Sherry Casks Galore

Considering Cork is the city where Viagra is produced, it might not come as a big surprise that Jameson Whiskey is the other major export from this area. After a full day yesterday with Kevin O'Gorman at the distillery, I had a good chance to try some exceptionally good whiskies.

As with all big brands (ie Glenfiddich, GlenGrant), they are rarely what ticks the boxes for the extreme malt-talibans. Same with the regular Jameson I guess.
But, it takes no more than to go to the 12yo expression to realise that something intersting is going on. Then hit the Gold Reserve which is roughly 10yo but with added casks of virgin oak, and another dimension opens up.
If those two wouldn't convince you to give Jameson a chance, why not try the 18 yo or the exceptional JRVR. Truly fantastic whiskies there.

But nothing could beat the feeling of entering warehouse 26, and opening a sherry butt with Kevin and sampling the 1993-vintage malt on location. Magic, my friends. Pure magic.

And, interestingly, for a plant with the capacity and size of Midleton, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they do more or less everything on site.
No shipping off new-make to some anonymous warehouse, not to be seen again by the distillery's own force until it returns bottled 10 or so years later.
Rather a case of storing whiskey on site, with a small panel nosing and tasting to get all the right casks in place for special bottlings or older issues.

Now, that's the type of distillery I love (specially as the malt-taliban I would consider myself to be...)

Wine casks... can we stop now?

At a very nice party the other night, my good friend, and fellow whisky collector (though he would never admit to it) Robbe brought along a few bottlings of good malt. Now, this is something he often does, and yet another reason to love him even more.
This particular evening, he brought along a Glengoyne Claret Cask among a few others, and while tasting it blind, one could pick out the wine-cask immediately.
Unfortunately, because it tends to produce a nose that is very, shall we say, un-whisky?

Now, this is an aeon-long debate on whether or not to dabble in re-casking, or ace-ing or whatever you want to call it. I can definitely see the fun and experimental side of it all, and the need to take whisky down from the high piedestals some bearded men (for they are always men, and often bearded) put it on.

But the truth is, when we get down to it; it very, very seldomly tastes good.

Just take a glass of whisky, then have a glass of wine straight afterwards.
See?
The flavours just don't mix. Sorry.

Of course there are a few exceptions to the rule. The Glenmorangie Nectar D'or made with ex-Sauternes Casks is very good, but still nowhere near as good as the bourbon-casked or sherry-casked expressions of the same malt.
Interesting? Yes. A great experience? Well, eh, maybe not.

Yes, I know these opinions have been voiced a million times before, and I know it is an inevitable road down which the whisky industry will all go (a bird whispered in my ear that even Glen Grant are moving towards finishing with different expressions).

But... I have yet to find a wine-casked expression that blows my mind. So be it.