April 22nd, 2011

Two Irish whiskey brands at the top of their game

John Hansell

Knappogue Castle and Michael Collins Irish whiskeys have been around for a while. There are new releases by both labels that I enjoy, and wanted to share this information with you.

Knappogue has offered many expressions over the years, from three different Irish distilleries, including vintage release and whiskeys with age statements.  Other than the original 1951 vintage from the long-gone B. Daly distillery (where Tullamore Dew used to be made), I think this “Twin Wood” 16 year old is my favorite.

It’s aged in bourbon casks first, and then finished in sherry casks. My main issue with some of the Knappogue releases in the past is that they have been a bit on the youthful side. This one is nicely matured and the sherry adds an extra layer of flavors. (There’s no disclosure on where this came from, buy my guess is Bushmills.) It will set you back $100.

Michael Collins, offering both a single malt and a blended whiskey (from the Cooley distillery), was originally released with no age statement. My issue was the same as with Knappogue Castle–it tasted a little big green when originally released. Now, they have changed the packaging and also bottled the single malt at 10 years of age.  Cooley has been releasing some great whiskeys lately, and this is another example of the quality of their work. I’m not tasting sherry in this one. It’s just a very nice, straight-forward Irish single malt.

You might want to give both of these a try if you are an Irish whiskey drinker.

Category: Irish whiskey,New Releases,Reviews Tags: , 19 Comments

July 23rd, 2010

Review: Knappogue Castle, 12 year old

John Hansell

Knappogue Castle, 12 year old, 40%, $42
Past bottling were distilled at the Bushmills distillery or Cooley distillery (excepting the rare, original 1951 Vintage, which was from the old B. Daly distillery). You can consult my secret decoder ring here. This one is triple distilled, so think Bushmills. (Cooley distills their whisky twice, not three times.) In the past, I’ve notice a lot of flavor development in Bushmills from 10-12 years old. This Knappogue 12 year old is a fresh, clean, smooth Irish whisky, displaying a nice creamy texture. I’m finding honeyed vanilla, toasted marshmallow, and lots of fruit (citrus, pineapple, coconut, and peach). A soft, dry oak finish shores up the sweetness and adds a peppering of spice. A pleasant, entry level Irish single malt.

(Additional note: Knappogue Castle has historically been a  whisky with a vintage, not an age statement. While it will be nice to have some consistency here, I will miss the subtle differences that each of the previous vintage offerings provided.)

Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 84

Category: Irish whiskey,New Releases,Reviews Tags: 6 Comments

June 7th, 2010

Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey loses vintage, becomes a 12 year old

John Hansell

You will most likely recognize Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey as a vintage, given there have been many releases over the past decade from various distillation years.

Well, it’s now going to be a 12 year old, without a vintage statement. I’ll be getting a review sample and full press release shorlty, but here’s an email I received from their importer, Castle Brands:

How quick is your mental math?  If someone was born in 1994, how old would they be today? Answer:  16 years old depending on the month they were born.  Knappogue Castle, the original vintage dated Irish Whiskey, feels that most consumers find it hard to calculate the age of the product by looking at the distillation date on the label.  Instead of chancing that consumers will miss important information about the age of the product, Knappogue Castle is moving to age designation and stating the product’s age boldly and proudly on the label thus eliminating the need for mental math.

Knappogue Castle Single Malt Irish Whiskey will be a 12 year old product on a consistent basis going forward.  A new label design reflects this change and reinforces the product’s premium quality and elegant taste. 

It’s just the superior whiskey to savor at the end of a long day.  It has a bright, light, lemon-orange color (no caramel coloring added) and a mildly spicy, citrus taste. That elegant, fruity and spicy flavor makes it an excellent choice in mixed cocktails like the “Peach Smash” developed at Vintry’s or the “Castle to Castle” developed at Death & Co. in New York. 

I can think of many reasons for going to an age-statement whiskey rather than a vintage, which we can discuss. (There was actually was one age-stated release, a 15 year old, back at the end of 2008. )

And FYI: KC has been from both Cooley and Bushmills in the past, but the email didn’t suggest one or the other.

Stay tuned…

Category: Irish whiskey,New Releases Tags: 6 Comments

January 13th, 2010

New: Knappogue Castle 1994 Vintage Irish Whiskey

John Hansell

There’s a new Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey hitting the shelves. This one is a 1994 vintage and it’s limited to 1,000 individually numbered, hand-signed bottles (by President Mark Andrews). Price: $100.

Interestingly, the back label says the whiskey is triple-distilled. Knappogue Castle bottles have historically come from either Cooley or Bushmills. If it is indeed triple-distilled, it would mean the latter, as Cooley whiskeys are double-distilled.

I was just doing some more digging. A 15 year old was released in the fall of 2008, and that one was from Cooley, as it consisted of whiskeys from the “Cooley” era (1990-1992 vintage releases). You can see my review of it here. That one cost $100 too.

This new one, being a 1994 vintage, would put it smack in the middle of the Bushmills era (1993-1995 vintage releases), confirming the back label’s assertion that it is triple-distilled. You can see my “secret decoder ring” post on Knappogue Castle whiskey here. Apparently, they held some of the Bushmills whiskey back for additional aging, just like they did with the Cooley whiskeys for the 15 year old bottling.

I will be getting a review sample. I’ll let you know my thoughts.

Category: Irish whiskey,New Releases Tags: 18 Comments

May 7th, 2009

Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey Distillery Origin Guide

John Hansell

Recently I was asked if the source of Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey is from Bushmills. I thought it might something of interest to all of you. The answer is, in chronological order by release: no, no, no, no, yes, yes, yes, and no.

To clarify:

The first vintage, 1951, was from the B. Daly Distillery (where Tullamore Dew was once made)
 
The next three, 1990-1992, were from Cooley
 
The next three, 1993-5, were from Bushmills
 
The last one, a 15 year old non-vintage, was once again from Cooley (a marriage of stocks from 1990-1992).

I hope this helps.

Category: Irish whiskey Tags: 13 Comments



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