Greenore 8

And back to the Irish marathon that everyone loves and hates, all at the same time. So grab a potato, sit back, and generally enjoy a distinct culture.

Fun.

Up next, c/o Flaviar to me, is Greenore 8. This is 100% Single Grain whiskey, which was aged in ex-Bourbon casks. Produced by the Cooley distillery.

Also, in contrast to other Irish whiskies, this whiskey is made with Column stills rather than Pot Stills. It’s also made with Maize and Corn in just one distillery, thus the name Single Grain Whiskey.

Which confuses me, because I don’t usually consider Corn a grain. Granted, who am I to judge? Wait, that’s exactly what I’m doing… oh well, time to judge it.

Where’s my judge’s robe? I’m not really a judge, I just like wearing a moo-moo and black makes me look great.

Price: $54.55 (CAD) at the LCBO

Region: Ireland

Abv: 40%

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Tangerine, yeast, lemon yeast cake, red licorice, old leaves, bubblegum

It smells like an Irish, but… not exactly? Like, it’s quaked like a duck, but there may be scales? Like a monster Irish?

It’s sweet. Probably too sweet for some, though the yeast is helping that. Guessing that’s due to the ex-Bourbon casks and the nice age.

Taste: Bubblegum, lemongrass, mint, clementines, charcoal, caramel

Not too complex, and really sweet. I like it, though it’s still simple.

Like the charcoal flavour in there. Reminds me of working on a steam ship. All your food ends up with a dusting of charcoal.

Finish: Pepper, ginger candy, wood, sourdough, strawberry jam

Not… the greatest finish. Kinda disjoint. Like the flavours don’t exactly mix. Not huge misses (like Tuna and the Eifel Tower mixed with Broccoli and the Shah of Iran), but still somewhat disjoint.

Conclusion: This is a nice, albeit low Abv and somewhat simple, dram. It does things a little different, has some funky flavours, and doesn’t go too out there with the finish. I like it, and I’d probably be happy with a bottle of it given to me. There’s worst out there.

What I hope is that they try some different things with this dram. I know that it’s ‘traditional’ to serve Irish Whiskey at 40%, however this could do with some more Abv to help out the complexity and amp up the flavours (which are weak).

I don’t think this needs to go the route of crazy finishes either. It stands on it’s own, which is something to be proud of.

Also yes, I do realize they released both a 15 and an 18 year old, both as limited releases, and at 43% and 46%, respectively. And if I have the opportunity to try them, I’m jumping at it.

78/100

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