Uisce Beatha Real Irish Whiskey

So this will be my last Irish whiskey review, barring any finds at pubs, for awhile. Not because I don’t like them, or that the community seemingly isn’t the biggest fan of them, but mostly because I have other fish to fry.

And whiskey’s to try.

And pigs to sty?

Oh well, took it one too many.

Uisce Beatha Real Irish Whiskey starts off with words that I can’t hope to ever get right, and can only apologize for repeatedly. It means Water of Life in the Irish language. Did I know there was an Irish language before reading about that? No.

Turns out that the word whiskey comes from the English version of Uisce Beatha. Which… takes a couple jumps down the logic trail, I’m sure, but I’ll take it.

None the less, this is a blended Irish whiskey matured in ex-Bourbon barrels. Let’s see how a ‘real’ Irish tastes.

Price: N/A at the LCBO

Region: Ireland

Abv: 40%

Colour: Gold

Nose: Caramel, lemon, cardamon, fresh cut grass, orange rind, moss

Sweet, and grassy. Reminds me of working for the Scouts and delivering peat moss and manure in the ‘spring’.

Not too strong, it’s hard to pick out much other than some herb and orange. The caramel fails fast.

Taste: Nutty, burn, citrus, sugar syrup, parsley

Doesn’t taste as bad as the peat moss in the ‘spring’, that’s for certain.

That being said, it’s pretty bland. Eventually just tastes like parsley and sugar. Which may be your bag, but I’m looking for a bit more.

Finish: Grassy, lemon, coconut, dragon fruit, creamed corn

Hey, are you sick of grass flavours yet? How about now? No, well let’s keep pushing it.

Conclusion: There’s not much to say about this dram. It’s grassy, it’s faint, and while every so often there’s a fruit flavour, it’s few and far between. Might be nice to make an Irish Manhattan into, or better yet, a Rusty Nail.

Actually, yeah, I’ll say that: Buy this to mix with Drambuie to make Rusty Nails. You’ll have a great night, and a pretty rough hangover.

63/100

World Whiskey review #75, Ireland review #17, Whiskey Network Review #369