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Greenore 8 Year Old

Pencil and Caramel Smoothie

0 1780

@OJKReview by @OJK

25th Aug 2010

0

  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Finish
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  • Balance
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  • Overall
    80

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Nose, Taste, Finish and Balance are graded out of 2.5 each:

Nose: This is a single grain whiskey that walks and talks like a bourbon, with the corn doing a huge amount of work on the nose. Vanilla and fresh rubber mix beautifully with the sweetcorn. There is even the distinct aroma of a freshly sharpened pencil, dipped in caramel. That may not sound all that appetising as a concept, however believe me in this glass it smells like nectar. 2.0

Taste: The pencil, caramel, and vanilla have all been whipped up into a thick smoothie. Full bodied, with the lead, rubber, wood shavings and caramel all balancing out beautifully to create a sumptuously sweet mouthful. 2.0

Finish: The corn-oil comes rushing back to prominence, before making way for the vanilla to return. The wooden spice gives a nice balance to final caramel overtures. 2.0

Balance: This is really wonderful stuff. In a blind tasting you would be hard pushed not to have this down as a bourbon, however it does seem to have a more restrained palate than its american cousins. This Irish single-grainer has a more humble, yet no less mouth-watering approach than a typical bourbon, however this is also no doubt due to the lower alcohol content (40%) than most of Kentucky's offerings. It does nonetheless make this whiskey highly approachable and effortlessly drinkable. 2.0

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17 comments

@LeFrog
LeFrog commented

I only ever hear good things about this whisky.

13 years ago 0

@jeanluc
jeanluc commented

This has been on my wishlist for a while now, must do something about it :)

13 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

This is the whisky that started it all for me, 8 years ago. Nice to see it's being appreciated so much. And while the 15 Year Old is also very good, it's too expensive. Go for this one, you'll not be disappointed.

13 years ago 0

@Skepparkrantz
Skepparkrantz commented

I have had this for a long time on my wishlist.. however this is on order only in sweden but today i stumbled on a 6 Year old bottle of Greenore at my favorite liqour store.. i got it just to get the taste of Greenore. Anyone tasted the 6 years old and know how it is compared to the 8y?

13 years ago 0

@OJK
OJK commented

@Skepparkrantz: I haven't actually tried the 6 year old, however I've heard great things about it. Ironically over here in the UK it's actually harder to come by! Much like with bourbons, younger grain can often taste just as good if not better at such young ages, so I imagine it's a fantastic dram - what was your impression of it?

13 years ago 0

@Skepparkrantz
Skepparkrantz commented

@OJK well maybe there is a reason they dont marketing the 6yo in the UK ;-) I must say im not fully satisfied with the 6yo, i did get the most notes that you have in the 8yo and the taste is rather smooth and pleasent (on the palate enyway), like a more modest bourbon. But in the 6yo i felt a to intense taste of pure spirits, like the 6 years really isnt really enough to mature this dram. The taste of spirits, or (bad)vodka was most intense on the finnish and kind of destryoed the smooth taste i had on the palate. I like white spirits to, especially a good vodka, but not in my whisky. However im still curious of the 8yo and must taste it, because is the vodka taste gone, it would be great!

13 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

@Skepparkrantz: I didn't realize they had a 6YO. Would love to see a photo of the bottle (or maybe even con you out of a sample?). Can it be done?

13 years ago 0

@Skepparkrantz
Skepparkrantz commented

@markjedi1 a photo is easy.. if you dont want a real photo from me you can always picture google Greenore 6yo.. The bottle is the same as the 8yo, but the labels are red. I would gladly give you a sample if you happen to travel though sweden.

13 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

@Skepparkrantz: thanks, found the image and a shop in Scotland that still carries the bottle - good thing is, I'll be there end of the month, so I've asked them to put a bottle aside for me. Cheers for pointing me in the right direction to finding this bottle, Skepp!

13 years ago 0

@OJK
OJK commented

@Skepparkrantz: sorry to hear the 6 year old wasn't quite so impressive, thanks for sharing your notes on it. will still be curious to give it a try. in the meantime i hope you manage to get your hands on some of the 8 yo!

13 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

Is the grain used posted on the bottle or merely assumed to be corn here? I cannot tell from the photos and do not have a bottle ready to hand. Single grain, I assume, means corn here. Does 'single grain' always mean corn in Ireland and the U.K.? From the US this seems bizarre nomenclature to me not to name the grain used on the bottle. BIG differences there are among the tastes of malted barley, barley, wheat, malted rye, rye, and corn. In Scotland (and Ireland) there seems to be (generally) malted barley and generic "grain". There are whole universes of whisky to be developed within the realms of rye, wheat, corn, and who knows what other grains! Why not inform the buyer what(s)he is buying? Tradition is no good reason to keep unclear nomenclature.

13 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

It is not assumed to be corn, @Victor. If you visit the (exquisite and renewed) Cooley website,you'll find they say that the mash bill is: maize, water and yeast with a small amount of malted barley to get fermentation going.

13 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

Thank you, @markjedi1, for the reference to the mashbill. This is useful information, but why not state on the bottle that this is corn whisky? When someone says to me 'single grain', I want to know which grain, and not to have to look up the information on a website or in a reference book. I drink a lot of rye whiskies and at least one wheat whisky. The flavors are quite different from one another, and I would like to know what I am approaching without a lot of research involved.

13 years ago 0

@Cooley
Cooley commented

Hi @Victor and everyone on this thread. That's a really interesting point on the type of Grain information needed on the bottle. Think I will have a chat with Noel our Master Blender and Alex our innovation manager on this! On updates on Greenore, we should have the Greenore 18 available very soon, this is a truly special whiskey, and I hope to get some samples out to the good folks in Connosr soon to do some tastings! Also if anyone is passing through the new terminal 2 at Dublin Airport, Ireland, we provided the DAA with a special single cask bottling of Greenore 19 YO!

13 years ago 0

@OJK
OJK commented

Hi @Victor, very interesting point you raise, and many thanks @Cooley for taking it up! Also, I had the pleasure of tasting the Greenore 18 at the Whisky Show, and as you say it truly is a special whiskey. I mentioned to the representative from Cooley that it reminded me a lot of the Elijah Craig 18, and he said that in fact the Greenore 18 had been matured in Heaven Hill barrels - is there any way of confirming whether they happened to be ex-Elijah Craig barrels? In any case, that and the Turf Mor will be making their way into my cabinet as soon as I can get my hands on them!

13 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

So, who will will travel to the Dublin airport and pick me up a Greenore 19 YO? :) It goes without saying that I'll pay shipping as well, of course. Cheers!

13 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

Hi @OJK, and I echo my deep thanks to @Cooley for addressing these issues relating to bottle labeling. I look forward to trying your Greenore products! ...and I also very much like my bottle of the Elijah Craig 18 yr old, which being of a low rye mashbill comes, I think, about as close to giving the idea of an aged corn whisky as one can with a bourbon.

13 years ago 0

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