Tuesday, March 15, 2016

The Irishman - Why you should drink Irish Whiskey


Traditional Irish Potstill Distillation

Why you should drink Irish Whiskey!

All Irish malt is made from the finest quality malted barley, yeast and water. Indeed distillers prefer to use Irish barley. There is no legal requirement that says it must be Irish but with Irelands long summer days, mild and occasionally wet, give ideal conditions for growing barley. Most distilleries believe that the variety of barley does not have an impact on the flavor, though some do feel that a strain called Golden Promise does impart a different mouth feel to their spirit.
DISTILLATION
1. All traditional Irish potstill whiskey is triple distilled in copper pots. Copper is hugely important in creating a whiskey's flavor as copper holds on to heavy elements, the distillers can either prolong or restrict the length of the 'conversation' between alcohol vapor and the copper, to create their desired character. There are three pot stills all of the same shape and size. The first distillation takes place in one of the wash stills, which is fitted with a refining column to reflux out heavy elements. The spirit is collected between 25%abv for heavy and 38%abv for light, depending on the style. The Yeast that the Irish whiskey industry use is always the same type and it is not considered to impact on the flavor. Japanese distilleries however will use different strains to produce desired flavors in their malt whiskeys.
2. The distillate stream is cut in the intermediate (feints) still. The weaker feints, between 45% and 75%, will be collected to be redistilled into 'heavy' spirit. The stronger feints, between 45% and 85%, will give 'light' spirit.
3. This is a run as normal spirit still with the middle cut being collected. The distillation regime does vary; different fill levels, different cut points in the intermediate and spirit stills.
Maturation
The new-make spirit is then reduced to 63.5%abv and placed in oak casks to mature. These casks have typically been filled with either bourbon or sherry for 1 fill prior to filling with Irish Whiskey. There are three processes happening here:
The Irishman Founder's Reserve


The Founder's Reserve is a unique take on the old Irish Pot Still Whiskey and is the original and signature blend created by founder Bernard Walsh. It is a blend of two styles, Single Malt and Single Pot Still. The proportions used are 70% Single Malt and 30% Single Pot Still. This is unusual in itself, as it is the only Irish blended whiskey to contain 100% whiskey distillates from the copper pot still and 0% Grain or Column still whiskey. This results in a much more flavorsome whiskey. The Founder's Reserve is triple distilled and matured in Bourbon Casks. A Gold Medal Winner at The International Spirits Challenge in London, one of the highest rated Irish Whiskey's in Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible with 93 points - "Quite a Wonderful Blend" and most recently awarded Gold at "The Whiskey Masters" as overall winner in "The Irish Whiskey Category". Quite simply an amazing Whiskey!
Nose: A Zesty Spice, with hints of black pepper, cinnamon and peaches. A slight hint of vanilla too, with a suggestive savor of Green Apple.
Palate: Pot Still Spice, malt, dark chocolate, bourbon oak, and crème caramel
Finish: Everlasting finish with oak and butterscotch. Lingers for what seems like an eternity!
Awards
Gold Medal at International Spirits Challenge London.
Gold Medal at International Spirits Competition San Francisco.
94 Points Beverage Tasting Institute USA.
93 Points Jim Murray Whiskey Bible
Gold Medal at International Spirits Competition San Francisco 2013
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The Irishman Single Malt


This Irishman Single Malt is one of only a handful of Irish triple distilled single malts on the market. This is a classic Irish Malt, triple distilled and aged in Oak Bourbon and Oloroso Sherry Casks to give exceptional flavor and complexity. Each batch is limited to a maximum of 6,000 bottles. The Irishman Single Malt boasts an impressive medal haul both in Europe and the USA for its outstanding quality. None more so than a Double Gold Medal "The World Spirits Competition" in San Francisco and its Gold Medal in ISW Germany. Each bottle carries a batch number and signature as a mark of the highest quality.
Nose: Ripe and fruity with luscious peach, dried apricot, and tropical fruits. Hints of orange blossom and vanilla fudge.
Palate: Vanilla sweetness, granola, toasted almonds and honey, a little oak, digestive biscuits, apricots, and a hint of coca.
Finish: Long lingering finish with a light maltiness and sweet oak. Not so much a finish, more of an encore.
Awards
Gold Medal at International Spirits Challenge, London
Double Gold at International Spirits Challenge, San Francisco
93 points Beverage Tasting Institute, USA
Gold Medal Winner ISW Awards Germany 2012
Gold Medal Winner at International Spirits Challenge, San Francisco 2013

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