Comments on: Malt Advocate Whisky Awards “Irish Whiskey of the Year”: Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve (2009 release)

By: Jonathan Bray

Jonathan Bray — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:56:42 +0000

We are working right now to bring Writer’s Tears to both the Canadian and American markets. I have a bottle in front of me and have to say that I was definitely impressed. Lovely balance. I don’t really have a lot of information as yet but no doubt we will get more back story as time goes on

By: JC Skinner

JC Skinner — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:08:56 +0000

You could do a lot worse than that lineup, LSD.
There are more Irish whiskeys slowly emerging, but they don’t seem to all be reaching stateside.
Hopefully, we’ll see even more now that Kilbeggan (and hopefully soon Dingle) are distilling.

By: lawschooldrunk

lawschooldrunk — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:21:48 +0000

*Sigh*

I’ll just stick to my Jameson 12, redbreast 12, bushmills black & 10, connemara NAS, and Michael collins…

By: Jason Cretacci

Jason Cretacci — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:36:30 +0000

Great choice John. I do wish there were more new choices to pick from (same thing goes for the Canadian Whiskys).

By: JohnM

JohnM — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:01:21 +0000

Excellent choice, John (in my opinion, of course). I love this whiskey. I buy mine in the US, as they charge 400 euro in Ireland. I do think the Redbreast 15 trumps it, but that was not available for the judging. Congratulations to IDL. I think this is what Irish whiskey is all about.

John

By: Texas

Texas — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:07:05 +0000

John, I have done my fair share of complaining about prices (however you will also note that I have also commented on seeing as how some like the Parker’s are justifiable). However, I agree with what you are doing with the awards..unless you are specifying some sort of bang for buck criteria (as with the 3 MacPhail’s) then the best whisk(e)y regardless of price should be chosen. Then it’s up to the consumer to decide if the price is worth it. As long as you keep reviewing lower-end–but quality– as well as high-end that that’s all we can ask for.

By: John Hansell

John Hansell — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:39:11 +0000

Fair enough, JC. Have a good weekend.

By: JC Skinner

JC Skinner — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:05:52 +0000

IDL claim that the RVR doesn’t vary in taste, being taken from the same clutch of specially chosen casks for all the various vintages.
That claim may or may not go down better with a pinch of salt, needless to say.
I don’t have any problem at all with your shortlist, which contains some truly splendid Irish whiskeys.
I just think the completely wrong one won.

By: John Hansell

John Hansell — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:04:59 +0000

Yeah, I really like the Madeira Finish too!

By: Irishwhiskeychaser

Irishwhiskeychaser — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:02:00 +0000

I’ll not disagree with any of those, I’d go for the Madeira as my choice of the Tyrconnells

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:33:07 +0000

John, while not a big fan of Jameson, I’m intrigued by this bottling and glad to hear reports of the increasing sophistication of the range (as we encounter it in the States).

I’m especially intrigued with the RVR because it’s bottled without chill-filtering and at 46% ABV; this seems almost always (if not always) an excellent step toward better drams. Did their choice in this regard directly influence your decision making, or would you just say the influence was indirect, by making the whiskey better? In the former case, it seems reasonable to me for MA to award partly in order to encourage a good trend.

Also, sure hope there’s an opportunity to try this in Chicago come April.

By: John Hansell

John Hansell — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:20:05 +0000

J.C., all those great whiskeys you mention (Writers Tears, single cask Midletons, single cask Cooleys, Distillers Editions of Jameson and Bushmills, Grand Crew, Connemaray Sherry Finish, etc.) are NOT sold in the U.S. The remainder on your list were also on my short list, so we are actually thinking along the same lines with the ones we have both tasted, no?

And you are now admitting that you haven’t even tried the 2009 vintage of Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve, the one we picked as our award winner, and the one you are criticizing so much? It IS different than the 2007 vintage. I tried them side by side, and I like the 2009 better.

It seems that you are just more pissed off about the whole concept of charging a lot of money for a NAS whiskey.

By: JC Skinner

JC Skinner — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:04:58 +0000

I appreciate you must choose from what’s commercially available in the US. That undoubtedly trims down the field somewhat.
You would not have been able to consider things like the Writers Tears, the various single cask Midletons and Cooleys, the distillers’ editions of Jameson or Bushmills, or independent bottlings like the Grand Crew. And I’d rate many of the above as better whiskeys (never mind better value whiskeys) than the RVR.
It’s not even the best Jameson, in my opinion. Of the few whiskeys that get to the US, I’d probably plump for the Bush 21, the Jameson Gold, the Connemara sherry finish, and the Tyrconnell sherry finish, if it made it there, all ahead of the RVR.
I suppose I loathe seeing IDL getting awards for a NAS whiskey which they price outrageously and refuse to state what’s in the bottle. But also, I’ve tried the whiskey in question (first vintage) and thought it cloying, grainy and underwhelming for what had been billed as an exceptional experience.

By: John Hansell

John Hansell — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:35:28 +0000

JC, your first three items (A-C), while I will not disagree with you, do not factor into our decisionmaking. The award is based purely on merit. And we can agree to disagree on “D”. If you get any, you can share it with Mark @2, Irishwhiskeychaser @3, and, of course, me.

Out of curiosity, JC, what would be your top three choices?

By: JC Skinner

JC Skinner — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:26:33 +0000

I couldn’t agree less.
Jameson RVR is:
a) outrageously overpriced
b) lacks age statement or indeed any information on what’s in the bottle
c) isn’t rare at all (three ‘vintages’ issued so far) and most importantly
d) isn’t anything like the best whiskey in Ireland.
I can think of a dozen Irish whiskeys, all a fraction of the price of the RVR, which are all superior.
This decision surprises me. I’m saddened to see MA award what has to be the least impressive Irish bottling in recent years.