A couple of Irish never hurt anyone


September 29, 2025

A couple of Irish never hurt anyone...

Yep, I reckon we’re going to overdo it again… But to kick things off: The Boys are Back in Town...

West Cork 'Thin Lizzy' (40%, OB, Irish, bourbon, double-char, 2022)

Whiskies released in partnership with rock franchises are always a bit on the improbable side, but we’ve always liked Thin Lizzy and even saw them live again around ten years ago. Without the late Phil Lynott, of course. But still, at 40%, it’s not exactly ‘Whisky in the Jar’, is it? Colour: straw. Nose: it’s light, more Gilbert O'Sullivan than Thin Lizzy to be honest, but it’s fresh, nicely fruity, on apple juice and honey. Mouth: not bad, fairly oily, with a faint note of paraffin and wax, the rest being softer, sweeter, back on apple juice. Honeyed herbal tea. Finish: rather short but clean, sweet, fruity. Hints of barley. Comments: perhaps not quite stadium-filling stuff, but it’s rather well made. I’d still have cranked the wattage up a notch under the circumstances. Come to think of it, the Pogues’ whiskey was much the same in that respect, if memory serves.
SGP:431 - 78 points.

Red Spot 15 yo (46%, OB, Irish single pot still, +/-2024)

The Gold Spot and the Green Spots, even those finished in highly unlikely wine casks, had been very good last time (WF 84-85) This Red Spot was matured/finished in bourbon, sherry and Marsala casks. Colour: gold. Nose: I find it a touch vague, rather a muddle if truth be told, although there's a persistent substratum of exotic fruits and honey that holds its own. A few fleeting whiffs of menthol and hints of chilled herbal tea lend some freshness. Mouth: that same ‘mixed bag’ feeling becomes even more pronounced here, with a cavalcade of waxes, woods, stewed fruits, leather, rubber, raisins, tobacco and various spices jostling for attention. It all sounds terribly complex on the surface, but the lack of cohesion makes it feel more chaotic than composed. The Marsala, one suspects, is the chief agitator in this affair. Finish: medium in length, and veering towards candied sugars, tea leaves and gentle herbal infusions. Comments: I must confess I couldn’t quite find my footing with this one, though it certainly reads well on paper.
SGP:541 - 79 points.

Bushmills 14 yo 'Malaga Cask Finish' (40%, OB, Irish single malt, +/-2024)

I do hope things go better here, though at 40% ABV, one does harbour some doubts... Colour: light gold. Nose: not many hands on deck here, it's extremely light, more of a murmur than a voice really, though if you lean in, you might just detect a faint trace of patchouli, banana and distant mango. Rather frustrating. Mouth: not dreadful, though it swings oddly between sugary and earthy, with faint notes of pineapple (more pineapple later in this session) and barley syrup doing their best to lift things. Quite a bit of green tea creeping in as well. Finish: fairly short and curiously sweet. Comments: very much a footnote. There are countless Bushmills bottlings that, in our most humble opinion, leave this rather timid Andalusian variant far behind. Feels like it's running on two cylinders. Out of eight.
SGP:530 - 77 points.

Jameson 23 yo (55.1%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, Irish blend, 2024)

Naturally, if TWE manage to get their hands on the very best from Pernod Ireland, one can only applaud. Let’s see what we’re in for...Colour: straw. Nose: seems a little locked in for now, despite some lovely notes of rose petal and wine gums. No time to waste, with water: it opens like a flower on a spring morning, exhaling nectar and coconut milk. Mouth (neat): there appears to be a fair dose of pot still in there, yet once again it remains fairly restrained. Coconut, apple and grapefruit. With water: the texture turns oddly creamier, the profile remaining along the same lines—coconut, vanilla, floral elements, and a touch reminiscent of Cuban rum. Don’t tell me they’ve chucked in a bit of Havana Club!? Finish: fairly short but rather pretty, very gentle… Comments: an amusing transposition of a brand more at home in JD Wetherspoon than among malt freaks. I must admit this inherent lightness isn’t quite my thing, but it’s damn well put together.
SGP:530 - 83 points.

Ardara '2025 Edition' (46%, OB, Irish single malt, 2025)

Heavily peated and triple-distilled, which is rather amusing, hailing from Donegal. Their mascot appears to be a dragonfly, one of the most marvellous creatures in all of creation. Colour: white wine. Nose: coal juice, soot, black earth, mushrooms, tar... It’s the first time I’ve come across this very ‘black’ style—rather astonishing, and quite unlike any peated profile I’ve dared to try so far. Entirely a matter of earth. Mouth: well blast, I’m hooked. It’s an improbable mash-up of ultra-artisanal mezcal, pickle brine, ink, other tiny pickled things, ashes, mixed smokes, rollmops, lemon juice, olives... Finish: same story. Comments: this is exactly what’s needed for any jaded taster out there. In a way, it’s an Irish not so far removed from what some young Nordic distilleries are doing, especially further East. Very distillate-driven, which is right up our street. Honestly, I adore it, bravo.
SGP:357 - 88 points.

Teeling 17 yo (56.5%, OB, American Express Private Cask, cognac cask, cask #16578, 2022)

Quite why an Irish as well-regarded as Teeling would feel the need for a cognac cask is anyone’s guess. Colour: straw. Nose: it’s light, with notes of grain, coconut, maize, white chocolate... With water: even lighter. Mouth (neat): I think the cognac slightly dampens the tropical exuberance one usually expects from a Teeling of this age. Not that it’s bad—far from it—but it does feel a touch more vague. Still, there’s certainly passion fruit, banana, mango and the like. With water: it pulls itself together a bit, with a lovely lemony tension. Finish: not very long but more chiselled. Seems like the cognac has finally been shown the door. Comments: we feared the worst, but it all ended well.
SGP:641 - 87 points – less the usual Amex commission, that brings us to 84.6738754 points.

Hang on, it probably gets worse...

Teeling 'Pineapple Rum Cask' (49.2%, OB, 18,000 bottles, 2022)

Some presumably sane and rational mind decided there would be a market for 18,000 bottles of this Frankenstein’s creature of a spirit – just imagine. Rather worrying, isn’t it? More troubling still than a tequila-finished Lagavulin, which says it all really...Colour: straw. Nose: not unpleasant, but conceptually horrific. It simply adds more Teeling to Teeling, if you see what I mean. That sort of completely tautological move which, to borrow Lord Blackadder’s words, is about as useful as a tomato with wheels. Still, not unpleasant. Mouth: of course it’s quite good, and that’s precisely the problem—it feels a bit like cheating, although to be fair, it’s clearly stated in big letters on the label. Finish: fairly long, very liqueur-like, heavily on pineapple, naturally. Comments: the structure is actually a bit too light, more in the style of a young grain whisky, and that’s the real flaw of this thoroughly bizarre thing. Whiskey arrangé?
SGP:730 - 72 points.

Turntable 'Collaboration Drop #2' (52%, OB, blend, 2024)

Strictly speaking, it's considered Irish, by us, because it contains 41% Dingle – and we’re rather fond of Dingle – alongside some Balmenach, Blair Athol and Loch Lomond grain. Colour: gold. Nose: this sends poor Teeling Pineapple straight to the great beyond. Lovely malty pastries, scones and apricot muffins, panettone... and we’re delighted, as panettone season is just around the corner. With water: floury notes and slate join in, with a touch of light rubber. Mouth (neat): oh, this is very good! There’s a surprising sense of cohesion—plenty of malt, beer, stewed fruits, all without any overly flamboyant sweetness. With water: confirmed, unexpected coherence. Very pretty touches of cream and cinnamon yoghurt. Finish: not eternal, but nicely compact, with even more cinnamon. We love cinnamon. Comments: we were wary given this baby’s pedigree, but once again, we were wrong.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

Paddy Milestone 13 yo 2011/2024 (54.4%, The Duchess, oloroso hogshead, cask #801396)

It can’t be! This is a ‘Paddy’ that isn’t actually Irish—it’s an Ailsa Bay—but we’d already poured it into our competition tulip glass, so we shall proceed, hoping you’ll forgive us. With just a hint of shame... Colour: gold. Nose: to be perfectly honest, there’s not much going on at the moment. A few puffs of bruised apples and a fairly distant whiff of garden bonfire. With water: no improvement. Mouth (neat): much better than the nose, very tight and ultra-vegetal, though it quickly dives into mercurochrome. With water: green apple juice, smoked fish, grass, citrus peels. One could probably do without all that. Finish: fairly long, but not exactly friendly—waxy and herbal. Comments: we’ve never really understood Ailsa Bay, and apparently that’s not about to change today. Our apologies, and vive la Duchesse! In 99% of the cases, she brings out marvellous spirits.
SGP:453 - 75 points.

Quick, real Irish...

Green Spot 10 yo 2013/2025 (56.6%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, bourbon cask, cask #239852, 237 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: the absence of any useless wine in this Green Spot is immediately apparent, it’s fresh and clean, close to barley, liquorice, fennel, and celery. Celery is, in my view, much misunderstood in the world of spirits, but it’s a marvellous ingredient, and in Alsace, a few distillers have produced a wonderful eau-de-vie of celery that you can serve chilled over caviar. A thousand times better than all those Russian vodkas. Remember Russia? Right, I hope they will not send drones over WF HQ. With water: little pears and greengages emerge. Mouth (neat): superb! This blows that Red Spot we tasted a few moments ago clean out of the water. Gorgeous little heritage pears, service tree berries, jujubes and sorb apples. With water: just very good, though the water is nearly redundant on the palate. Finish: fairly long, tight, precise, almost refreshing. Russet apples. Comments: right then, let’s pull ourselves together, but it absolutely flattened the Red Spot.
SGP:461 - 86 points.

Cooley 22 yo 2002/2024 (53.9%, The Whisky Blues, barrel, cask #2227, 126 bottles)

If there were awards for labels, this one would take the triple-gold-platinum-of-doom of the decade, no question. Now let’s see about the juice... Colour: straw. Nose: oils and apple juice at first, then fresh hay and fruit peelings. With water: proper fresh baguette! Mouth (neat): perfectly pitched fruity and herbal tension, though just a tad saturated—it sort of overruns the palate a bit. With water: brilliant, but it struggles slightly to push any further. Finish: same story. Comments: a curious example of a malt that’s hit its peak and stubbornly refuses to give you anything more.
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Cooley 2001/2025 (50.4%, The Whisky Jury, bourbon, cask #2659, 149 bottles)

Let’s keep this one quick, shall we? Colour: light gold. Nose: mango and banana peels, with vanilla cream and acacia honey. With water: even softer on honeyed vanilla cream—crema catalana if you like. Mouth (neat): embarrassingly good, it’s so fresh, fruity, and bursting with citrus. Sublime, I’m afraid. With water: beautifully fruity. Finish: good length, though no real evolution. Comments: may I propose a trans-category blend idea? 50% good TDL batches, plus 50% of these Teeling/Cooley beauties? I genuinely think it could bring about world peace.
SGP:751 - 88 points.

I think it’s mor than time to wrap things up…

Teeling 24 yo (51.5%, OB for The Nectar, 10th Anniversary, sherry, cask #6766, 270 bottles, 2016)

We absolutely loved being invited to the 10th anniversary back then—Dom Pérignon flowed freely, the shrimp croquettes were the best in the world, and the Cantillon and Westvleteren on tap instantly restored one’s faith in humanity. Belgian humanity, of course. Colour: deep gold. Nose: magically fruity and oily—mangoes, honey and sesame oil. With water: peanut. We love peanut. Mouth (neat): mad stuff. With water: incredible. Finish: ... Comments:... Seriously good, no doubt. The pinnacle of Ireland, even if there are millions of Teeling/Cooley casks drifting about. But to be fair, in our book there’s never been any connection between cask availability and actual quality, anywhere.
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Fear not, there will be more Irish very, very soon on WF.

Check the index of all Irish we've tasted