It's Ireland vs. Scotland, where we pit Irish Single Pot Still Whiskey against Single Malt Whisky. The two styles are quite distinctive, so who will wins? We do!
Ireland versus Scotland. Who's whisk(e)y is better?
I know that both countries are beautiful and their people are friendly and welcoming. I'd really love to visit there someday.
I went to a tasting event hosted by the North Shore Whisky Club. This event pitted single pot still Irish whiskey against single malt scotch, and the two styles were quite distinctive.
Let the tasting battle begin!
Irish Single Sot still and Scottish Single Malt Distilling
The evening was presented by Alex Thibault, Brand Ambassador for Whiskeys of Midleton/Irish Distillers Ltd/Pernod Ricard. Alex gave us a lot of interesting tidibts to think about as we were imbibing, and a good time was had by all.
I've tasted and reviewed Irish whiskey before. Coincidentally, I tasted then some of the whiskey expressions below, and it's good to know that my current review isn't too far off from then. Go me!
In that post, I discussed how Irish whiskey is distilled differently than scotch, so I won't go into that topic here (good, we can read it ourselves, thanks). I also discussed the spelling of whisky vs. whiskey. Good times.
One interesting factoid that I want to note is that while scotch is made with just malted barley (that is, barley that has been partially germinated, then heated to stop the germination process), Irish whiskey uses either all or some unmalted barley.
This difference results in more grain or hay flavors in the expression. I really noticed this difference during the tasting, as reflected in my notes.
Let's go to the review, shall we?
Irish Single Pot Still Whiskey vs. Scottish Single Malt Whisky tasting
Hosted by the North Shore Whiskey Club, presented by Alex Thibault, August 19, 2017
Green Spot
Tasting Notes
- Nose: green apple, honey, white chocolate
- Taste: enters softly, grains, green apple, white chocolate, lightly floral, lemon rind, light body
- Finish: spice rises, pepper last on the back of the tongue
- Comments: a soft, light sip, not harsh, easy and approachable
Scapa Skiren
Tasting Notes
- Nose: oranges, clover honey, hay, salt
- Taste: soft & light body, hay & floral orange blossoms
- Finish: taste doesn't linger, some evergreen notes
- Comments: very light and bright, another easy drink
Yellow Spot
Tasting Notes
- Nose: heavier aroma, more caramel, vanilla, slight cooked fruit
- Taste: creamier & oilier than Green Spot, pears, toffee
- Finish: butter lasts after the pepper fades
- Comments: more body & has interesting character
Redbreast Lustau
Tasting Notes
- Nose: cooked fruit, hay underneath, burnt sugar
- Taste: sneaks in with the cooked fruit, brown sugar candy, light body but more texture
- Finish: exits sweetly, brown sugar, slight menthol at the end
- Comments: sherry really adds character, still light in body, Very nice!
Aberlour A'Bunadh
Tasting Notes
- Nose: sherry hit with deep ripe fruit, caramel, floral
- Taste: bigger & bolder, chocolate oily, caramel
- Finish: cinnamon & cloves last, heats the throat
- Comments: definitely cask strength, excellent! w/ water: hoppiness, floral bitterness, sweet dark chocolate, heavy cream
Redbreast 12yr Cask Strength
Tasting Notes
- Nose: green apple, light gran
- Taste: medium body, honey & vanilla, toffee
- Finish: toffee, cayenne, cloves, nutmeg
- Comments: cask strength adds some bite; w/ water: grass notes, green apple, hops, more bitter
Glenlivet Nadurra
Tasting Notes
- Nose: campfire smoke, white chocolate, pears
- Taste: butter & clotted cream, sweet marshmallows
- Finish: cream filled doughnuts, some ash on the tongue
- Comments: aged in Laphroaig casks, even at cask strength it's not harsh, very drinkable…so good!! My favorite of the night; w/ water: green grass with some sweet cream
Final thoughts
For me, the Glenlivet and Aberlour scotches won the day over the Irish whiskey generally, but the Lustau rounded out my top three.
I really liked the Laphroaig-infused peatiness of the Nadurra that went along with the sweetness of that Speyside spirit. It had the most character of the lineup. And you can't beat the bold, sweet strength of the Aberlour. There's a lot going on in that glass.
I do like Irish whiskey as it's lighter in flavor and body, but I really enjoy a dram I can sink my teeth into (so to speak), and scotch generally provides that in spades (so much for not mixing metaphors).
So who wins this head-to-head matchup? We do!
I hope you like this review! If you've tried any of the expressions and have your own tasting notes, please leave a comment. Thanks!
Slainté! L'chaim! Cheers!
- Tammy
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