As promised here we have some irish whiskey’s mostly due to a sampler pack I bought, but I figured I should get something else, and this one came with a nice flask. While I am fine with everything but the actual taste I don’t think this is the irish whiskey I would ever want or need.
Sadly there’s not much else to say about this whiskey. It falls into a trap that I’ve seen time and time again where the claim of being the oldest ‘brewery/distillery’ of any region has exactly no bearing on the product itself, and if anything makes you wonder if they simply lacked the innovation or foresight to improve their product.
What they Say: “Kilbeggan is a traditional Irish whiskey, double distilled, the old way, to preserve more flavour whilst retaining the classic Irish smoothness. The Kilbeggan distillery was founded in 1757 and is Ireland’s oldest continually licensed distillery – and to this day still has its own working waterwheel.”
Taste: 3.0 – That starts off almost like it’s going to be a ‘hot’ bourbon.
Aftertaste: 3.0 – However it goes down like another kind of substandard bourbon.
Burn/Smooth: 3.0 – And it’s certainly not a smooth whiskey drinking.
Aroma: 5.5 – It’s subtle as far as smell goes, but it’s quite nice.
Honesty: 6.5 – I mean it’s a Ireland’s oldest distillery and they have a waterwheel so that gets some major points. The bottle itself is nice, and despite the name making me thing of hobbits it keeps up the facade of manly irish whiskey.
Mixability: 4.25
w/ Rocks: 3.5 – That does very little to improve it.
Whiskey and Ginger Ale: 5.0 – This is fine. This is okay.
Value: 4.0 – Sorry but I’d just rather get Jameson instead at this price point.
Google Shop Average: $26
Website: http://www.kilbegganwhiskey.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 3.5
Want to compare this spirit against our archives? Visit our statistics page.
Metric Score: 29.25/70 |+| Metric Average: 4.18 |+| Reviewer Average: 3.5
New to Honest Booze Reviews, or just wondering how we score? See our FAQ/Review Policy.
Final Thoughts: I realize that in truth there are many choices when it comes to which Irish whiskey to buy at a normal price. I am not a spokesperson for Jameson (although be warned the next two reviews come from them), but I have yet to find any reason to stray from that path. Oh sure I can get a irish whiskey at a bar with an age almost as old as I am and enjoy it, but at a premium.
