Knappogue Castle 12 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey

When Knappogue Castle 12 Year went on sale in NC I picked up a bottle. At 40 beans it was a bit pricey for Irish Whiskey, but it was also single malt so I figured why not.  The triple distilled whiskey is aged for 12 years in Bourbon casks and it is a sourced whiskey, but a brief search did not yield the origin. The aroma was filled with estery banana, pepper, malt, and whifts of light leather. The flavor had more banana, candy sweetness, light pepper, honeysuckle, tropical fruits, and a lasting light spice impression. The finish was tropical with honeysuckle, low alcohol, and light spice. While tasty the money juice character was far too strong for it to be one of my favorites. Had this rolled in at 10 bucks lower I might be more enchanted, but at the purchased price point there are other Irish offerings which best this hands down. If you are looking to try all the Irish Whiskeys you can then certainly give this one a whirl, otherwise the price of admission is too high for this whiskey.

Smooth Ambler Old Scout 107

Our local group ended up with a Smooth Ambler Old Scout 107 pick and it was my first taste of Smooth Ambler. This bottle was from Barrel #12491 and dated 4/15/19.  This is an American Whiskey which is a blend of old and new whiskey which keeps it from being labeled as a Bourbon. At $35 I jumped at the chance to snag a bottle and while I found it enjoyable, this whiskey seemed to lack a bit of complexity. It was filled with a nose of brown sugar and cinnamon with leather, pepper, and wafts of alcohol. The flavor was more of the same with sweet brown sugar, cinnamon, pepper, oak, and an alcohol burn which reminded you this tipped the scales at 53.5% ABV. It was an enjoyable glass, but the roughness of the alcohol and over the top spice made me have second thoughts more than once as I reached for the bottle. If you asked me if this was a Bourbon I would say yes, but the rough nature reminds you this needs a little more time to develop fully. I’m glad our group selected one, but if I had missed the opportunity I would not have been overly disappointed. I may have to give some of the Smooth Ambler Bourbons a whirl, but probably won’t return to the American Whiskey.