What's the best Irish whiskey?

[jcskinner]

What's your 'desert island' Irish whiskey?
If you could only have one bottle, what would it be?
No qualifying criteria other than the dram must qualify as whiskey (ie distilled from grains, at least 40 proof, aged in wood no less than three years) and Irish (distilled in Ireland).
No cheating by rattling off a list of your 'best grain', 'best potstill', 'best blend' etc.
I just want to know what is the ONE Irish whiskey you rate above all others and, most importantly, why.
Do you rate Black Bush or Paddy for their value? Knappogue 51 or Dungourney for their rarity? Some other whiskey for some other reason?
I'm keen to know what are the best Irish whiskeys according to the IWS forum posters. You guys drink Irish whiskey - tell me what's your top dram and why!

I'll kick off - the one Irish whiskey I rate above all others is (currently!) the Bushmills 21 year old. I think its port element and complexity narrowly edges the 25 yo millennium single casks, which are sometimes a teeny bit woody, and since I really love their base spirit above all others, this for me is the apogee of what Irish whiskey can do. Maybe you agree?

[DavidH]

Tyrconnell 15yo single cask.

The smell of it is so cheerful and inviting. Bags of taste too. The wood is there but only enough to drag your attention back to the whiskey so you are conscious of what you are drinking. Lovely warm finish, no dryness creeping in.

I also like the fact I can go back to the shop and get another bottle so I don't have to be too precious about doling it out.

That said, I haven't tried the Bushies you mention. I suspect I'd quite like the port-influenced single malt.

I could see myself with a bottle of Ally's Midleton Single Cask too, but only on the basis of a small tasting, so that would need further research. JohnM says the Jameson RVR is even better so maybe that...

Since I can have any bottle I want, I'm also tempted to request something rare and expensive just to try it. Like the Knappogue 1951.

But I'll be perfectly happy with my Tyrconnell 15yo.

[JohnM]

I'm a Midleton Distillery fan above any other, so it might be something from them. However, probably the best Irish I've tasted are the Bow Street 1963, Midleton 25 and Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve, Redbreast 15 and Rarest Vintage Reserve. Only three of them from the new distillery.

I'd probably go for the Midleton 25 as my pick.

David, are you going to the Japanese tasting tomorrow? If so I'll try to remember to bring a sample of the Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve. I love this one most of the time, although it's disappointing sometimes.

[DavidH]

David, are you going to the Japanese tasting tomorrow?

I'll be there. Is there anything from my limited collection I can offer you? If none of those, I can maybe bring something else... a surprise

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

That is a very hard question to answer as I find I drink different different whiskies to suit different moods or whims.

Some of the super whiskies are distant memories for me as many of them have only been samples so I will only base my selections on full bottles that I have opened myself.

The Bushmills 21 is indeed a super whiskey but a Bushmills sherry cask is hard to beat for me. I'm also very taken by the Cadenheads Peated whiskies and I think the 13yo has been my favourite so far and would love it to be a regular bottling but the one I keep going back to (as I currently can) is the Redbreast 15yo which I rate slightly above the Jameson 15yo.

However I may open my Midleton 25yo PPS in the not so distant future and change my mind as it is looking more and more like a bargain the more I think about it

[TheWhiskeyBro]

From Cooley I have to say I do like the Tyrconnell finishes, I personally am a fan of the less subtle Port finish, (bit of a sweet tooth I guess). However in a recent head-to-head with the Tyrconnell 15 year old, I was blown away by the superior difference in the 15YO (Cask # 1850).

On the Midleton side I am quite fond of the 18 YO, but having not tasted the more expensive offerings in a while.

And from the 'Old' Bushmills Distillery, I definitely have a preference for the 16 YO over the 21YO.

[jcskinner]

That's cheating, Leo!

[BrianH]

I must say I'm in a quandary here. Even going by my avatar and my old alias (origianal forum) of bushmillsfreak, it's a toss up between the Bushmills 21 yo and the Tyrconnell 15 yo Single Malt.

I've got a bottle of both, and I don't know if it's anything to do with the cost as David says, but the Tyrconnell is almost empty while the Bushmills has only had 5 or 6 shots out of it. Thing is, I don't think it has got anything to do with the cost. The Tyrconnell just knocks my socks off. It's the reason they invented the distillation process. I don't think you can give a whiskey much more kudos than that...

[cathach]

Oooooooh, you saucy sultan you, Redbreast 15yo it has to be for me. It's such a great whiskey with a flinty finish that goes on for hours. Most especially because in a desert island situation I think I'd be able to make it last just because it's so flavoursome.

[Whiskey Pilgrim]

Kaixo Guys,
My Favourite......The Cask yet to be corked and the whiskey to be bottled !! ye have to have a carrot lads......

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

I changed my mind ...

My favourite Irish Whiskey I have decided it the one I currently have in my glass

[Fionnán]

My favorite would have to be the Redbreast 15 yr old. However, if i'm actually on a dessert island and rescue isnt looking like a likely option, i'd want the Knappogue 1951 out of sheer curiosity so that i at least get to try a dram of it before i die...

[varizoltan]

redbreast 15, and connemara sherry finish

[Luke Gough]

Jameson 15 Year Old Millenium Edition - the most subtle, delectable vatting...