At first glance you’d expect Suntory Ao Whisky to be a Japanese brand – and it is – but there’s an Irish Whiskey component in it’s blended make-up.
The Irish Whiskey in question hails from the Cooley Distillery in Co. Louth.
Suntory own Cooley – along with Kilbeggan too – and Ao celebrates the internationality of Suntory’s global reach by using whiskies from Scotland, America, Canada, Japan & the aforementioned Ireland to create this World Whisky.
I’ve not yet manage to sample the delights of Ao – yet I did see it available in Travel Retail at Dublin Airport.
Seems a very apt venue to offer this well travelled World Whisky in!
Given the s**t show that’s English politics right now I thought it time to crack open this English Park Whisky to celebrate the demise of Liz Truss.
Purchased as an exercise to see if Amazon.co.uk could continue to offer a service to Ireland post Brexit – English Park was the only bottle that made it through.
All the others failed to arrive – just like those mythical ‘benefits from Brexit’ soundbites Liz was fond of spouting.
So what of English Park Whisky?
Well the bottle presentation is pretty cool.
Clearly capitalising on the patriotic fervour ensuing in England with Union Jack emblems there’s nonetheless attention to detail shown by ‘1835’ embossed on the front neck as well as ‘Double Oak’ on the rear & a neat representation of a still complete with worm-tube too.
The sales patter had me lost however. It’s in a language not familiar to me.
Turns out to be slovak – where the whisky is distilled by the Nestville Distillery.
So how does English Park taste?
Not too bad!
Exhibiting a deep golden brown with decent legs in the glass. There is no mention of chill filtering or natural colour I can make out.
A warm caramelly nose.
Smooth & easy palate, slightly warming.
The finish offered up an entertaining biscuity malt with hints of burnt oak that raised the experience.
Found English Park a very approachable drinking blend with enough depth to keep it quaffable.
I admire the entrepreneurial flair of whomever produced this brand to get it to the masses. I also admire the distillery for putting together a perfectly palatable blended whisky.
Independent bottlers That Boutique-Y Whisky have done a few of them over the years & this World Whisky Blend made up of distillate from around the world is a celebration of the art of blending.
A soft nose greeted me with the merest hint of smoke.
Nice & easy delivery, lovely sweet grain, touch of depth.
Growing complexity on the rear leaving with a tingly drying sensation.
A very engaging blend to sip & savour!
The Whistler, The Good The Bad & The Smoky, Blended Malt, 48%
Image courtesy Boann Distillery
The Whistler series are part of Boann Distillery’s growing range of sourced spirits with witty names showcasing their blending & bottling prowess.
How could I resist The Good The Bad & The Smoky?
Soft & smooth palate slowly builds in intensity.
Opens up into a glowing hearth fire on the rear finally exhibiting The Smoky – which up until now had been subdued.
Neither the nose nor the palate kind of let you know what this one develops into!
Very intriguing!
Thoughts
If it was on the name only – The Good The Bad & The Smoky would win hands down.
But on the taste & overall experience?
Well The Whistler was certainly a bit of a rollercoaster of a ride alright – if slightly unexpected at the end.
That Boutique-Y came across more of a balanced easy drinker if anything – with a bit more complexity too – so for that reason the World Whisky Blend gets my vote!
By the way That Boutique-Y inform me this blend is made up of distillate from; Scotland, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, USA, Switzerland, Netherlands, Taiwan, India, Italy, Germany, France, Japan & Finland.
Viewing the whisky world via the optics of tartan spectacles leading to undue bias – intentional or not – towards Scotch, positioning it on a pedestal beyond reproach, usually coupled with scant regard – veering to disdain – for whisky producing countries that aren’t Scotland.
My first encounter with this affliction was a few years ago.
A Scottish internet publication invited non Scottish cities citizens to give a flavour of whisky spots within their environs.
One resident had proclaimed there were no whisky distilleries in this particular location – despite myself having visited one!
The sufferer had such a bad dose of Scotch Centrism they were blinded & unable to see the distilleries operating in their own backyard!
The Scottish publication in turn failed to do any checks & subsequently released this false information.
A more severe example pertains to rules.
Sufferers believe any whisky produced outside of Scotland that doesn’t comply with SWA – Scotch Whisky Association – rules is basically ‘not doing it right’.
Effectively this shows a complete lack of respect for the different ways each country make their own whisky – and verges into cultural imperialism.
Such a position belittles the ‘other’, limits diversity & stifles innovation in the global whisky category.
A final – often milder – example is where the Scotch Centric drinker eventually does get round to sampling a non Scotch whisky & invariably expresses surprise at how enjoyable & well presented it is – often with a hint of patronisation thrown in.
Luckily Scotch Centrism isn’t a permanent condition.
Sufferers merely need to ditch the tartan glasses & open themselves up to a whole new world of enjoyable tastes & flavours.
Treating countries with different rules to those of Scotland with the same respect & having an open mind – and palate – to exploring their produce helps too.
Perhaps then we can learn a bit of ‘kinship, belonging & inclusiveness’ – to borrow an Irish Distillers marketing missive – & ‘Widen The Circle’ along the way when we’re at it.
Sláinte
Tartan glasses courtesy zazzle.com All other images authors own.
I’m always excited tasting a trio of whisky from the same source to compare & contrast their range.
These Nikka Whisky were purchased from Drams Delivered in Killarney.
Nikka Blended, 40%
No longer listed on the Nikka Whisky website, this blend offered up soft caramel notes with hints of malty depth. A sweet fruity palate with an attractive drying bite on the finish – suggestive of some peat influence.
An attractive easy style of whisky with a touch of character.
Nikka All Malt, 40%
I’ve encountered this unusually packaged & delightful blended malt before – so how will it fare on a 2nd outing?
Hints of old leather on the nose. Soft & smooth palate dries out with a prickly kick on the rear.
Not as fresh as I remembered. Could it be my memory? – Or a fading bottle?
Nikka Super Old Rare, 43%
The bottle design enticed me, but the price – when available – deterred, so this sample is a compromise.
More leathery notes on the nose. Rich & warm palate. Definitely a more pronounced peat hit on the finish with this one!
My favourite!
Thoughts
Without a doubt Super Old Rare won out in this trio.
The freshness of the Blended also impressed – but I was a little deflated by All Malt.
All 3 are well put together & showcase the Japanese blending prowess – even if none of them comply with the latest Japanese Whisky Rules.
But then that’s never been an issue with me – it’s the taste that counts.
I’m happy to keep on drinking Nikka Whisky with this enjoyable trio!
I used to have a bottle ceiling price of 100 – euro or sterling – but with escalating costs & criticism of rising bottle prices I’m revising that down to 50.
Rather than simply moan about the situation – I’ll take action.
At first you might think my choices would be limited – but when you begin to look – there’s a surprising amount of highly entertaining & enjoyable spirits to be had.
In the sub €20 white rum category I found surprising variety. Liberté from Lidl won out here. Press on the highlighted links to be diverted to my reviews.
Dunnes do a highly engaging sub €20 whisky by the name of JG Kinsey.
Single Pot Still c/oTTB/Colasonline
All of Royal Oak Distillery’s output – blend, single grain, single malt & single pot still – is below €50 & thoroughly decent they are too.
However – most of the above attract little attention & appear to be looked down on by the blogging community.
Budget doesn’t mean a lack of taste, flair or character. It might mean a lack of bragging rights & exclusivity and it certainly involves a degree of exploration to find the one that suits your palate – which is part of the fun.
But looking down on such offerings & the folks that drink them is nothing but snobbery – which is never attractive.
To me this is evident in the almost total rejection of Conor McGregor’s Proper Twelve brand within Ireland – despite it becoming the 4th biggest selling Irish Whiskey in the world after only a few years.
It’s also behind the lack of reviews for the correctly labelled Kyasuku World Whisky.
For €30 you get an attractively presented Mizunara casked whisky blended & matured in Japan.
Only fools would turn their noses up at such an opportunity given the clamour over inflated prices for similar product.
The companies – as far as my basic economics goes – are after all doing what they’re meant to – boosting profits for the shareholders.
And no – I won’t be missing out on high end stuff.
There’s been a positive explosion of on-line tastings, bottle swaps & exchanges, clubs & societies as well as good old fashioned pubs & whiskey shows where opportunities arise to taste the delights – or disappointments – beyond reach.
My nearly 120 bottle selection is always open for exchange – Irish based only – so get in touch to try out something new.
For me, tasting & exploring is far more important than owning.
One emerging market everyone is keen to get in on is Africa – Nigeria in particular.
With a population estimated at 200 million – making it the 7th most populous nation in the world – and an alcohol sales figure of 2.84 billion dollars in 2014 – who wouldn’t want to have a slice of that cake?
Indian whisky is to the forefront here – at least until Nigeria develops it’s own distilling industry.
India produces mass market blends usually consisting of imported bulk malt from Scotland – augmented with Indian grain – plus a dash of added caramel.
All the big players – Diageo, Pernod-Ricard, United Spirits & others all have their own particular brands in this category. I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying a few here, here & here.
They retail – in Lagos at least – for about €5 per 750ml bottle of Nigerian strength – 43% – whisky.
Black & Blue Premium Whisky c/othewhiskeynut
My latest acquisition – via my Nigerian correspondent – is Black & Blue Premium Whisky.
The name is entertaining.
A play on the successful Black & White Scotch mixed in with the premiumisation associated with Blue (a la Johnnie Walker Blue) – and the unfortunate association attached to ‘battered black & blue.
It’s not clear as to the origins of this brand.
The label has a London address – a rather drab office in Kingsbury NW9 – and oddly a phone number – which rang out when I called.
Oh – I think ROI in this instance means Republic Of India.
All the information you need? c/othewhiskeynut
I’ve not yet encountered any Irish whiskey in this segment of the market.
So what does ‘the finest oak aged matured malt blended with Indian grain spirit’ taste like?
Well – there is a burnt quality to the nose. I couldn’t describe it as smoky or peaty – yet it’s rather attractive. Mainly as it dampened down the sweet caramel influence.
This followed through into the taste – which didn’t offer much regards depth of flavour or complexity – but it was smooth & approachable.
The burnt note returned on the finish – which along with the 43% strength left a decent degree of heat & warm feeling on the palate.
Sláinte! c/othewhiskeynut
It certainly didn’t leave my insides black & blue.
Just pleasantly intoxicated.
Sure at only a fiver – what can you complain about!
World Whisky Day is fast approaching on Saturday the 19th May 2018.
As part of the build up I’m featuring a series of blogs – both old and new – over the next month focusing on a country from each letter of the alphabet – if possible – that makes whisky.
Today is Z for Zed.
But Zed doesn’t need any whiskey – because in the famous lines uttered by Bruce Willis’s character in Pulp Fiction – Zed’s dead.
There are a few countries that begin with Z however.
They are very much alive and by all accounts they have a growing penchant for whiskey.
Zimbabwe is one of them.
I had the pleasure of sampling a bottle of Best Whisky from Westside Distillers in Harare.
Best Classic Whisky c/othewhiskeynut
Now the name is a bit of a misnomer – it’s clearly not the best.
Best Whisky appears to be a blend of ‘Premium Grain Spirit & Finest Scotch Whisky’ according to the label.
It also has a healthy dose of added caramel & comes over rather sweet, devoid of any real flavour yet packs a lovely glowing heat.
A robust little blend.
There is another company.
African Distillers also in Harare but with satellite offices throughout the country.
They too do a whisky.
Gold Blend c/oAfricanDistillers
I didn’t manage to get my hands on this one so what exactly it is a blend of I don’t know.
Either way there is obviously a growing demand that is being satisfied by local producers, blenders and bottlers.
As their skills grow you can only assume the Best will get better.
World Whisky Day is fast approaching on Saturday the 19th May 2018.
As part of the build up I’m featuring a series of blogs – both old and new – over the next month focusing on a country from each letter of the alphabet – if possible – that makes whisky.
Today is Y for Yemen.
Yemen doesn’t do whiskey.
It currently does war.
Which is destroying it’s rich history, culture and people.
One of those historical people who lived in the territory we now call Yemen was a character by the name of Jãbir Ibn Hayyãn. He was an early alchemist and is credited with inventing the alembic still – which to this day is the basis of modern distillation.
One thing Yemen does produce is coffee. It happens to be where the coffee craze originated from – at least according to an article here.
An enterprising American spirits maker has sourced some of those coffee beans and used them in a brandy based liqueur.
I give you Firelit Yemen Blue Bottle Coffee Liqueur.
Firelit Coffee Liqueur c/ogoogle
It may not be whiskey.
But it does provide a link to one of the founding fathers of modern day whiskey making.
Without Jãbir Ibn Hayyãn and his experiments in Yemen – there would be no alembic still – and no whiskey.
WestmeathWhiskeyWorld 