[Leica] OT: Thoughts on Irish whiskeys

[glehrer at san.rr.com (Jerry Lehrer)]

Marc,

Sensitivity or acuteness of taste is such a personal entity that I will 
forego saying that you are
FOS.

We recently ran a series of blind taste tests of Irish Whiskeys, Scotch 
Whiskys and Irish
Stouts.  At different times of course!

Most of us agreed that Jamesons tasted like cat piss, and that Black 
Bush was superior to
Bushmills or Bushmills Staight Malt.

For the Johnny Walker test we had Red, Black, Blue, and Green.  We dinna 
have the Gold.
My palate and nose, used to Islay malts, voted the Black as superior 
each time.

For the Irish stouts, Guinness in cans, beat out the Guinness in 
bottles.  Murphy's Stout was
 not even considered third best even though there were only three stouts 
tested.

Your posh friend,
Jerry



Marc James Small wrote:
> At 04:37 PM 3/24/2007, Adam Bridge wrote:
> >My son does love a good glass of Irish whiskey and I want to buy a
> >good bottle (here in California) to celebrate his return to
> >silly-vilian life.
> >
> >I don't drink it very much, mostly because I never think to try it,
> >and I'm looking for recommendations for while I offer him. I was
> >thinking I'd get him two or three bottles of rather different whiskeys
> >so he can make up his mind about what he might enjoy. I think the
> >Jameson Midleton is a bit beyond what I wanted to spend - by a factor
> >of three or so.
>
> I'm of Highland descent, so I do not waste money unnecessarily.
>
>
>
> Irish Whiskeys and Scottish Whiskies are totally different animals and 
> both insist on an approach with care attitude.  Scotch has a peaty 
> flavor absent from most Irish distillates due to a different method of 
> production and for historical reasons which are rather far from our 
> current topic, though fascinating.
>
> I was REALLY into single-malts three decades ago but the SNOB appeal 
> has driven them to unreasonable levels:  this is rather like Johnny 
> Walker Black -- it tastes the same as Johnny Walker Red but it costs 
> 30% more, so why pay for it unless you are trying to impress someone, 
> and I'm not out to impress anyone.  Lagavulin is a rare breed but it 
> costs more here, even at the local Class VI store at Fort Lee, more 
> for a fifth than does a half-gallon of Johnny Walker Red.
>
> An acquaintance of mine as a lad in Boston had a duty every Friday 
> night to set up a card game for his grandfather, a refugee to the US 
> from the Irish "Time of Troubles".  One Friday, he showed up to set up 
> the game, complete with the half-gallon of Jameson's, and his 
> grandfather looked at him with joy and glee and said, "throw the cap 
> away, lad:  we'll not be needing it this night as the Old Bastard is 
> dead!" Eamon de Valera, aka "Dev", the man responsible for the death 
> of Collins, had died in 1973, groaning to his death that he would be 
> blamed for the death of Collins while still cheaply denying Collins a 
> proper acknowledgement:  he truly was the Old Bastard.  He did visit 
> the German Embassy in Dublin on 2 MAY 1945 to state the grief of the 
> Irish state for the death of the head of the German State, Adolph 
> Hitler. Dev is, unfortunately, probably best remembered for that.
>
> "Throw the cap away, lad", and that is a great epitaph to Collins.
>
> Buy a half-gallon of Jameson's and explain the historical 
> significance.  Avoid these SNOB brands or, if you want, invest a 
> thousand dollars (aka, EUR 375 or ?1.75) in a taste-test and see if 
> they can see a difference.  The Irish and the Bourbon distillers have 
> invented some sort of equivalence of "single-malts".
>
> It is bunk and it is a matter of snobbery.  Avoid this. Stick to basic 
> Jameson's and basic Johnny Walker Red and force the distillers to quit 
> this bunkum.  You lads can CLAIM to taste a difference but, in the 
> end, you can only spot the difference between an Irish and a Scotch 
> and a Canadian and a Bourbon distillate.
>
> I also used to be into French Reds until the SNOB factor ruined that 
> one, as well.  Understand that SNOB stands for "sine nobilitate", 
> "without nobility", and indicated the urgencies of the lower 
> middle-class folks coming into Oxford and Cambridge and Durham in the 
> High Middle Ages to outdo those of an aristocratic background by 
> out-snobbing those already there.  Guys, back off.  Drink basic Scotch 
> and Irish drinks.  Avoid what others tell you are "great" drinks.  Do 
> your own taste-test.  There is no question that some single-malts are 
> really distinct, and Ted and I agree on Lagavulin for that!, but  for 
> the average drink for the evening, I'd go for a half-gallon of 
> Jameson's in the memory of the man who made modern Ireland, Michael 
> Collins.
>
> Marc
>
>