Irish whiskeys of the year 2017

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Here's my selection for the year. There was some great surprises this year too.

My top 3 in no particular order were
Walsh 12 year old Marsala finish
Teeling Revival 4
Dair Ghaelach Bluebell

Biggest surprises were
Method & Madness, all but the Grain in particular
Waterford Retronaut
West Cork Glengarriff Bog oak.

Biggest disappointments was the continued increase in prices. The new entrants are not shy about gauging prices either. Irish whiskey is dearer in Ireland than any where else because of taxes is the common mantra but that's bull s***. Excise duty hasn't risen by 20% in recent times but yet we see some prices rising by that. Excise & vat can only account for a small % of the recent rises.
We continue to see new brands but the liquid is Cut & Paste Cooley and the like but at premium prices. This will bite them back in the long run. I understand they need to get their name out and need seed money. The the Irish thing is, "if they're getting that price, we will too". I worked in bars for 25 years, I know the story. Guinness put the price up, & hay presto Heineken followed and so on.

Transparency is a big issue too. I know there's been lots said about it so I'll leave that one. The Irish Whiskey Association are working on it but my fear it your asking them to regulate themselves, remember the banks.

I'm optimistic about the new year and hopefully there'll be a few new ones to entertain us.

Sláinte & happy New Year to all.

[John]

Many happy returns GWH, and same to all our members! I hope everyone has a special Irish Whiskey to ring in the new year! Certainly 2018 looks to be another amazing year for Irish products and so I’m sure we are all in for some fantastic releases over the course of the year.

I would echo what was said earlier in terms of the recent price increases. Some of the increases are starting to look like price gouging and are more opportunistic than warranted by virtue of their quality. The more inaccessible individual whiskeys become through premium pricing, the more the only people ‘talking’ or more importantly ‘tweeting’ about them will be those individuals who know about as much about whiskey as I do about Swahili!! Seems to be the way things are going though.

One New Year’s Resolution that I would like all whiskey producers, bonders or marketers to make is to commit to providing greater transparency in terms of the provenance of their produce.

That’s one thing at least that I am in debt to the Society for; if ever I need to have the barley separated from the chaff, then this definitely is the place to get the necessary advice!

For me, it’s a very difficult choice. Some of the whiskeys we had as part of the President’s tasting this year were truly exceptional - e.g. the cask strength M&M Single Pot Still!!! Very nice indeed! In terms of the commercially available releases, the Green Spot Chateau Montelena, the Irishman Founders Reserve 12yo and the Teeling Revival IV were truly outstanding.

All the best for 2018!
J.

[mawhinney]

Thank you GWH and John. I award you the "Cut the Crap Award "for 2017. Whiskey is all about taste and quality. Forget small-batch, artisanal, hand-crafted,reserve, and all the cliches of marketing. Whiskey is for drinking. Trust your palate!