I love bourbon, scotch, rye, and Japanese whiskey, but I can’t seem to get into Irish much. I wasn’t a big fan of Jameson when I’ve had it a few times, but I did like Proper Twelve when a buddy got me a bottle (despite the consensus that its mediocre, I honestly preferred it to Jameson). Even still, it’s not something I would go out of my way to buy and would rather just drop the money in another bourbon or scotch. All the Irish I’ve had just doesn’t seem to have much flavour or debth compared to a cask bourbon or islay. I’ve been thinking about trying Redbreast 12 since it gets so much praise and hype, but I wanted to get some other recs to give a shot.
I was going to mention the Spots as well. I’ve only dabbled in Irish whiskeys, but I bought Green and Yellow Spot after reading about their history once I found them in a local store. The Green was good enough that the bottle didn’t last very long :) The Yellow, though… I had to put it away to save for a special occasion. My favorite non-peated whiskey.
In fact, now that I’m thinking about it, I may have to pause my exploration of my recent Islay acquisitions to revisit my dusty bottle of Yellow Spot…
Redbreast 12 is also great and I imagine their CS offering is excellent also.
The Irish reminds me a lot of how Glenfiddich hits on those green apple notes. I feel like it is a refreshing, light, fruity profile compared to (my other favorites) the heavy hitter Islay’s with their dominate flavors that pair well with hearty, meaty dishes.