Standards were reassuringly high as the great and good assembled to sample the best Irish whiskey has to offer. Becky Paskin reports
Malts, blends and single pot stills – all manner of liquid impressed at this year’s Irish Whiskey Masters
It’s one of the world’s fastest growing spirit categories, and looking at the results of the 2013 Irish Whiskey Masters, it’s not hard to see why.
Having once produced larger volumes than its neighbour across the Irish Sea, Ireland has enjoyed something of a whiskey renaissance of late. Although there are still only four distilleries turning out mature whiskey, somewhat limiting the breadth of choice available, volumes are growing exponentially, boldly led by the firestarter that is Jameson.
But despite lacking the distillery count of Scotch, the breadth of Irish whiskey available to consumers is undoubtedly exciting, with single malts, blends and the cream of the crop, the uniquely Irish single pot stills, all deserving global recognition.
So, it should come as no surprise that a record eight Masters medals were awarded at this year’s competition in the private dining room at Drake & Morgan’s new London venue, The Happenstance. Our judges this year were whisky educator Mark Thomson, Miss Whisky blogger Alwynne Gwilt, freelance whisky writer Richard Woodard, and myself, Becky Paskin, deputy editor of The Spirits Business.
The category is best known for its blended whiskey, which seemed a fitting place to kick off the day’s proceedings. Beginning with standard blends and progressing through to premium and super premium expressions, the judges felt due reverence for the liquid before them, awarding half the Masters medals of the competition to the blends.
While the standard varieties displayed extremely good value for money with two Golds awarded, it was the premium category that impressed the most. Two Masters were given out here to Bushmills BlackBush and Tullamore Dew 12 Year Old Special Reserve, while the super-premiums gained a Master for Midleton Very Rare as well as for Jameson’s Rarest Vintage Reserve, which Gwilt described as “just glorious”. William Grant’s soon to be released Tullamore Dew Phoenix drew a Gold at its first outing.
Judges Alwynne Gwilt and Richard Woodard were blown away by the quality of the Irish single pot still category
Our panel was impressed already, but as we moved on to the single pot stills our fondness for Irish whiskey flourished. As the largest category in this competition we could not help but applaud Irish Distillers, who despite being the only producer of Irish single pot stills, had managed to generate a huge spectrum of flavours and styles across its entries.
Six medals were awarded including two Masters – one for Redbreast 12 Year Old Caskstrength, described by Woodard as “firm and well put together”, the other for Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy, and two Golds for Redbreast 15 Year Old and Yellow Spot.
Woodard expounded on the finer points: “The best of these whiskies – the blends and the single pot stills in particular – put you inone specific place, but offer a huge amount of diversity without ever sacrificing that quintessential Irish character.”
Up next were the single malts, a category not as well known amongst emerging Irish whiskey fans, but one that seems to be growing. All five entries won themselves a medal, although sat next to the single pot still whiskeys, the judges felt the single malts paled in comparison.
“The single pot stills in particular were outstanding and can hold their own on the world stage, while the single malts, I think, can’t,” considered Thomson. “The single pot stills are so unique, you would travel far and wide to taste a good pot still whiskey, but you wouldn’t for a single malt”.
However Woodard disagreed: “The single malts were fine, but in this case were overshadowed by the single pot stills as there’s so much diversity and style proving that Irish whiskey is doing something that no one else in the world is doing. Irish single malt has its own character; it’s not like single malt anywhere else, and they can be extremely good.”
Mark Thomson, whisky educator; Becky Paskin, The Spirits Business; Richard
Woodard, freelance whisky writer; Alwynne Gwilt, Miss Whisky blogger
Finally it was time to address the elephant in the room. With flavoured American whiskey soaring in popularity in various international markets, it was inevitable that an Irish whiskey would get involved, considering the country’s ties with the Hot Toddy. There has been a flurry of American whiskeys adding a touch of honey, cherry and even cinnamon to their liquid, and not all have been well received by whiskey fans.
Our judges were equally sceptical, but upon tasting Bushmills Irish Honey, any preconceptions were swiftly quashed. Thomson remarked: “For once this is a honeyed whiskey that actually tastes like honey. You still get the Bushmills character coming through as the sweetness from the honey is not overpowering. It’s subtle, yet warming and tastes very natural.”
Suitably impressed, we awarded the flavoured whiskey a Master, for boldly going where no other brand has gone before, and doing so with grace and style.
By the end of the blind tasting it was clear just how much choice and quality there is within the Irish whiskey category, despite the shortage of distilleries.
Gwilt agreed: “This tasting showed the best of what Irish whiskey is all about. It’s really an underrated category.”
With many more distilleries due to come on stream over the next few years, those newcomers will need to ensure the quality of their liquid keeps up with the impressive benchmark set already.
The full list of The Irish Whiskey Masters 2013 results is on the following page.