Go Leor
January marked another month of growth and good news in the Irish whiskey world. As the headline implies, it was good news go leor, the Irish Gaelic for "abundance" that made it into English as "galore."
Let's take a look:
Beam completes Cooley Acquistion
That's a check-mark in the scheme of things, really, but nothing in business is done until it's done (it's done!). Cooley have so many good things happening -- i.e., whiskeys in the works -- so it will be fascinating to see how, which and when some of those new products make it into Beam's distribution system.
You may have tried either the 40% Bunratty or Knockeen Hills poitín/poteen before. This is a cut above. I'll write more about it soon.
Time in the Wood
Check out their promotional video. It has some nice footage of Cooley's Riverstown, Co. Louth distillery in operation. There's also an intro to the whiskey from Cooley's Master Blender, the ever-affable Noel Sweeney, Cooley Brand Ambassador John Cashman and the Vineyard's John Concannon.
In The Wood
Back to time-in-the-wood again, this time with Knappogue Castle's Twin Wood 17-year-old single malt released in late January.
Quite logically, of course, it follows on the KC 16-year-old Twin Wood from last year, which was aged 15 years, 3 months in bourbon casks, followed by 9 months in Oloroso sherry butts. If you do the math you'll see that the 17-year-old spent 15 more months in the sherry wood. Both are limited releases. Best guess is that they are distilled at the Old Bushmills Distillery. I'll be hunting the 17-year-old down soon for a tasting. Retail is around $100/bottle.
Getting Our Irish Up
The US Distilled Spirits Council last week reported that Irish whiskey sales in 2011 in America outpaced those of single malt Scotch whisky. Irish whiskey sales rose 24 percent last year to 1.7 million cases, compared to a 9.5% rise to 1.4 million cases for single malt Scotch. IDL/Pernod Ricard's push on Jameson sales is a big reason for that, as is increased consumer awareness of the category. Yes, that is very good news and matches what we see out there in the market. But remember that total Scotch sales are closer to 9 million cases, including blended Scotch whiskys that account for 90 percent of all Scotch shipments worldwide.
Whiskey/whisky sales overall are on the rise. All boats on a rising tide, as they say, and Irish whiskey justifiably is both a main reason and a chief beneficiary.
Worth Chirping About
Red Breast sales in the US alone are expected to post a 50 percent increase this year to 15,000 cases from 10,000 in 2011. It is the quintessential Irish Single Pot Still whiskey in America, as Green Spot, Powers John's Lane Release and Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy are not available at retail in these parts. The widely available 12-year-old and its 15-year-old brandmate are now being joined by the 12-year-old Cask Strength. We've had spottings of the Cask Strength release in the Boston area last week. To badly paraphrase a more nobly stated sentiment, some people look at Red Breast cask strength on the shelf and ask "if". We look at it and ask "how many."
Go get it. It's wonderful stuff.
If you need more authoritative validation of this advice, Whisky Advocate magazine named Red Breast 12-year-old Cask Strength as the Irish Whiskey of the Year.
There's much more to report, including the last and next Irish Whiskey Society of America tastings, but we'll stop there for now.
Sláinte!
Let's take a look:
Beam completes Cooley Acquistion
That's a check-mark in the scheme of things, really, but nothing in business is done until it's done (it's done!). Cooley have so many good things happening -- i.e., whiskeys in the works -- so it will be fascinating to see how, which and when some of those new products make it into Beam's distribution system.
As for when, I'm at least marking July 26, 2014 in my calendar. That's when Cooley's single pot still poitín -- at least the spirit in bottles that I have (Rotation 232/11, distilled 26/07/2011-- may first be available as single pot still whiskey. It's a very nice spirit that can turn into a even nicer whiskey after time in the wood. About 1,800 bottles were released late last year, and at 65% ABV. It's available only at the Celtic Whiskey Shop at and at the Irish Whiskey Collection duty free shop at the Dublin Airport for around $35.
You may have tried either the 40% Bunratty or Knockeen Hills poitín/poteen before. This is a cut above. I'll write more about it soon.
Time in the Wood
Speaking of Cooley and time in the wood, Livermore, CA, winery Concannon Vineyards teamed with the distiller to finish a four-year-old Cooley blend for four months in Concannon's Petite Shirah wine casks.
It's actually a mix of Cooley grain, bourbon cask-aged Cooley malt and Cooley malt finished in the wine casks. The result is Concannon Irish Whiskey, introduced last month. I'm looking forward to trying it soon. Post your impressions in comments here if you've had a chance to try it. Suggested retail is $24.99Check out their promotional video. It has some nice footage of Cooley's Riverstown, Co. Louth distillery in operation. There's also an intro to the whiskey from Cooley's Master Blender, the ever-affable Noel Sweeney, Cooley Brand Ambassador John Cashman and the Vineyard's John Concannon.
In The Wood
Back to time-in-the-wood again, this time with Knappogue Castle's Twin Wood 17-year-old single malt released in late January.
Getting Our Irish Up
The US Distilled Spirits Council last week reported that Irish whiskey sales in 2011 in America outpaced those of single malt Scotch whisky. Irish whiskey sales rose 24 percent last year to 1.7 million cases, compared to a 9.5% rise to 1.4 million cases for single malt Scotch. IDL/Pernod Ricard's push on Jameson sales is a big reason for that, as is increased consumer awareness of the category. Yes, that is very good news and matches what we see out there in the market. But remember that total Scotch sales are closer to 9 million cases, including blended Scotch whiskys that account for 90 percent of all Scotch shipments worldwide.
Whiskey/whisky sales overall are on the rise. All boats on a rising tide, as they say, and Irish whiskey justifiably is both a main reason and a chief beneficiary.
Worth Chirping About
Red Breast sales in the US alone are expected to post a 50 percent increase this year to 15,000 cases from 10,000 in 2011. It is the quintessential Irish Single Pot Still whiskey in America, as Green Spot, Powers John's Lane Release and Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy are not available at retail in these parts. The widely available 12-year-old and its 15-year-old brandmate are now being joined by the 12-year-old Cask Strength. We've had spottings of the Cask Strength release in the Boston area last week. To badly paraphrase a more nobly stated sentiment, some people look at Red Breast cask strength on the shelf and ask "if". We look at it and ask "how many."
Go get it. It's wonderful stuff.
If you need more authoritative validation of this advice, Whisky Advocate magazine named Red Breast 12-year-old Cask Strength as the Irish Whiskey of the Year.
There's much more to report, including the last and next Irish Whiskey Society of America tastings, but we'll stop there for now.
Sláinte!
You'll be trying the Concannon long before us, I think, since it's bottled on your side of the Atlantic. We will taste it vicariously!
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Having retired two bottles this weekend, I splurged by opening 4 bottles that I had not tried. One was Redbreast 12 Cask Strength, replacing the regular Redbreast 12 retired. It is certainly different from either the 12 or 15 Y.O. I found it enjoyable, although the alcohol changes the nose occasionally. Connamara Cask Strength was also tasted. I was unsure what to expect from this. I am not a heavy peat lover. I found the peat to be obvious, but not overpowering. I think that I will enjoy this as an occasional beverage. The Jameson Select reserve, Black Barrel edition was a pleasant surprise. Hopefully it will get wider distribution, although I am set for awhile. The last selection was the Irishman 70, or as they place on the label now "The Original Clan Irish Whiskey". It was quite enjoyable. Makes me look forward to the time that I can open the Single Malt and Cask Strength.
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