Continuing with out month of whiskies we move to something that I had high hopes for, but much like last week – it’s really only good in a single type of mixed drink – which at the very least it does well. This time we go to something meant to compete head to head with Jameson, the Tullamore Dew.
However again like last week with the Alberta Rye, we are ruined once again by a sherry casking. This even more so being a blend means that this awfulness was either intentional, or at best manufactured. However the problem is that if asked what’s my best Whiskey and Ginger Ale – I’m going to have to point here.
What they Say: “Established in the heart of Ireland, the Tullamore distillery perfected the craft of blending triple distilled pot still, malt, and grain whiskies. Whilst triple distillation guarantees the ultimate smoothness, ageing this unique blend for many years in Oloroso sherry and old bourbon oak casks brings out a character and flavour that continues to win awards year after year. The Tullamore distiller established in 1829, became home to a man of legendary status – Daniel E. Williams. He perfected a whiskey of exceptional quality, character and smoothness that was good enough to bear his initials D.E.W.”
Taste: 1.0 – While I am a bit biased against sherry casked (this is a blend though) whiskies – make no mistake. I like what tastes good, and mostly don’t care how it got to there. Tasting this my only thought is – fuck sherry.
Aftertaste: 2.0 – Seriously fuck sherry. You get a bit of that irish whiskey that you want on the aftertaste, but the burn and sherry overpower this too fucken much.
Burn/Smooth: 2.0 – It has a burn which quite frankly overpowers everything else to the point of being the defining feature.
Aroma: 2.5 – It smells woody, by which I mean it smells like wood finish. It really doesn’t smell that much like whiskey. While I have nothing against this manly wise of drinking wood finish – pretty sure smelling like wood finish is a negative towards points.
Honesty: 5.0 – So they don’t lie – they say they start with ultimate smoothness, but that they then age it – it’s very cleverly done. And the man and name is okay and not too wanky. Notice how they say though that he perfected something, not that they follow it’s recipe though. In short I can’t fault this too much, and the bottle design is nice. However sherry casks in an irish whiskey is just wrong – enough to kill any gains.
Mixability: 6.75
W/ Rocks: 5.5 – That certainly does great work on lessening the sherry and bringing out the whiskey, but while preferred, still not great.
Whiskey and Ginger Ale: 8.0 – It’s not overpowering, yet it brings a unique take on the drink. Quite frankly I don’t know how this is the same whiskey because this is delicious.
Value: 6.0 – Listen, if you are looking for a whiskey to go in your ginger ale – well this is better than our best so far in Jameson. That alone makes it mighty in terms of value. However I think I would likely rather get Jameson for being useful elsewhere, and the ability to have straight if wanted. So yes this gets to be above par -but not by much.
Google Shop Average: $23
Website: https://www.tullamoredew.com/en-gb/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 4.0
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Metric Score: 25.25/70 |+| Metric Average: 3.6 |+| Reviewer Average: 4.0
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Final Thoughts: I will level with you. 2 out of those 4 Reviewer points are for how well this does in ginger ale. If this was mediocre of anything less it would be getting a 1.5 or 2 from me. With that in mind this is the best we’ve had on the site so far.
