ThePortForum.com

I have been fortunate to taste quite a range of delicious whisky and whiskey recently.

The most wonderful has been the Redbreast 27yr which happens to be at least partially matured in port casks; whether this has influenced me I cannot say, but I did taste blind not knowing this, and rated the 27yr as ex+, and then preferred the 15yr over the 21yr (which makes the 15yr excellent value for money, and imo well worth the extra over the 12yr).

Tonight I am trying my first Starward, in this case their "Left-field" which is currently on offer at Waitrose (£29 instead of the usual £40) and I am seriously impressed at this price point - it's delicious, very fresh (citrus, maybe pineapple or lemon notes) but over a lovely deep background complexity - this is massively punching above its price point for me, and extremely more-ish. In fact, time for another glass. Strongly recommend trying some, and I will definitely be trying the other offerings in their range when I have the opportunity.

Phil,

A man of good taste apparently!

I love the 12 year old and find it hard to justify the extra cash involved on all the other brand extensions. I have tried the 15 and 21 year olds and they are fantastic whiskeys. Have you tried any of the dreamcasks?

I also love the 12 year old and have heard that the 15 is better, but I have a difficult time finding it in the US. I'd love to try the 15, 21, and 27 some day.

Hi Glenn,

High Spirits in Poulsbo, WA sells the Redbreast 15 y.o. Pot Still for $99.

Mike

Justin K wrote: ↑13:14 Mon 17 Jun 2024 Phil,

A man of good taste apparently!

Is that really so surprising? oh well...

Justin K wrote: ↑13:14 Mon 17 Jun 2024 I love the 12 year old and find it hard to justify the extra cash involved on all the other brand extensions. I have tried the 15 and 21 year olds and they are fantastic whiskeys. Have you tried any of the dreamcasks?

I've had one of the Midleton very rare (2023) which was very good, though I preferred the Redbreast 27yo (but which also costs a lot more ofc). I wasn't so impressed with the 21yo, preferring the 15yo even before taking price into account - making the 15yo massively better QPR for me and generally my bottle of choice. Haven't tried any Dream casks, unlikely to do so at their price points.

PhilW wrote: ↑09:18 Thu 27 Jun 2024 I've had one of the Midleton very rare (2023) which was very good

I still have 2 bottles of the Midleton Very Rare (2013) which was the last year blended by Barry Crockett. At least for me, none since have been up to the standard set by Mr. Crockett, though the most recent once are back to being very good. The poor soul who followed Barry Crockett wasn't good at all. The contrast between 2013 and 2014 was remarkable.