March 15th, 2011

Thirty five years and still amazed!

John Hansell

You might think that after 35 years of drinking whisky and 20 years of making whisky my living, that I would tire of it.

Not a chance. Whisky is still the most complex, diverse, and cost-effective distilled spirit out there, and the producers continue to inspire and entertain with new releases. I know that there’s always a whisky around the corner that will surprise me, maybe even amaze me.

This past Saturday, I attended the funeral of my best friend’s mother. I was so close to her, I called her mom. My best friend is Irish and when the long day was over, I brought over this bottle of 12 year old Bushmills Distillery Reserve for us to drink.  I’ve had it before and it was delicious.

I picked up this bottle back in 2007 when touring the distillery with Master Distiller Colum Egan. He even signed and dated the bottle. (It’s on the side; you can’t see it.) I was saving it for the right time to open it. This was that time.

Once again, I was thoroughly impressed by this whiskey. It’s so rich, creamy, fruity and complex for a 12 year old. And oh so drinkable: a few friends and I could easily polish off a bottle of this in a day’s time. (Not that we would…)

It’s so easy for us to be critical of whisky, the producers, etc., and I understand why we sometimes are: we are passionate about whisky and we care about it enough to to express our feelings and concerns.

Having said this, we need to bring ourselves back to really what’s most important. Whisky is amazing stuff, and this is still a great time to be drinking whisky. This time, it was Bushmills Distillery Reserve that reminded me of this. Next time, it might be a bourbon or a nice Islay malt.

It’s why, after 35 years of drinking whisky, it still amazes me. And always will.

Category: Irish whiskey,Opinions Tags: 22 Comments

March 16th, 2009

Irish whiskey media coverage: what about the rest of the year?

John Hansell

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been reading about Irish whiskey everywhere I look:  trade magazines, consumer magazines, newspapers, etc. I was even asked to be on Fox Business TV Network this morning for an Irish whiskey “shoot-out” between Jameson and Bushmills. (I declined, but for the time being you can watch a video of it here. I’m not sure how long they’ll have it up there.)

Yes, it’s great that Irish whiskey is getting this coverage now. I love Irish whiskey and am very happy for any exposure it gets (as long as the information is accurate). But what about the rest of the year? How much Irish whiskey coverage will you read about in April? Or October?

Irish whiskey is as good as Scotch whiskey and equally as versatile as Scotch whiskey. But for Irish whiskey to be treated with the same respect as Scotch whiskey, it has to be covered by the media for the whole year–and perceived by the consumer as a year-round drink, rather than being pigeon-holed as something to do shots of on St. Patrick’s Day or to drown in an Irish Coffee (or worse, a Car Bomb).

Category: Irish whiskey,Opinions Tags: , 14 Comments



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