Paddy Old Irish Whiskey
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 6 A classic Irish, though less full in flavour than Jameson.

Jameson Irish Whiskey
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 8 A superb Irish for everyday drinking. I love this, though not quite as much as the 1780.

Redbreast 12 Years Old
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 9 Delicious, soothing, contemplative. A great whiskey. Makes me want to get on a plane to Dublin immediately.

Tullamore Dew 12 Years Old
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 7 Flirtatious, but not a lot to say for itself.

Kilbeggan Blended Irish Whiskey
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 7 Light but firm and satisfying. A welcome newcomer for everyday drinking.

Black Bush
Blended - Ireland - 43.00% 8 Long one of my great favourites. In composition, it is the the simplest of blends, yet it demonstrates how malt can someimes be enhanced by a leavening of grain.

Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 45.20% 8 Perhaps encouraged by the dark orange colour, the descriptors sound sweet, but the overall effect is one of flowery dryness, with great finesse.

Locke's Blended Irish Whiskey
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 7 Very appetising.

Connemara Single Malt Irish whiskey
Single Malt - Ireland - 40.00% 8 The revival of rustic peatiness adds a whole new element to today's palette of Irish whiskey flavours.

Inishowen Blended Whiskey
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 7 More complex, and fuller in flavour, than many Irish blends. Very well balanced. Just a hint of a Scottish accent.

Tyrconnell
Single Malt - Ireland - 40.00% 6 A pleasant, light-tasting malt.

Millars Special Reserve
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 7 Perfectly pleasant but very light in flavours.

Coleraine
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 6 A pleasant whiskey for everyday drinking.

Crested Ten Irish Whiskey, 10 Years Old
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 7 This is a highly respected ‘sophisticated' whiskey, but it has never done anything for me. Good sherry character, but the whiskey itself is just too thin in the middle. I find it unbalanced.

Hewitts Irish Whiskey
Blended - Ireland - 43.00% 7 Soothing. A touch of more-ish dryness.

Locke's Single Malt
Single Malt - Ireland - 40.00% 7 Beautifully balanced with toasted dryness.

Murphy's Blended Irish Whiskey
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 6 Pleasant but a little one-dimensional.

Wild Turkey 8 Years Old, 101
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 40.00% 8 Yes it is big and wild, but far more sophisticated than the name suggests.

Buffalo Trace American Straight Bourbon
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 45.00% 8 Some very interesting flavours, but lacks roundness and length.

Jameson Limited Edition, 15 Years Old
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 8 Distinctive. A very full pot-still Irish.

Bushmills Millennium
Single Malt - Ireland - 40.00% 8 Tightly combined flavours. Delicate. Elegant.

Adelphi Shannon Grain Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Single Grain - Ireland - 67.30% 6 Flavoursome for a grain, but neither especially clean nor well rounded.

Adelphi Slaney Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Single Malt - Ireland - 0.00% 7 Pleasant, soothing, sociable.

Adelphi Suir Peated Malt
Single Malt - Ireland - 40.00% 7 Lacks the rich smokiness of Connemara.

Cadenhead's 10 Years Old, Bourbon
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 45.00% 9 I especially like bourbons when they are big and robust. This is both hearty and complex. A wonderful winter warmer.