Introduce Yourself

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Welcome on board. Feel free to tell us how your collection is growing and how your hiding the receipts from your wiser half.

[Shane.mcdonagh]

Afternoon Folks!
I'm new to the IWS, joining has been on the to do list for the last year plus!
I'm a bartender by trade, I always had a soft spot for whiskey, but until the last 18 months or so I wouldn't have ventured past what I was familiar with! But these days it's all about trying new whiskeys and broadening the horizon!

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Welcome to the Forum Shane. Plenty of bar people her. I'm one myself. It's great to see your getting into Irish whiskeys. The choose is improving every day.
If you've any questions or suggestions feel free to post them.
Sláinte.

[ridge004]

I'm an Irish-American lad from the Chicago area, with a Fermanagh father. Was at the 2014 Awards and WhiskeyLive, and am arriving tomorrow (Oct 13) for both of this year's events. Will be a two-week stay, and would love to meet additional members.

Best wishes,
Pat

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Welcome Pat,

The society have a stand at Whisklive so come say hello. Some of us may even be staggering around with the t-shirt.
I know lots of members are going to the awards too so another chance to meet like minded individuals.

Fionnán O'Connor is launching his book "A Glass Apart" the night before whiskylive in the Palace bar. Well worth going too.

[Hannsg]

Hi Guys,

I'm Padraig, I'm from Cork, I've been drinking whiskey for about two years now.
I guess I've not tried a huge amount compared to most on here but I do hope to change that.
If I had to pick a favourite it would be Green Spot, it's a bottle I always find myself returning to.
I have a great inability to describe flavours the way other posters on here do so eloquently.

Well that's me, it's nice to meet everyone.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Welcome Padraig,

Good to have you on board. You have started at a nice point with your Greenspot so should be no bother to you to drift around the other similarly priced offerings which much more freely available in the Irish Whiskey scene. The 50-70 Price bracket has a wonderful array of great whiskies. Look forward to hearing you thoughts and remember it's what you think of each whiskey that counts not anyone else

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Hi Padraig,

Welcome to the Forum. The Spot range is great. If you can get your hands on the Leoville Barton Green Spot you'll love it. As IWC mentioned there's a good selection around that price range.

The Society has a Chapter in Cork that have great tastings ever month. I've had a few great night with the group. I recommend that you check them out. They have a Facebook page with updates.

Sláinte

[Col. E. S. Murphy]

Top of the Day or Night to all. Ed Murphy here in Las Vegas where there is some fine Irish Whiskey. I intend to try many. As a lad my Dad gave me a bottle of "Murphys" which I loved. 87yrs now I like it all, thank you Ireland and my ancestors loved the country and the drink and the conversation. Sailed from Wexford and ???, Settled in N.Y. Contractors and politicians. As Gen. MacArthur said, and I repeat him, to IRELAND "I will return", Merry Christmas to all and Slainte! Hope I spelled it close, Col Ed, USMC Ret.

[JohnM]

Welcome to the forum Ed. There are a lot if Irish in Vegas tonight...

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Top of the Day or Night to all. Ed Murphy here in Las Vegas where there is some fine Irish Whiskey. I intend to try many. As a lad my Dad gave me a bottle of "Murphys" which I loved. 87yrs now I like it all, thank you Ireland and my ancestors loved the country and the drink and the conversation. Sailed from Wexford and ???, Settled in N.Y. Contractors and politicians. As Gen. MacArthur said, and I repeat him, to IRELAND "I will return", Merry Christmas to all and Slainte! Hope I spelled it close, Col Ed, USMC Ret.

Welcome Ed, wonderful to have your input. Yes, you are correct we have a lot to thank out ancestor for.

This is possibly the best time in Irish whiskey since your ancestors left Ireland so the circle is complete.

Enjoy the golden nectar and enjoy the forum if you can spend some time here.

Thanks for sharing

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Top of the Day or Night to all. Ed Murphy here in Las Vegas where there is some fine Irish Whiskey. I intend to try many. As a lad my Dad gave me a bottle of "Murphys" which I loved. 87yrs now I like it all, thank you Ireland and my ancestors loved the country and the drink and the conversation. Sailed from Wexford and ???, Settled in N.Y. Contractors and politicians. As Gen. MacArthur said, and I repeat him, to IRELAND "I will return", Merry Christmas to all and Slainte! Hope I spelled it close, Col Ed, USMC Ret.

Welcome to the Irish Whiskey Society Forum Ed.

It's a glorious time for Irish Whiskey. I'm also a Murphy from Wexford, although I wouldn't mind being in Las Vegas today

Sláinte

[ericf]

Hi there. My name is Eric Flynn.

My love affair with whiskey started about 10 years ago. Beer at the time didn't taste great to me and I was looking for a new social drink. My wife organised a whiskey tasting at our home for a birthday. This introduced American, Irish and Scotch. It opened up a whole new world and from that moment I was hooked. I must say though, the Laphroaig 10 year old was a bit of a shock to the system, but after a while, you find a time and a place for most whiskeys!

Four years ago I took a step up in my whiskey world when I asked some friends to come out in Ennis for a bite to eat, followed by a whiskey tasting. Little did I think we'd have a second, let alone still be meeting up 4 years on. We've recently had our 20th night.

We've had some cracking whiskeys - Irish, Scotch, Japanese, American & World, although I couldn't warm to the bourbon. That said, I absolutely love their hand-me-down casks! Personally, Kilbeggan 15 is one of my all time favourite Irish Whiskeys. Revisited Connemara Cask Strength last week and really enjoyed that. I love the Spot series and I love what I've tasted of the Redbreast range - more work to do here! Springbank is my favourite Scottish distillery and both Mackmyra and Chichibu are other newish distilleries that caught my interest. Delighted to see such a growth spurt in Irish distilleries and can't wait for what follows.

In 2016, I look forward to attending some IWS tastings and meeting some fellow enthusiasts.

Sláinte saol.

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Hi Eric,

How is all in Clare?
I met you in Dingle a couple of years ago. Good to see your still doing tasting too.
The Society has a chapter setting up in Galway. I know it a bit of a trip but could be an ideal road trip event for you.

I see your doing a good variety of tastings too. I remember you had a world whiskeys tasting last year too. How did that go after? It's hard getting he right ones without lots of trial and error.

Feel free to update us with your tastings and opinions of the whiskeys. We need to do this better ourselves too.
There's a great selection of tastings planned this year in both Dublin & Cork. Keep an eye out for the Dingle trip. As you remember things can get very entertaining there.

I look forward to meeting up again at a tasting or two.

Sláinte
Willie.

[ericf]

Hey Willie. Great to hear from you again. Thanks for the warm welcome!

Yeah, that world whiskey tasting night was interesting. Thanks for helping with the whiskey. There surely is a bit of trial and error, but the most important thing was that it generated a lot of discussion and brought out plenty of opinions.

I've fond memories of Dingle alright. That was a great weekend.

I really hope to get to some IWS tastings next year, be it Galway, Cork or Dublin. I just had a quick check on the IWS website. There aren't any 2016 events up there yet. Will the events for the first few months of 2016 be up there soon?

Thanks,

Sláinte saol.
Eric.

[Roger]

My name is Roger and I live in Kentucky, USA. I am completely new to Irish Whiskey but have been a bourbon fan for several years. I have recently begun to branch out into Scotch Whiskey looking for a less sweet alternative to many spirits from my area. I stumbled upon this website, just researching different types of Irish Whiskey in hopes of building an appreciation for its taste. Looking forward to advice and discussion.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Welcome aboard Rodger and hope you find the forum useful.

I suppose Irish Whiskey is considered sweet also but not as sweet as a lot of American whiskies.

Only last week I purchased a Sazerac Rye and Ridgemont 1792 bourbon. Really looking forward to opening both of those as I do like a change.

We also appreciate our Scottish cousins very much here also.

Laphroaig happens to be one of my favourites which is a far cry from Americal or Irish whiskies although we do have our very own peated whiskey in Connemara and the lighter Locke's 8yo.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have and also impart your expertise on American whiskey.

Enjoy the forum

P.S. I will be moving this thread into the General "Introduce Yourself" Thread in a few days just to give you time and not think we deleted your posts.

[birdman1099]

My name is Roger and I live in Kentucky, USA. I am completely new to Irish Whiskey but have been a bourbon fan for several years. I have recently begun to branch out into Scotch Whiskey looking for a less sweet alternative to many spirits from my area. I stumbled upon this website, just researching different types of Irish Whiskey in hopes of building an appreciation for its taste. Looking forward to advice and discussion.

Greetings Roger.... I live just north of you in Indianapolis. I too joined here to expand my profile beyond Bourbon. IF there is ever anything I can do for you, dont hesitate to ask.

Slainte,

Scott

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

My name is Roger and I live in Kentucky, USA. I am completely new to Irish Whiskey but have been a bourbon fan for several years. I have recently begun to branch out into Scotch Whiskey looking for a less sweet alternative to many spirits from my area. I stumbled upon this website, just researching different types of Irish Whiskey in hopes of building an appreciation for its taste. Looking forward to advice and discussion.

Welcome to the forum Roger.
Exploring different whiskey styles is great. There can be many different types in the one country. I'm a fan of the peaty Islay Malts like Laphroaig & Ardbeg but also love Sherry matured Malts like Glendronach.

Irish isn't as sweet as Bourbon generally. Powers three Swallow is a reasonable introduction to Irish Pot Still style. If you can get your hand on Powers John's lane or Redbreast Cask Strength they are very tasty too. Plenty or flavour, like pepper, fruits & spice,but all natural.

[Willh990]

Hello

My name is will. I have recently started enjoying Irish whisky. I have been collecting scotch single malt for the last 2 years. I have turned my attention to Irish whisky after sampling red breast. There is no going back now. I have a home in carrick-on-Shannon and am looking forward to adding to my collection.

[rebeccacaudill]

Hi everyone,

My name is Rebecca and my husband and I are recent transplants to Dublin from the San Francisco Bay Area. We will be in Ireland for 2-3 years on a work assignment and as lovers of whiskey, we thought it prudent to join the Society. My first interaction with Irish whiskey was with Jameson, but I had a very unrefined palate at the time. Fast forward to 2009, and we were on a driving tour of Ireland when I first tried Connemara. I was hooked! We also toured Bushmills during that visit, and a love was born. Over the years my tastes have varied, but since moving to Dublin late last year I'm doing my darndest to get to know Irish whiskey again. Current favorites include Jameson Black Barrel, Yellow Spot, Red Breast 15, and Teeling 21YO. Can't wait to learn from all of you!

[John]

You're very welcome Rebecca! Hope you enjoy your membership!
Kind regards,
John.

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Welcome Will & Rebecca,

Redbreast has had a good effect on both.

The Society does regular tastings that are worth going to if you get a chance. Enjoy & if you've any questions, someone here should be able to answer.

[deanster320]

Hi ivor here (Ivor Osmond on Twitter) was just chatting on the phone with Willie and decided it was time I joined up with the society. I am big whisk(e)y fan, Irish and Scotch and fan of what the society is doing. I look forward to coming along to the next tasting in February. Cheers......

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Welcome Ivor,

I'm looking forward to seeing you at a few tastings. I know you a big Scotch & Pot Still fan. Hopefully the society tastings will quench your thirst.
Sláinte

Willie