Does SPS need more than just a bourbon cask?

[IainB]

I think David H may have touched on this on his site at some point but I've been thinking about all the various SPS bottlings out there now and some of the midleton singe casks.

Does anyone else find that SPS purely from Bourbon cask can be a little one dimensional compared to some of the other whiskeys from Midleton. I mean they're still very good but I think bourbon cask benefit from the addition of either some sherry cask, of grain for that matter. I have or had open six different single cask bottlings at this stage, 4 from CWS and 2 from T2 and I still think I prefer the very first one that Ally did - the single cask blend. Likewise I think the varuous Redbreasts and Powers JL all have more going than the bourbon only. Even the Midleton Barry Crockett has some virgin oak thrown in.

Does anyone else have a view on this?

[JohnM]

I think the same. Midleton is all bourbon cask, isn't it? It has the grain, of course.

I love port-matured pot still, and sherry-matured pot still. The exclusively bourbon-matured ones are grand, but ... anyway, I'm basically agreeing with you.

[IainB]

I'd love to be able to buy a sherry cask only SPS, but I guess it'd be a bit sherry heavy for some.

Maybe a sherry finish single cask would be interesting?

And as you said Midleton is all bourbon but has some grain. I think Powers is the classic example of that, especially the 12yo. I think the powers JL without the sherry wouldn't be half as interesting.

In fact, despite the JJ&S logo on the bottle I've always thought Midleton closer to Powers than Jameson.

[DavidH]

I did say something like that once. I've had a few chances now to try Midleton single casks, both official releases and cask samples. None of them, for me, came close to what IDL achieves by blending or vatting different kinds of whiskeys together. Until, that is, we had that Green Spot 12yo at the last tasting. Crazy money, but really nice. I assume it's always possible to find an exceptional cask among a million casks.

I know the GS 12yo was doled out at a book launch I missed. Did you guys try it then?

[IainB]

Not me.

[Fionnán]

on the subject of port casks, am i right in thinking that IDL have never released a SPS bottlie with port maturation? i know they use it for some of the jemmies. shame that, as some good dark-chocolate cadbury's fruit and nut bar port could probably make fireworks with a licoracey enough thick SPS make

[John]

I tasted it at the '101 Whiskeys to try before you die' launch at Mitchells in the CHQ Building. The 12yo Green Spot never fails to impress!

[IainB]

Well I haven't tried the 12yo - I do have the 10yo which I think is a vatting of 3 bourbon casks and it is a fine whiskey. I think it's a slightly older pot still style - reminds me of the Jameson 15 sometimes. Don't get me wrong - I like the bourbon casks and I haven't had the pleasure of the 12yo GS, but in general I prefer them with the sherry/bourbon mix or the pot still / grain mix.

[JohnM]

I think they do listen to this kind of feedback.

[TheWhiskeyBro]

I have tried the SPS Port Cask at 15 years of age and thought it was amazing, possibly a bit sweet for some, but I still loved it

The Midleton 26yo was finished in port pipes
The Master Distillers Midleton 1973 contains some port,

I could see a Single SPS Port Pipe seeing the light of day at some point, maybe a slightly younger port pipe around 8-10 years would be interesting.

[JohnM]

Not an SPS, but the RVR uses some port maturation too.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Well I'm totally biased on this one anyway as I always seem to prefer a least a bit of sherry influence.

I've read people say that Bourbon cask is the truer character of a distillery but I find that a hard logic to follow. I mean if your not influencing the whiskey with Sherry your influencing it with a prematured bourbon cask. Further from a historical perspective sherry cask has had a greater influence on the whiskey distilling industry and is part in parcel of the whiskey profile to some degree. However now as Sherry casks are so expensive to use more and more distilleries have upped the out put of Bourbon only ranges.

Macallan used to be the King of whisky in many eyes but since they have made the Fine oak range their default range it seems to have knocked them down a rung or 2.

Obviously it is very much a taste thing but yes I find Bourbon only matured whiskey not as exciting at times.

for me Blackbush wins over Bushmills 10
Laphroaig QC wins over Laphroaig 10 (which actually may contain some sherry but I'm not sure)
Jameson 18 over Midleton

Could you imagine Lagavulin 16yo with out the sherry influence????

I feel the sherry brings a certain dept to a whiskey and rounds it off.

but then again I'd be happy with a sherry monster any day over most over stuff so I suppose that's just me.

Maybe it's an Irish thing ... we're used to some sort of sherry influence in the majority of expressions. Of course Cooley changed a lot of that in a way but prioir to that was they much in the market that didi not (Paddy& Midleton possibly the only 2 that I can think of off the top of my head).