Tonight’s tasting at Trinity Hall Irish Pub included 3 Irish whiskeys and 3 Canadian Rye whiskeys… all of them new to the pub.  Here’s what the lineup included:

Irish

• Jameson Black Barrel ($33) – Sweet nose of vanilla and caramel… taste of honey, fruit, some spice and charred oak… nice whiskey and a big step up from regular Jameson.
• Green Spot ($42) – Sweet nose of vanilla, caramel and straw, but less sweet than Black Barrel… taste is spicy with notes of apple, pear and a bit of grass, slightly hot and bitter on the finish… not impressed.
• Teeling Whiskey (estimated $45) – this is the same whiskey that I tasted at the national launch a couple of weeks ago… it’s a bit less medicinal/herbal than I remember and much hotter this time… still not impressed

Canadian

• Wisers Rye – very mild nose and very mild flavor with a bit of spice, sweet maple and apple… not much here, so I’ll pass
• Pike Creek Port Finish ($24) – sweet nose with vanilla, plum and caramel… port seems to tone down the spice in a good way (but it’s still there)… also, notes of sweet rye, fruit and a little bit of maple… nice, simple whiskey at a good price with some interesting flavors
• Collingwood 21 ($52) – nose of peach, green apple, caramel and honeysuckle (we were actually trying to guess at the evident floral component)…  flavors of charred maple syrup, toffee, honey, tobacco, cardboard, lavender and bitter herbs… a strange whiskey that I would pass up, especially for the price… plus the bottle looks like an oversized cologne bottle… I kept thinking I should splash some on 😉

Bonus

• Stagg, Jr. ($40) – This is the same batch that I reviewed recently and easily the best pour of the night.