With St. Patrick’s Day rapidly approaching (March 17th), it’s definitely time to dig into some Irish whiskey. I already grabbed a dozen Irish whiskeys off my shelf and blind tasted them to find the best out there. But that was a little slanted. Can you really blindly taste cheap whiskey against limited edition and very expensive whiskeys and expect the more aged expressions not to dominate? Sadly, no. Craft and time in the barrel are sure to win the day.
This time around, I’m tasting eight affordable Irish whiskeys. I’m also doing it double-blind so I don’t know what’s in play. I simply asked my wife to pick out eight bottles that all cost less than $40 — it’s easy to spot the cheaper stuff thanks to metal twist tops and nothing fancy on the label (like “single barrel” or “limited edition”). She then poured all eight and put the bottles back. I came in a started tasting and taking notes.
The results were actually pretty surprising. Here’s how it shook out.
Part 1: The Taste
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
There’s a light grain note with a hint of leather jacket, orchard fruit, and “spice” on the nose. The palate is pretty light and touches on orange zest, a hint of vanilla beans, and a sugar cookie sweetness. Beyond that, the sip just kind of disappears on the finish.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
There’s a thin maltiness on the nose with a touch of vanilla that’s all dominated by rum-raisin. Old cellar beams with plenty of black mold lead towards a very mild dry tobacco with a hint of “fruit.” The end is short and warm with a hint of dark soil on the finish.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
This is warm and malty and bursts with apple Jolly Ranchers on the nose. The palate holds onto that apple candy and adds vanilla and spiced malts with a hint of red berries, sweet caramel, and Honey Nut Cheerios with a line of mineral water.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
Lemon citrus, wildflowers, and sweet grains lead towards a dark fruit leather that draws you in (Jameson?). There’s a vanilla and holiday spice mix on the palate with roasted almonds and a touch of wet sweet oak. The finish has this creamy texture that’s damn near chewy (Jameson.) with a final hint of mineral water and grains.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a chocolate-caramel candy nose that’s touched with old leather and dry straw. The palate is all creamy milk chocolate with a mild mid-palate of dark fruits and light spice. The finish leans into roasted almonds with a grainy spice and a hint more of that chocolate.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with pears and vanilla next to new leather and an echo of “oak.” The palate is “woody” in a sense that it’s not distinctly any particular wood while notes of neutral grain spirit mingle with raisins and the plastic bottle that held vanilla extract.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
The nose mixes leather and grains with orchard fruits and winter spices. The palate leans into the spicy malts as old pub furniture dominates the palate in a very nostalgia-inducing way. The finish is warm and leans into a vanilla-laced candy bar with mild chocolate and nuts.
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
A light touch of caramel, vanilla, and almond are dominated by pear on the nose with a hint of oak. The palate has an orange/honey vibe that leads to Almond Joy wrappers and a nutty cinnamon roll.
Part 2: The Ranking
8. Tullamore D.E.W. — Taste 1
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $28
The Whisky:
Tullamore’s entry-point whiskey is a blend of triple distilled grain, malt, and single pot (malt and unmalted barley mash) whiskeys. Those spirits are then aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks before blending.
Bottom Line:
I’m shocked this came in last. I generally love Tullamore D.E.W. as a table whiskey, especially with some soda water or ginger ale. Alas, here we are. It wasn’t so much as this was thin, there just wasn’t a lot going on to keep my attention or make it memorable.
7. Bushmills The Original — Taste 3
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $27
The Whisky:
This is Bushmill’s classic and original recipe (so to speak). The grain and malt juices are rested in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks before they’re married, proofed, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
Besides the apple candy, there wasn’t a whole lot going on. This really felt like a whiskey and Coke or whiskey and ginger pour than anything else.
6. Proclamation Blended Irish Whiskey — Taste 6
ABV: 40.7%
Average Price: $36
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is a blend of Irish whiskeys sourced from distilleries all around Ireland. The whiskeys in the mix are mostly aged in ex-bourbon casks with a few barrels of sherry cask-aged whiskey thrown in there too.
Bottom Line:
This faired far better against whiskeys in its price range than against rare bottles of Irish whiskey, which is no surprise. In the end, this felt like a perfectly suitable mixing whiskey.
5. Teeling Small Batch — Taste 2
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $40
The Whiskey:
Teeling was the first distillery to reopen in Dublin after nearly a century of tough times for Irish whiskey. The craft distillery ages its juice in bourbon barrels before transferring that whiskey to Central American rum casks. Those barrels are then batched, proofed, and bottled in Teeling’s big, dark bottle.
Bottom Line:
I kind of had an inkling this was Teeling. I’m not a huge fan of their Small Batch but adore their older and more bespoke releases. I guess that’s why this fell very middle of the road for me today too.
4. Jameson — Taste 4
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $30
The Whiskey:
Jameson is the classic tripled distilled Irish blend. The juice is a blend of single pot and grain whiskey. Those age in oak — primarily ex-bourbon barrels with ex-sherry thrown in too — until they hit that classic sweet spot.
Bottom Line:
That creamy finish really saves this sip. And, yes, I knew it was Jameson. Still, this had a little more depth overall and felt like it could work on the rocks as easily as with some ginger, Sprite, or Coke.
3. Busker Single Grain — Taste 7
ABV: 44.3%
Average Price: $33
The Whiskey:
This grain whiskey is a blend of two casks. The majority of the whiskey was aged in ex-bourbon barrels with a small contingent coming from whiskey aged in Marsala casks from Sicily. Those barrels are blended and then proofed down before bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was pretty damn nice for what it is. There was some depth and it felt like it could be a nice on the rocks sipper but was a little non-specific too. Regardless, this felt like it’s worth the money for something slightly different that’s also perfectly fine.
2. Grace O’Malley — Taste 8
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $38
The Whiskey:
This whiskey begins as barrels of three to 10-year-old whiskeys. Those whiskeys are then aged in a range of barrels from French oak wine casks to ex-bourbon to rum casks. The blend is built from those barrels and then proofed down to a very accessible 92 proof.
Bottom Line:
This also faired far better against Irish whiskeys in its price range. There was a good flavor profile that feels like it’d stand up in a highball with fizzy water or a cocktail. I don’t think I’d pour one on the rocks but I wouldn’t turn one down either. It’s was very solid in the end.
1. Kilbeggan Traditional Irish Whiskey — Taste 5
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $27
The Whiskey:
Kilbeggan is an outlier Irish blend. The whiskey is only distilled twice, instead of the usual three distillations most Irish whiskey goes through. That juice is then aged for over four years in ex-bourbon casks before it’s blended, proofed, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever had this particular expression from Kilbeggan before — I know I had their rye last year. Anyway, it was so unique on the nose and palate thanks to that choco-caramel vibe that it stood out and rose above the rest. That chocolate depth really felt like it’d shine well in a cocktail or maybe as a shot with a Guinness back.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Kilbeggan came out of nowhere on this tasting. With so many whiskeys carrying a very non-descript “grain,” “fruit,” and “wood” note, it stood out for having truly unique flavor notes. But let’s not go crazy, it was still obviously a very inexpensive whiskey that’s mostly made for mixing and on the rocks pours in a pinch. It’s not life-changing.
Overall, I expected Bushmills, Tullamore, and Jameson to dominate and they… just didn’t. They were fine but really felt like mixers all around. I’d say the Grace O’Mally and Busker were big surprises too. They’re fairly new to me (in the grand scheme of things) and are perfectly suitable for mixing and shooting your way through another Saint Patrick’s Day.
