Review by: TOModera
And we’re off to the races for 2015.
This past Saturday I had an exam. In Accounting. And it was rough. I had to call my parents afterward to tell them I had a new daddy; that exam.
None the less, some friends and my wife (whom I’m also friends with, but I have to mention separately due to insecurities caused by society), decided to hit the bars.
So starting off the night at the Overdraught Irish Pub, I thought I’d start with some Irish that comes recommended in a few books I received.
The first thing you’ll do while ordering this Single Malt is try to pronounce it. The Tyrconnell Single Malt is a little bit of a head scratcher when it comes to pronunciation. I’m not even going to try and teach anyone, as I’m Canadian and thus, if it isn’t French (or sometimes Spanish), I can’t pronounce it correctly.
Not even English. You wouldn’t trust my reviews if I dictated them.
Anyway, Tyrconnell Single Malt is made by Cooley distillery, which is part of Kilbeggan Distilling Co., which is owned by Beam Suntory. The distillery was actually revived by Cooley, as Tyrconnell was owned by the Watt Family. Legend has it they owned a horse that won a legendary race, and thus they named the whisky after said horse because it had 100 to 1 odds to win.
It’s probably not 100% true though, because that’s the kind of horse you put out for stud, and we don’t see many Tyroconnell’s about these days.
Heck, throw that name into a shitty romance novel and we’ll see 100,000 Tyrconnell’s born by 2016.
Anyway, this dram is made in copper pot stills with 100% malted barley.
Distillery: Cooley Distillery.
Bottler: Distillery Bottling.
Region: Ireland.
ABV: 40%.
Age: Unknown.
Cask type: Unknown.
Price: $44.95 (CAD).
Color: Gold-ish? Light gold-ish?
Nose: Cream, caramel, bread dough, lime, unripe nectarine, light cinnamon
It’s an Irish alright. No smell of horse, which is good.
Starts off with the typical Irish nose of yeast/lime/bread dough, though there’s a little bit of spice, and a signature creamy smell to it that’s nice. I’ve had that in other Irish whiskey before.
Taste: Cream, lime, yeast, cayenne, mace, light peach, candied yam
Very cream. Like they just milked the horse.
Heck, if you milked the horse, they’d run faster. Especially if they were male.
Somewhat light taste to it. Takes some time to parse each part. Smooth. Not overtly complex, though it’s a nice sipper.
Finish: Lime, sourdough, bread, metal, peach, nectarine
And no horse. I’m disappointed. Really hoping for horse meat in the finish.
More citrus and yeast flavours that are in Irish whiskeys again. Some stone fruits, which are nice.
Conclusion: This is a pretty good basic Irish whiskey. I’d go out to say that this is better than the standard Jameson, so I’d recommend buying it over that. Or using it as a starting point for any Irish whiskey, for that matter.
Not overtly complex, not too yeasty, and has a nice label with a horsey on it. What more can you ask for? I look forward to trying the different finishes.
Final Score: 75.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 