Happy Hour | A Taste Of Irish Whiskey

What better way to start your St. Patrick’s Day weekend than with a few Irish whiskeys? These delicious distilled drinks are flavorful, bold and sweet, yet each have their own personality and their very own history.

Click here to download your own printable tasting notes!

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Kilbeggan

http://www.kilbegganwhiskey.com/

Price: $20+

Nose: Pretty light, but not unpleasant. First smell is slightly of apples, with light caramel and some light malt.

Palate: Pretty non-existent, but blooms with a few drops of water, and maltiness  matures in glass.

Finish: Clean, a little malty with a little bitterness.

Comments: Sweeter than most Irish whiskeys, and better suited for mixing drinks – Irish coffee, etc. than neat or on the rocks.

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Tulemore Dew

http://www.tullamoredew.com/

Price: $20-30

Nose: Grainy, firm and slightly fruity.

Palate: Caramel and spice with malty sweetness.

Finish: Vanilla and spices ensure complexity, yet some flavors linger.

Comment: A little too sweet, but love the mix of the caramel and vanilla flavors.

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Jameson 12 year

http://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/us/

Price: $35-45

Nose: Very aromatic, wafts of orange peel and leather.

Palate: Big, oily, creamy, sociable, loud.

Finish: Peppery, with a bit of oak.

Comment: Perfect for everyday drinking.

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Redbreast 12

http://www.singlepotstill.com/redbreast.do?

Price: $75-100

Nose: Sweet, multi-faceted, flavors of fig, fruit.

Palate: Sip, don't swig, to taste the fullness of this whiskey. Light and sweet.

Finish: Easy finish, the floral notes from the nose return. The sweetness fades fast.

Comment: Completely different than Jameson, with a mature complexity.

*Special thanks to the Claddagh Irish Pub in Indianapolis.

Recipes: 2013 Cocktail Guide

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Twinkle VanWinkle was born in a small town in Mississippi. A life-long lover of music, media and food, she grew up following those three things along her path. She has almost 20 years of professional cooking under her apron strings, feeding thousands of friends, family and other folks while working in restaurants and bakeries in Oxford, Miss. She baked apple pies for the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and appeared on Food Network's “The Best Of...” in the same year. Along with producing dynamic lifestyle content for LIN Media, she is a mother, musician and social media fanatic.

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