We move this week from a scotch that is much better neat to an Irish whiskey that is much better neat, with the week prior to that being an American single malt better neat… (everything is the same kids). In all seriousness though, this is technically a fantastic whiskey.
We really mean that when you get straight 7’s across the board, and a near-perfect in honesty – well that’s what we here at HBR are all about. The only red mark here is the mixing, and it’s a whiskey so that’s not necessary. That being said we actually aren’t sold on this despite having bought it.
What they Say: “KERN is made using the finest grains and malts, and the purest waters of the ‘Emerald Isle’. Triple distilled then aged in American oak, Kern delivers a distinctive sweet nose as well as a balanced smooth taste that makes it an exceptional Irish Whiskey”
Taste: 7.0 – You get that sweetness here from the aroma, and it’s mixed in with that woody flavor. It’s certainly not heavy like a bourbon sugar, nor is it sticky sweet, but it’s nice.
Aftertaste: 7.0 – You get a bit more wood and a whiff of smoke. Overall though it’s fairly light, and again there’s no aspect that feels off so while it’s not mind-blowingly complex or amazing it’s well-executed and light enough to be enjoyable.
Burn/Smooth: 7.0 – With that hint of smoke there’s a bit of burn, but really overall this is pretty damn smooth.
Aroma: 7.5 – It’s nice and light – true to form. There’s a bit of sea salt and sweetness there, but it’s mostly that oak. Nothing to hate smells great – not much more to ask of it.
Honesty: 9.5 – The text isn’t too wanky, and is actually pretty spot on so – well yeah, lots of points. Add that to a nice clean design and look that’s distinctive while not being over the top and – lots of points.
Mixability: 3.75
W/ Rocks: 5.5 – That gives you a bit more of the smoke while still keeping the sweetness. Overall you miss most of that wood flavor and it actually feels like there’s more burn to go with the added smoke. It’s better straight, but even as an Irish Whiskey on ice it’s not bad.
Whiskey and Ginger Ale: 2.0 – The sum is worse than the parts. With the ginger ale and the whiskey, it adds too much sweetness and counters any of the nice ginger, and the smoke and wood are canceled out as well. You get something that’s vaguely whiskey and ginger ale, but awful.
Value: 6.5 – As far as pricing for Irish whiskey goes, and the quality of this neat – that’s not only a fair price but certainly a 10 dollar cheaper than you might expect.
Google Shop Average: $27
Website: http://kernwhiskey.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 6.0
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Metric Score: 48.25/70 |+| Metric Average: 6.89 |+| Reviewer Average: 6.0
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Final Thoughts: This will sound a bit odd, but while this is a nice whiskey, it fails to win your heart. It’s certainly well scoring and well deserved, but there’s just something about it. We don’t even account for the bad mixing, this whiskey is good, but there’s just some X-Factor missing about it.
I agree about whatever that xfactor thing is that’s missing. I bought this on recommendation and it’s just flat. Finish is short and doesn’t roll around like even Tullamore does. I’ll go back to Slane as my daily.