Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-04-20)

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DRINKS Bloomberg Pursuits April 20, 2020

ROE & CO BLENDED

IRISH WHISKEY

As a testament to

the category’s turn

of fortune, spirits

behemoth Diageo Plc

recently invested more

than $27 million in a

proper distillery in the

heart of downtown

Dublin. Although it

opened to visitors last

summer, for a taste of

what it will produce,

you’ll have to wait a wee

bit longer: Irish whiskey

must spend a minimum

of three years in the

barrel. Until then the

brand’s first release,

distilled elsewhere, is

a soft, vanilla-laden

blend of malt and grain

whiskeys—and it does

quite nicely. $33

KILBEGGAN SINGLE

POT STILL

A style of whiskey

unique to Ireland,

“single pot still” must

be conceived at one

distillery only from a mix

of malted and unmalted

barley; 19th century

recipes often included

a small percentage of

oats, as a genius way

to skirt punitive taxes

from the British crown.

(The “pot” itself is a

misnomer. As with single

malts, it can still be a

blend of different barrels

of distillate.) Kilbeggan

revived the tradition

with a burnt-honey-

hued spirit that’s elegant

in structure, yielding a

creamy mouthfeel from

the grain, with a slight

grassy finish. $45

BUSHMILLS 21-YEAR

To many drinkers,

single malt and Scotch

are almost synonymous.

This bottle smashes

that stereotype. It takes

two distillates—one

matured in ex-bourbon

barrels, the other in

oloroso sherry butts—

and marries them in

Madeira wine casks.

The result is an ode to

sultanas and Christmas

fruitcake, with a

stubbornly persistent

finish of spiced pepper.

It easily stands up to

its Scottish brethren,

with one notable

point of separation: a

reasonable price point

for liquid this old. $249

TEELING

24-YEAR-OLD

SINGLEMALT

Perhapsnoonemanhas

donemoretoelevate

IrishwhiskeythanJohn

Teeling.Thefounder

ofCooleyDistilleryhas

beenlayingdownhigh-

qualitymaltandgrainin

unconventionalcasks

sincethemid-1980s.

Today his sons, Jack and

Stephen, are creating

their own legacy

with an eponymous

operation in the historic

Liberties neighborhood

of downtown Dublin.

Evidently they even

procured some of Dad’s

barrels. Among their

most elegant releases

is this limited-edition

reserve that spent time

in ex-Sauternes French

oak. What pours out

is a curiously tropical

dram with hints of

pineapple and marzipan,

broadening the Irish

category for a new

generation of drinker.

With only 5,000 barrels

in existence, a

connoisseur would

pounce before stores

run dry. $500

REDBREAST
27-YEAR-OLD
Redbreast leaped
into the international
spotlight when it came
back to market in 1991,
after a six-year absence.
In March the Cork-
based bottler unveiled
its oldest expression
yet. The cask-strength
offering derives its
complexity from the
merging of three
distinct maturations:
sherry butt, bourbon
cask, and port pipes.
They are then blended
in precise proportion to
arrive at a rich whiskey
with ripened red fruit
aromas that offset
a sustained palate
of toffee and dates.
A smooth sip leaves
scant evidence of its
triple-digit proof. $500

Whoneeds

Scotch?

Unique

process