I had the pleasure of tasting 2 fine Irish Whiskeys from J.J. Corry recently - The Hanson & The Gael. And even better is that I don't have to pay for them as one was gifted to me by David the Neighbor, and he brought the other one that he bought to have them reunited! So I took the opportunity to do a deep dive (figuratively) into the whiskeys.

Some background…J.J. Corry was originally an Irish Whiskey Bonder in the late 1800's in Kilrush, Co. Clare. The old Irish art of craft of "bonding" has been revived by Louise Mc Guane who in 2015 restarted JJ Corry at Cooraclare, Co. Clare. Bonding means that the person buys new-make spirit from a distiller and matures it in their own "bonded" warehouse and is responsible for the maturation of the spirit in barrel and for its barrel finishing.

How I Taste…

So upfront some points to know. I use the Tuath Irish Whiskey Tasting Glass when I taste any spirits but especially when I’m tasting Irish Whiskey. I use it because, in my opinion, the flared wider top at the top of the glass allows the alcohol component of an Irish Whiskey to dissipate somewhat while allowing me to pick up the aromas and notes of the Whiskey from the center of the glass. Plus the romantic in me reckons that Irish Whiskey should be tasted from a glass that is Irish and embodies the renaissance of the Irish Whiskey industry!

I also use two glasses when I taste, pouring the Whiskey from one into the other and again this is a personal preference for me as it again allows me to get under the bonnet (hood) so to speak. Generally speaking, I find that I can pick up the softer, more delicate aromas and notes from the “empty glass” again due to lack of alcohol.

In addition, I do a second pass when I taste by adding 5 drops of distilled water and I revisit both the nose and the palate.

JJ Corry - The Hanson - Bottled 2020

📖 The Story - The Hanson takes its name from Andrew Hanson, an exciseman back in Co.Clare back in the 1890's. Apparently, Hanson took a shine to JJ Corry's daughter, Josie, and took her hand in marriage. No better way of staying in with the exciseman than having him in the family.

🥃 Style - Blended Whiskey - 80% 10-Year-Old Grain Whiskey + 20% 4-Year-Old Grain Whiskey and this was bottled in 2020 and is Batch #2

🔢 The Numbers - $50 + Tax | 750ml. | 46% abv/92proof

👀 Appearance - This whiskey is light, light, light in color with just a hint of light yellow visible.

👃 Nose - On the nose, it's clean, and fresh and shows a pleasing intensity of citrus character - think lemon and lime juice. There's also evidence of wood on the nose as it shows vanilla, a hint of caramel, and that wonderful smell you get when you stick your nose in a new charred oak barrel. This is rounded out by stonefruit notes that for me are the flesh and juice of nectarine. With Water Added - the stonefruit comes to the fore with a creaminess, while the charred barrel notes are less evident.

👅 Palate - Upfront there's fresh stonefruit - nectarine and peach - and that's followed by a warm medium pepper spice that coats the whole mouth. There's a lovely soft caramel character that compliments the other notes and makes for a lovely mouthfeel and a longish balanced finish. With Water Added - The spiced character fades slightly as the bright stone fruit notes are more evident.

📝 Conclusion - A very well-made - good to very good - Irish Whiskey that shows a nice depth of flavor while still being on the lighter side. For me, this is a "summer sipper" whiskey that would not be out of place being served at the start of a meal as an "aperitif"

✅ Rating: On my not-too-scientific scale of 1 to 5 - with 1=Poor, 2=Okay, 3=Good, 4=Very Good, 5=Excellent/Off The Hook and I give 3.75 whiskey emojis to The Hanson Irish Whiskey 🥃🥃🥃3/4

J.J. Corry - The Gael - Bottled 14th April 2021

📖 The Story - The Gael takes its name from a bike that JJ Corry invented back in the 1890's. He was obviously a smart chap getting that done while also bonding great Irish Whiskey.

🥃 Style - Blended Whiskey - 5% 26-Year-Old Single Malt - Ex-Sherry Butt 27.5% 11-Year-Old Single Malt 27.5% 15-Year-Old Single Malt 40% 7-Year-Old Single Grain

🔢 The Numbers - $75 + Tax | 750ml. | 46% abv/92proof

👀 Appearance - The Gael has a medium golden color, and is "darker" than its companion in this tasting, The Hanson.

👃 Nose - On the nose, it shows wood, smoke, and barrel char character right out of the gate. Just under that, there's a toffee/fudge character that is wrapped into a pepper spice and I pick up a hint of cinnamon. There's a warm malty character that comes through the more I nose. With Water Added - A sweet vanilla note comes to the fore with a light toffee/fudge, or possibly chocolate, character becoming a bit more evident. And right at the end, I pick up some candied orange!

👅 Palate - Warm baking spices of clove, cinnamon, and some pepper are balanced out by a hint of chocolate/ cocoa wrapped up in a long balanced, and slightly spicy finish. With Water Added - the warm spices still come through and the chocolate/ cocoa is slightly accentuated, and that hint of candied orange is still there!

📝 Conclusion - This is beautiful, a very well-made Irish Whiskey that's in the very good to excellent range for me. It has a warm and deeply flavorsome palate of spice and coca with a candied orange hint. It's a lovely whiskey for serious winter sipping!

✅ Rating: On my not-too-scientific scale of 1 to 5 - with 1=Poor, 2=Okay, 3=Good, 4=Very Good, 5=Excellent/Off The Hook and I give 4.25 whiskey emojis to The Gael Irish Whiskey 🥃🥃🥃🥃1/4