And Counting...
I was nearly organizing my whiskey collection the other day ("nearly" means moving bottles from one place to another vs. what might generally be considered "organizing"). That's when I noticed the numbers of new Irish whiskeys introduced this year. I started counting the ones on hand and others that either haven't joined me or been introduced to the U.S.
Best Guess
My count is preliminary but I came up with 14 new Irish whiskeys introduced in 2011:
Greenore 18-year-old
Kilbeggan 18-year-old
Tyrconnnell 11-year-old bourbon cask
Tyrconnell 11-year-old sherry cask
Connemara Amontillado finish single cask
Red Breast 12-year-old cask strength
Writer's Tear's cask strength
Green Spot
Midleton Barry Crockett Reserve
Powers John's Lane Reserve 12-year-old
Titanic 5-year-old
Titanic 10-year-old
Knappogue Castle 16-year-old Twin Wood
Michael Collins 10-year-old single malt
I include the Titanic whiskeys as they were announced in Belfast in May (at the site where the iceberg-bound ocean liner was built) though I haven't yet seen them available. I also include Green Spot, while not a new brand, as the re-issue is essentially a new whiskey within the Midleton Single Pot Still line. Similarly, I left the "regular" Red Breast 12-year-old off the list as it was a re-packaging of the existing whiskey.
So that's 14, and counting, not yet 10 months into the year.
I'm sure I have left others off the list. Who did I leave out?
Sláinte!
Best Guess
My count is preliminary but I came up with 14 new Irish whiskeys introduced in 2011:
Greenore 18-year-old
Kilbeggan 18-year-old
Tyrconnnell 11-year-old bourbon cask
Tyrconnell 11-year-old sherry cask
Connemara Amontillado finish single cask
Red Breast 12-year-old cask strength
Writer's Tear's cask strength
Green Spot
Midleton Barry Crockett Reserve
Powers John's Lane Reserve 12-year-old
Titanic 5-year-old
Titanic 10-year-old
Knappogue Castle 16-year-old Twin Wood
Michael Collins 10-year-old single malt
I include the Titanic whiskeys as they were announced in Belfast in May (at the site where the iceberg-bound ocean liner was built) though I haven't yet seen them available. I also include Green Spot, while not a new brand, as the re-issue is essentially a new whiskey within the Midleton Single Pot Still line. Similarly, I left the "regular" Red Breast 12-year-old off the list as it was a re-packaging of the existing whiskey.
So that's 14, and counting, not yet 10 months into the year.
I'm sure I have left others off the list. Who did I leave out?
Sláinte!
Great list! I wouldn't be surprised to see another single cask from the CWS before year's end (it wouldn't be Christmas otherwise).
You've said before on this blog that Green Spot changed with the repackaging but I checked that with an IDL guy who knows the score and he said it hasn't. Someone asked the same question at our recent Pot Still tasting with Liam Donegan. Again, the answer was "definitely not".
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We have Millar's here in Michigan, both the blend and Single malt.
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Good list. Up in Toronto they also have red breast 15 years. Delicious stuff.
So, separate question and couldn't see contact info for you. I was at an Irish fund dinner last night and won a bottle of very rare Irish whiskey called rourkes. Apparently it's dated around 1908 and worth about $5,000. Picture here: kab-oom.com
I can't seem to find any info on it anywhere online but wondered if you or any of your buddies might know anything.
Cheers,
Kb
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