Writers Tears Whiskey

[Michael Foggarty]

Writers Tear whiskey is a pot still blend from the guys who brought you the Irishman, its a little cracker of a whiskey, Jim Murray scored it 93.I only had a brief taste but Jim confirms in Bible 2010 that it has Midleton Malt in in it!

Availabel next week from you know who.

[jcskinner]

Pot still plus Midleton malt?
Curious!
Okay, I'm in. I like the 70 and I like their single malt too. I'd hope for good things from this.
On the Murray rating, I note it's a tad lower than the Grand Crew!

[JohnM]

I heard it will be available from Wednesday in the CWS...

Do you know how much it will cost?

[Michael Foggarty]

€37.99 available now

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

€37.99 available now

Sounds fairly reasonable ... had a taste yet Michael?

[jcskinner]

I had a wee sup of this in CWS the other day when I was in getting my Kilbeggan test tubes.
For a pot still blend with malt in it, there certainly seemed to be more than a tad of grain in there too.
Not that I'm objecting - I did end up buying a bottle to give it further consideration. But I think the description of the salesman - "It's the Redbreast Blend again, isn't it?" - was fair comment.

[DavidH]

... when I was in getting my Kilbeggan test tubes,

Eh? Are they out now? Seriously, whiskey marketing in this country is lamentable. Everything is a secret.

[jcskinner]

CWS has them. They've been on sale in Kilbeggan for some weeks, I think.

[varizoltan]

it is in a nice package, have to say
something unusual

[shanel23]

it is in a nice package, have to say
something unusual

I think they're great - very collectable and have bought a few - to taste and to collect.

[varizoltan]

good plan,buy 3, 1 to drink, 1 to keep, and 1 to sell later

[Fionnán]

Just had my first sip of this today; noticed that the label claims that 'this is a style of whiskey that was popular in Joyce's day"... is there really a historical precedent for malt/pps blends or is this just wily marketing?

[Liam Murray]

If you do not wish to travel to Dublin for this whiskey, it is available in the Wine Centre Kilkenny at 37.99. This is info only, not a plug for the shop. Happy New Year everyone. Liam

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Just had my first sip of this today; noticed that the label claims that 'this is a style of whiskey that was popular in Joyce's day"... is there really a historical precedent for malt/pps blends or is this just wily marketing?

There are probably two ways that this can be looked from ... the make up of the product or the taste of the product.

Whether there has been any historical precedent for a malt/pps blend I very much doubt but you never know. Remember it was the Irish that first frowned upon the blend especially by the big distilleries. However this was probably from a grain perspective. Tullamore only issued their first blend in 1940's and Powers and Jameson were even later, possibly as late as the early 70's when Midleton came on line. However in the mid 19th century the likes of the watercourse distillery in Cork & Watts in Derry (1833) had big grain distillation output. So there was plenty of grain whiskey in the industry even from an early time. Whether this was used in Irish whiskey products or exported as grain is unclear. PPS though still seemed to be the main attraction at the time for the leaders in the Irish Whiskey industry but smaller independent companies probably blended. I would of thought independent bottles like those coming from obscure companies such as E&B Burke are blends and they like Johnnie Walker (who basically invented the blend) were doing it long before the big PPS companies were forced to do from a financial point of view. So possibly it was done before but as far as I'm aware there was no such mix of any renown which in itself tells a story.

However they do say "a style of whiskey" ... Midleton are masters of making a multitude of whiskies with different and specific character. From this they experimented and have become expert in recreating the whiskies of Jameson Powers & Tullamore amongst others. So I would therefore give them the benefit of doubt that they can recreate a "style" of whiskey. The use of malt may be neither here nor there and was only used as it was the right fit so to speak.

Just my slant but you never know maybe just PR mumbo jumbo too

[jcskinner]

It's PR mumbo-jumbo, needless to say.
Of course, everything IWC says is correct. There is no evidence I'm aware of that says pot still/malt blends were an established style in the early 20th or late 19th centuries.
And if they are echoing some sort of style they believe existed, they should tell us what they're emulating and how they've gone about that.
But I suspect they didn't do that, and are merely trying to lock in the link between the whiskey and the popularity of Irish writers.
Having said that, I really enjoyed this and demolished my bottle in no time. How are stocks of this, does anyone know?

[Luke Gough]

I think CWS will have new stock or Writers Tears in June

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Just recieve some info from my KGB contact (You know who you are AK)

It seems that Writers Tears is indeed directly from the HotIrishMan team of Bernard and Rosemary Walsh. It is
possible the IrishMan whiskey did not fit the Russian market so this was created specially. The writers tears whiskey company may also have been set up due to distributor rights that some companies tie them selves up with. WHo knows but it is a great addition to the Irish Whiskey no matter what the reasons.

[DavidH]

So you are saying that the Writers Tears brand was developed at the behest of the Russian market? That's quite clever. It makes sense that a writers theme would appeal to the Russians; and they do like their literature somewhat tragic, hence the tears

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

So you are saying that the Writers Tears brand was developed at the behest of the Russian market? That's quite clever. It makes sense that a writers theme would appeal to the Russians; and they do like their literature somewhat tragic, hence the tears

I would imagine not soley for the Russian market but it seems that it is prime target market. I suppose naming is quite important in certian markets and what may suit one market may not suit another. i.e. Marathon versus snikers bar.

[DavidH]

I suppose naming is quite important in certian markets and what may suit one market may not suit another. i.e. Marathon versus snikers bar.

"Snickers" never did sit easily here, did it? "Irish Mist" in the German market is another famous naming misstep.

[PureDrop]

Or the Chevy "nova" .... in Spanish "no va" - won't go!
Or the Mitsubishi "Pajero" .... in Spanish "*anker" ... and its not banker! (called the "Montero" in Spain!)
Or the Nissan "Cedric" .... just a daft name!
... but then again, I remember thinking that English speakers would never adopt the term "WalkMan" for a cassette player! Think about it - what a daft phrase!
I also recall a Finnish washing-up liquid (if I recall correctly) "Super Pis*"
And I recently introduced my young lad to an old favourite of mine , the isotonic drink "Pocari Sweat"...

[Andrew]

Just recieve some info from my KGB contact (You know who you are AK)

Adrian, thanks for increase my self-esteem (like KGB contact)

[Andrew]

I don't think that Writers Tears whiskey specifically for the Russian market.
For Russian who does not speak English it sounds like "Wrri- Wrri -Wrrieess"

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

I don't think that Writers Tears whiskey specifically for the Russian market.
For Russian who does not speak English it sounds like "Wrri- Wrri -Wrrieess"

Thanks Andrew ... sorry that I picked you up the wrong way so. Good to see them looking to target the Russion market though.

[DavidH]

IWC, you are a terrible spy! Making stuff up? Have you seen Our Man in Havana or The Tailor of Panama?