Need Irish Whiskey Advice...

[replicant_argent]

I am a fan of any of the Redbreast variants. (My wallet isn't). Michael Collins is good stuff, and I have knocked out a bottle or three of one of their several offerings with good friends.
Killbeggan, Greenore (the only Irish Single Grain whiskey in the world), Tyrconnell, Tyrconnell Sherry Cask and Connemara (a rare Peated Single Malt Irish whiskey).

I was to have attended a tasting of all these this evening (had to back out, a guys got to pick his battles occasionally) , all of which I have had before, but what can I say, I love tasting and learning about whiskey, whisky, rum, bourbon... Some of the knowledge actually sticks for more than a week. I have an awful time keeping the single malt world knowledge inside my skull.
If you can hunt down the opportunity near you, some of the brand ambassadors put on a hell of a show and help you learn a boatload of info when they do tastings. For the investment, you can learn which you may like, not like, love, and view as crack without breaking the bank much more or even less than going to a fine pub and sampling them all. Sometimes they have a kickass food pairing as well. Oh, and it's a freakin' blast, because there are a bunch of other dru.... er... aficionados that are also there to learn and have fun.

[Porch Dweller]

Bringing this back from the dead, as Steph and I toured the Midleton Distillery as part of a cruise we were on earlier this month that went around the British Isles, plus Holland, Belgium, and France.

Arriving at hallowed ground.




Nice shot by Stephanie of one of the aging rooms.




Yes, those are all real bottles:



If you have a spare 50,000 Euros laying around, a bottle of Midleton Very Rare from every year available can be yours:



A tasting after the tour; Jameson's, Green Spot, and Red Breast. Steph's not a whiskey fan at all, but she tried a sip of each before passing it on to me. Damn the bad luck of having to finish each of hers!




The highlight of the day: bottling and labelling my own bottle of Cask-Strength Jameson Black Barrel.

[icehog3]

Super cool, James! I did the tour back in 2007, such a great experience!

[Porch Dweller]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Super cool, James! I did the tour back in 2007, such a great experience!

It really was! We'd done the Jameson Bow Street Experience in Dublin twice (2009 & 2019) but had never made it to Cork before. It wasn't quite a "bucket list" thing, but was pretty close.

[HighSierraSmokin]

What a cool experience! Great photos there.
The wife and I are thinking about going to Ireland to see friends of hers.
Might have to put these distilleries on our list.
I'd love to go to the Red Breast Distillery too.

[icehog3]

My "family" had a tour guide and a driver, Matt, but I still think it would be worth the trip.

[Porch Dweller]

Originally Posted by HighSierraSmokin

What a cool experience! Great photos there.
The wife and I are thinking about going to Ireland to see friends of hers.
Might have to put these distilleries on our list.
I'd love to go to the Red Breast Distillery too.

That's the Midleton Distillery, too. They do Jameson, Red Breast, the "Spot" whiskies, Midleton Rare, Powers, Knappogue Castle, and a couple of others.