Michael O'Leary was wrong... Dublin Airport's Terminal 2 was worth every cent if it means that Irish whiskey gets a swish new showcase. And it does: the Irish Whiskey Collection at The Loop is already catching the eye of outbound passengers.
What can we look forward to there? At our January meeting, we'll hear about the new shop and have the chance to sample some of the exclusive bottlings they have secured, including:
- Greenore 19yo, Single Grain, Single Cask
- Midleton Bourbon cask-matured, Pure Pot Still, Single Cask
There are sure to be some other rarities doled out so, if the weather and the economy weren't enough to turn your mind to holidays abroad, come along to the Irish Whiskey Society in January and dream of the whiskeys you can pick up for a song with your boarding pass.
(Incidentally, if you are flying out through the old terminal don't let that stop you sussing out the new shop. A thread on our forum will tell you how to navigate your way there.)
Whiskeys
Note: At the end of the night we vote for our favourite whiskey. Number of votes and placing are included in the tables below.
1. John L. Sullivan
- ABV 40% Age NAS
- Type Blend Finish -
- Distillery Cooley Region Ireland
- Distilled
- Bottled
- Matured in single use bourbon barrels
- Votes 0 Place 5
2. Greenore Single Grain Single Cask 19yo
- ABV 60.5% Age 19
- Type Single Grain Finish -
- Distillery Cooley Region Ireland
- Distilled 5 Dec 1990 Bottled 29 Oct 2010
- Votes 10 Place 2
- Cask 1796
3. Inish Turk Beg
- ABV 44% Age 10
- Type Single Malt Finish -
- Distillery Cooley Region Ireland
- One of 2,888 hand-blown bottles
- Votes 0 Place 5
4. Danny Boy 15yo
- ABV 40% Age 15
- Type Single Malt Finish -
- Distillery Cooley Region Ireland
- Limited Edition of 2,500 bottles
- Votes 0 Place 5
5. Bushmills 1608 Anniversary Edition
- ABV 46% Age NAS
- Type Blend Finish -
- Distillery Bushmills Region Ireland
- Distilled with crystal malt
- Votes 5 Place 4
6. Midleton Single Cask
- ABV 53.7% Age 19
- Type Pure Pot Still Finish -
- Distillery Midleton Region Ireland
- Distilled 12 Nov 1991 Bottled 2010
- Bottle 0212
- Cask 48709
- Warehouse M09 Bay 12
- Exclusive to The Irish Whiskey Collection, Dublin Airport
- Matured in first-fill bourbon barrel
- Not chill-filtered
- Votes 21 Place 1
7. Bushmills Millennium Malt
- ABV 43% Age 24
- Type Single Malt Finish -
- Distillery Bushmills Region Ireland
- Distilled 1975 Bottled 1999
- Cask 199
- Bottle 199/178
- Votes 6 Place 3
We also took votes on who liked the various whiskeys. Leaving aside price, the Greenore, Midleton and two Bushmills were liked by most in the room. The other three had more limited appeal, garnering under 10 votes each.
Value for money was a theme of the night as many of the whiskeys tried cost north of €100, even touching €200. We therefore took a poll of who would buy the various bottles on trial. Although the Greenore was much liked, its €195 price (including duty) put it beyond the reach of all but four attendees. The Bushmills 1608 was the value winner of the night, most of the house being willing to dip into their pockets for a bottle. The Midleton and Bushmills Millennium were a foreseeable buy for 14 and 10 attendees, respectively. The John L., Inish Turk Beg and Danny Boy did not attract any customers on the night.
