – depending on your preference – was certainly innovative.

Criticism has often been attached to the quality of the liquid inside West Cork produced offerings yet winning a Gold Award for the Galway Bay Irish Whiskey release certainly raises their game and puts them in the spotlight.

The pour c/othewhiskeynut

Midleton themselves -the brand owners of Irish Whiskey during the years they were the only players in the field – haven’t been caught napping.

Using whiskey casks that have previously held beer for the growing Irish Craft Beer scene to mature Jameson Caskmates has certainly been a hit that is now being expanded into other markets.

Makers Series c/othewhiskeynut

The new Makers Series offer some innovative stories to the spirit although I did find the liquid rather ‘safe’. Nonetheless 2 of the releases won Gold Awards.

The most exciting innovation of the evening however almost made me re-enact that famous scene from ‘When Harry Met Sally’

MIDDLETON ARE GROWING RYE IN IRELAND!

Now it won’t be harvested until early spring 2017 and a further minimum of 3 years at least before any spirit can be released – but as a confirmed lover of rye – I can’t wait!

Luckily for me I didn’t have to.

A couple of kind gentlemen from across the pond had informed me beforehand they had brought over something special.

Whilst the Corsair Triple Smoke blew me over it could be categorised as an ‘extreme’ whiskey. I did love it however.

The Emerald c/othewhiskeynut

The Emerald release from Ransom Spirits of Oregon was far more approachable however and much more pertinent to the Irish Whiskey brand.

Made using barley, oats and rye to an 1865 Irish Whiskey recipe uncovered by some research this stunning whiskey is satisfyingly smooth yet rich in mouthfeel coupled with a delightfully long rye spice finish.

Emerald to me have captured the PAST of Irish Whiskey in a bottle of the PRESENT.

When you know Brian Nation and his colleagues are poring over old Jameson recipes from the early 1800’s that included rye and oats – as well as currently growing rye in the fields around Enniscorthy – then couldn’t this be a representation of the FUTURE of Irish Whiskey?

I certainly hope so!

It’s innovative.

It’s traditional,

And it’s out now.

Gorgeous!

 

Irish Whiskey Awards 2016 Picking The Winners

It’s that time of year when the great and good of the Irish whiskey world gather together in a celebration of distillation. This years event takes place in Tullamore with a visit to the new Tullamore Distillery and an awards evening in the Old Bonded Warehouse on October 20th.

The new Tullamore Distillery c/othewhiskeynut

As part of the process to pick the winners – members of the Celtic Whiskey Club and the Irish Whiskey Society were invited to a blind tasting of the competing expressions.

I made my way up to Dublin for the day to add my scores to the collective pot and found myself in a basement hotel room carefully laid out with 38 identical whiskey bottles – along with a half dozen barrel aged beers – to rate.

Let the judging commence! c/othewhiskeynut

The bottles were arranged in their respective categories;

Irish Blends up to 60.

Irish Blends over 60.

Irish Single Pot Stills.

Irish Single Casks

Irish Barrel Aged Beer

The only way of differentiating them was the bottle code for scoring, the colour and the very subjective taste preferences of the judges.

All entrants have to be commercially available in Ireland in October. Other than providing the required sample bottles to The Celtic Whiskey Shop by the allocated date there is no entry fee and ticket sales for the evening are forwarded to charity.

I started with the entry level blends.

What struck me straight away was the uniformity of colour on display.This saddened me. The variety and differences in blended whiskey are what excite me – both visually and taste wise – yet presented here to all intensive purposes were 15 bottles of identical dark golden brown liquid.

My fears of added caramel were confirmed as in one expression after another the dominant – and at times overwhelming – note encountered was sweet. My poor scores reflected this disappointment. A few did have some pleasant fruit notes coming through together with  a welcome spice. Some were rough – most were smooth – but there wasn’t much that excited me.

I expected a noticeable increase in flavour and quality in the blends above 60 category as experienced last year. Despite the average scores being slightly higher at 66 as to the former’s 63, that all important “more bang for your bucks” wasn’t forthcoming. At least the colour variation was more pronounced.

Colour variation c/othewhiskeynut

Oh dear! Perhaps my 3 weeks in Australia tasting some knockout single malts, ryes, bourbons and wheat whiskies had jaded my palate.

I moved onto the barrel aged beers.

Now I must admit to a benchmark brew in this style which all others are judged on. Trouble is – it’s not Irish! There was one dark beer that came out close however. It had a noticeable whiskey nose together with less carbonation giving it a more heavy feel – much to my liking.

I should point out my method here. Out of an average 3ml sample I possibly tasted and swallowed half. The other half ended up in the spittoon after having been swirled round the mouth for further evaluation. In between each sample a full measure of water was consumed to cleanse the palate and rinse the glass. I must have drank about 2 litres of uisce during the process. A hearty lunch and some hot tea also split the session in two and aided to my relative sobriety at the end of the day.

It was after that lunch I attempted la creme de la creme of Irish whiskey – the Single Pot Stills.

Using a combination of malted barley and unmalted barley in the mash, I was looking for – and happily found – the signature soft spice together with some rich fruity notes. The variety was much more pronounced in terms of colour, flavour profile as well as strength. I distinctly thought one entrant was simply a watered down version of another! The average scores rose to 73 for the packed field of 13 entrants.

Only in the big reveal on awards night will all my hunches be either confirmed – or more likely dashed. The new Redbreast Lustau release was rumoured to be in the mix somewhere. Was it one of my winners?

Redbreast Lustau c/omaltymates.com

For me however – the best was yet to come.

The Single Casks had only 5 entrants. All scored highly with a 77 average and one stood out.

Fuller of flavour and richer in style, I dispensed with the spittoon to immerse myself in their beauty. My winning dram on the day happened to be the smokiest entrant and I fear I’m turning into a peathead!

Peat c/othewhiskeynut

A further sample of this expression went down equally delightfully as the first – well – I did have to re-check my initial scores!

The craic agus ceol was mighty during the session. Judges came and went but all added their penny’s worth to the growing banter and collective scores.

If you haven’t already joined either the Celtic Whiskey Club or Irish Whiskey Society – isn’t it about time you did?

Slainte

It’s A Dirty Job But Someone’s Gotta Do It!

Who would have thought that an invitation to taste – sample and rate some of the best whiskeys that Ireland has to offer for the Irish Whiskey Awards 2015 ceremony to be held on October 15th in Dublin could end up being such an arduous task?

As Faith No More sang – We Care A Lot.

I maybe should have taken a leaf out of former President Clinton’s advice when it came to hard drugs – “I didn’t inhale”. Well I sniffed whiskey and swallowed. Pretty dam good it was too – but after about a 30 sample score for the day – it had the potential to be messy – which thankfully it wasn’t.

I would however recommend – both for my future health as well as anyone else who cares to indulge in these events – the correct use of the spittoon.

Sniff – Slurp – Swirl – Spit – Score.

For an informative and entertaining blog on attending whiskey events click here.

The particular event I attended was hosted by the Celtic Whiskey Shop who advised on the scoring method to be used.

Sniff the whiskey – score out of 25 for aroma..

Slurp the whiskey – swirl round the mouth for taste – score out of 25.

Spit the whiskey out into the spittoon – score out of 25 for the finish.

Finally give another score out of 25 for overall impressions and balance.

Giving a total score out of 100 for each whiskey tasted.

I’m a bit apprehensive about scoring my whiskeys as such. I find tasting such a subjective and personal experience rather than the objective and clinical approach that judging should be. It takes a lot of the whiskey tasting fun out of the equation – but nonetheless I was here to judge so that is what I did – and it soon became fun too!

For the sake of uniformity all judges were given a NEAT glass each with which to sample the whiskeys. Now I’ve not encountered this glass before – I tend to use a smaller version of the classic tulip shaped Glencairn glass – whereas the NEAT has a more flat thistle shape to it – handy for printing a logo on the bottom? –  NEAT claim it enhances the aromas as well as delivering a controlled sample across the tongue – I’d agree with the latter but uncertain on the former.

NEAT glass c/o thewhiskeynut

I should also say that all the whiskeys were sampled blind. They were presented in identical clear bottles with only the colour variation to differentiate them before tasting and an alphabetical/numerical code to match the score sheet.

My first category to try was the Irish Single Grains. As there were only 3 competitors in this field it probably isn’t difficult to guess which expressions they are. My scores reflected my previous encounters with these lovely smooth whiskeys and only a point separated the top two – but are my tastebuds up to guessing which particular expressions they were? All will be revealed on awards night!

My downfall occurred during the very large Irish Blended Whiskey under 60 euro with 17 entrants. I started here as it’s probably the most likely category I’ll buy regularly.

Judging the blends c/o thewhiskeynut

To begin with I eschewed the spittoon wishing to sample as many fine whiskeys as possible. It quickly became apparent that not all the blends were actually fine – some were – some weren’t – and I’d end up exceedingly drunk if I swallowed the whole taster. So never before have I thrown away so much whiskey. I should have brought along an empty bottle to decant the remains into – but I didn’t – and by the time I thought of it I was mildly intoxicated and couldn’t be bothered.

Anyway I soldiered on. My scores ranged from a poorly 64 up to a nice 83 with most being in the 70’s bracket which I would call grand – in the Irish meaning way. I can’t wait to find out who I gave my top mark to!

A hearty lunch was called for to soak up the alcohol together with a large glass of water. I ventured forth into Dublin city centre which was basking in the brilliant sunshine that had eluded Ireland all summer. Pity I was sequestered in a hotel basement tasting whiskey – hence the title of this blog!

Suitably refreshed I returned for more categories. The 3 entrant slate for the Irish Whiskey Barrel Aged Beer lot started the afternoon proceedings gently followed by Irish Single Casks again with 3 offerings and then the Irish Blends over 60 euro.

There were also a few more judges about and discussion soon started comparing our experiences. I was reassured when 2 other judges also chose the same top scorer as myself for the Single Casks and in an interesting turnaround – my top scores were another judge’s bottom scores across 3 separate categories! At least there was consistency in our differing tastes and remarkably – our ratio of top to bottom scoring was also consistent! Perhaps there is something in an objective approach to scoring whiskey! I do think it has to be blind though as seeing the expression comes loaded with a whole set of previous assumptions and experiences of the brand.

Time was marching on however and aware I had a train to catch I resisted the large Irish Single Pot Stills category to go for another small field in the Irish Cask Strength Whiskeys.

Now I know I’ve expressed difficulty with cask strength before – how much or how little water to put in – but I had been encouraged by others that the entrants were very palatable and showed off their colours when tasted neat and I must state -neat, neat, neat is how I like my whiskey – cue another video.

Indeed loud music was how I was feeling with so much fine whiskey consummed – but after a dash for the train all I had on offer was my trusty ipod and some repetitive dance tracks to accompany my journey west. I felt devastated finding out there was no trolley service to quench my whiskey buzz. By the time I got home it was like the famous scene from Ice Cold In Alex – except it was the tea I was after!

It’s the tea I’m after! c/o thewhiskeynut

So there you go. A day out judging Irish Whiskey. I’ll have to wait for the big event on the 15th October to find out not only which expressions I tasted – but which ones came out top in their class. Not only will it be a great showcase for the best in Irish distilling – but a test of my judging abilities.

I’m excited at the prospect!

Slainte,

Whiskey Nut