106. Knappogue Castle - 12 Year Bourbon Cask Irish Whiskey

Welcome to another trip down the Bourbon Road with your hosts, Jim and Mike. So grab a glass of your favorite bourbon and kick back.

We would like to thank Tommy and Gwen Mitchell from Log Heads Home Center for supporting this episode of the Bourbon Road. Find out more about their fine rustic furniture at logheadshomecenter.com. We would like to thank our friends at Premium Bar Products for sponsoring this episode. If you're ready to step up your game at your home bar, check out premiumbarproducts.com to choose from their wide selection of glassware, all of which can be custom engraved with your personal message or logo. And there's no minimum order. So after the episode, head over to premiumbarproducts.com and check out everything they have to offer. Now let's get on with the show. Hello, everybody. I'm Jim Shannon. And I'm Mike Hyatt. And this is the Bourbon Road. And today, Mike, we are on Stream Yard. We've got a very special guest. And we're drinking something a little bit different than we normally do, aren't we?

Yeah, we're drinking a little bit of Irish whiskey.

Now, we have said in the past that we may be the Bourbon Road, but every now and then we're going to take that side road, right? Because we are lovers of whiskey, are we not?

Definitely. So we got in a Pogue Castle Irish whiskey with us today. We got Tony Carroll. Tony, how you doing?

Doing very well, Big Chief. How you doing, buddy? Hi, Jim. Hello, Tony. Welcome to the Bourbon Road. Thank you very much.

Pleasure to be here. So we don't waste a whole lot of time up front chit chatting. We like to get straight to the first glass. And we're going to go ahead and sample it, if that's OK with you. And while we're nosing that glass, we'd like you to tell everybody a little bit about what we're nosing.

Absolutely. So I'm going to join you guys and we're going to have a little sample of the Nepal Castle 12 year old single malt Irish whiskey. So first of all, I guess a little bit of background on what we're going to drink here right now. This is single malt Irish whiskey. So this is very much what we would call the premium, super premium end of the Irish whiskey business. I do appreciate you guys are huge fans and lovers of the bourbon whiskey, which is high-end and fabulous Irish whiskey drinkers and worldwide whiskey drinkers absolutely love bourbon but today we're going to discuss Irish whiskey. So for super premium Irish whiskey we've got 12 year old single malt Irish whiskey aged in grade one bourbon barrels which are very very accustomed to, great tree char, for the single malt Irish whiskey and aged for 12 years. So this would be an entry level for Nepal Castle, which would be at a very, very high level right now for a lot of the new distilleries coming on board. It would be probably entry level year four, five and six. But for Nepal Castle, we jump off and jump in at a 12 year old single malt, which really gives our consumers and our customers premium entry level, just we believe rice to sample the premiumization and the quality of the liquid, but also to really maybe just to be able to jump in and appreciate the qualities of super premium Irish whiskey.

I'm getting some bananas on this. Are you getting that, Jim?

A little bit. I'm also getting sort of a nice light, airy fruit, kind of a peach or pear. A little bit of kind of an aromatic mint quality to it, but it makes it kind of light and refreshing.

Now that I said banana, I'm thinking I get a little bit of banana Laffy taffy on this. You ever had that before?

Laffy taffy. Laffy taffy.

You know, it's saltwater taffy, but then the banana flavor, I get that on the nose.

Yeah. The color is nice and light. And I would call it a golden amber.

Golden amber, absolutely. And for us, first of all, when we're having a look and sort of considering the whiskey, we'd always have a little look in the glass and just consider the salinity on the side of our glass and the legs that the whiskey and the liquid produces. And straight away, you can see some really long linear lines, which is a really good sign of the liquid and, of course, the maturity that's in that whiskey, in that liquid. Second of all, for us, Me personally, a little bit of biscotti flavor, a nice bit of vanilla coming in off the cask as well. But for me, I get the fruitiness definitely, but more biscotti for me is what I'm really getting here. Peppery and biscotti would be the two flavors that come to mind for me. But again, very, very important when we're discussing whiskey, guys, everybody has a very, very individual taste profile of what they're drinking. And that can always come from what did you just have for dinner? For example, I just had a beautiful fillet steak for dinner. I got lucky tonight, guys. The wife cooked me a beautiful steak. But you know, it could depend. You guys could have a curry tonight. Sasha might be out for having some fish and seafood. So we all have different, you know, buildups and foundations just pre to our nosing, our tasting. Always very important to remember. Now, Tony, where do you live at? I live in southern Ireland, so I live in a in a county called Waterford. An awful lot of people in America would know Waterford because of one of our most famous exports, which was Waterford Crystal, which is a very famous glass manufacturing business, still up and running. So I'm about 40 minutes from where the fabulous Nepal Castle is produced and aged, which is Middleton in County Clark. So I live in Southern Ireland.

Well, Jim, I said, let's taste this.

Let's do it.

OK, it's launching.

Now I'm getting that peppery little bit of baked goods. Definitely there. Not so much. Not so much. I think the fruity aromas were more on the nose than they are on the palate. Yeah, definitely a little more kind of baked good, peppery, but I'm still getting, I'm still getting the, I think the peach, a little bit of peach.

Yeah, and you know, in prepping for today, before I joined you guys on the call, I generally would warm up with a Pogue or whatever I was thinking about tasting. But today I decided, and I've recently noticed, possibly because of COVID, we spent to drink a lot maybe just at home and sitting on the couch. And so we're not particularly in our usual drinking environments. But today I actually warmed up with a Klontarf single malt, which is about a four to five year old. And I've done it deliberately just to see what is the real measuring points with a four to five year old entry level single malt to a 12 year old. And for me straight away, the one word that I will mention quite a bit with Nepoag here, there is a challenge to it. It's peppery, it's biscuity, there's a lot going on, but it's unbelievably smooth. And I think that's the beauty of the Nepoag Castle five year old single malt. The smoothness is remarkable. And that of course comes with the triple distilled.

I get that little bit of peppery on there, almost like a white pepper, Jim, just a very, like he said, it's smooth. It's, uh, I'm getting something else from it though. I still get a little bit of banana in that. Not, not like an over ripened banana, but a very fresh banana.

Wow. What about you, Jim?

Yeah, I think I'm sort of paying more attention right now to the texture and it's definitely it's got that that buttery creamy texture to it.

Warm.

Yeah. Yeah, it's warm. It's warming me up a little bit. I'm getting a little bit of what we like to call the Kentucky hug, but it's not deep. It's kind of shallow. Correct. Sort of hanging on the hang on the back of my palate. Very enjoyable. Very nice.

Yeah, and I think as well, you know, we always say it's one of the main reasons why Nepal Castle decided we're very, very lucky to have the liquid, obviously, at such a matured stage. But we really believe it's an excellent jumping in point and jumping off point. of 12 years because it's giving you a really smooth experience. It's giving you a lovely flavor. But as well as that, it's not too aggressive on your first attempt. And I think people, male, female, that really enjoy the 12 will be happy to go through the gears and try the 14 and the 16 and on to our 21s and our finishes.

So, the bottle is named or the brand is named Napote Castle. Obviously, there's some history there. Could you sort of give us a little bit of background?

Yeah, there's a small bit of history. We're in the 1400s, a famous clan in Ireland, one of the high kings of Munster, the McNamara clan. Sean McNamara was one of the high kings of Munster. And he had over 42 different castles in the west of Ireland. and of the 42 castles, the head of those 42 was Napoleon Castle. He ran that castle for, I guess, the guts of a century, the McNamara clan had the castle. But unfortunately, by the 1600s, the castle had fell into disrepair through battle, through the invasions of the English, so racking ruin. And it was actually in the hands of a farmer until A fabulous American man by the name of Mark Edwin Andrews and his wife Lavonne came to Ireland, wanted to find something special and unique that they could rebuild and add to the heritage of Ireland. And they found Nepal Castle, which they brought back to its former glory. So when they took over the castle, Mark was a very astute businessman, made an awful lot of money in America and started buying serious amounts of whiskey. And one of his most famous whiskeys was, of course, the 1951, which he purchased in Tullamore, which is another famous distillery in Ireland, and B Daily Distillery in Tullamore. And he actually bottled it under the Nepal Castle brand in 1987. So it was a 36-year-old first release. And when we talk about history and generations, Only this week would you believe I was dealing with Mark Edwin Andrews III, who is the president of Nepal Castle. And we are sending our first batch of 1951 founders collection. So from his father's collection to China, which is such a beautiful thing for me to be able to be involved in such an exciting time for the brand that we still have 1951, not only to send to Asia, but then to build with our new releases of 12, 14, 16, 21, and into the finishes.

Now, I was reading a little bit. And so at some point there, you were doing you weren't doing aged releases. You were doing vintage releases. Correct. So for our listeners, what's the difference between a vintage release and then an age release like you're doing now?

Yeah, so the vintage releases generally were finished on a cask finish, so on a particular cask they were used, they put the year on it, so I think there was a 2000, et cetera. That was generally the main difference where we would do one release, it would be an age release. We would only have a certain amount of casts or barrels, a certain amount of cases, and we'd move them on. It was a minimum release and out they go. The difference with the finishes now that we do, so for example, if you can see just here behind me, we've got the Marsala, we've got a cast strength. We've got burgundy, we've got french oak and pichon baron. What we're trying to do right now is we want longevity to our releases and really what we want to do is with the Nepal castle consumer, we want to bring them on a journey. We don't want to give you something that is one off, you enjoy it, but you'll never get it again. Because consumers can tire of that. So what we've tried to do now is we've tried to bring in the 12, the 14, and 16, and the 21, which are sort of our mainstay products and skews. But what we've done now is we've aged a 12-year-old napogue for over 15 months to two, 15 months to three years in Barolo wine casks, Pichon baron casks, and Marsala casks. And of course, these are some of the most famous wine finishes in the world. And what we were trying to do is we're bringing our consumer on a journey where an awful lot of the Nepal Castle consumers, they also drink red wine, white wine, et cetera. And what we want to do is we want to add to that journey. We want to grow with them and their education as well. So let's enjoy a Barolo on a night out with our wives and our girlfriends and our boyfriends, but also then enjoy a single malt Irish whiskey, 12 year old expression, aged in that Barolo or that Pichon. So it's really a sort of a journey that we want to go on with our consumers, but also guarantee that the skew and the volume will always be there.

I think this is a it's a beautiful whiskey for the fall season, perfect for this time of year here in Kentucky. And for our listeners out there, if you're going to start looking for this, you can find it anywhere almost in the United States. A couple of bars in Louisville actually have it, Jim. I think right downtown there's a bar that has it and a couple Irish pubs that have it here in Louisville. So can be found at Lick Barn and Total Wine almost anywhere in the United States.

So our listeners can go out and find us virtually wherever they are. Do you guys distribute worldwide?

Yeah, we distribute worldwide. So I manage all international markets off the rock that you guys call America. But within America, yeah, we're a reserve bar. Right now, I think we're trending at something like number three whiskey on reserve bar. Sales are phenomenal right now online. And I think, again, we don't want to keep harping on about COVID. But COVID has been very, very good for, I think, super premium, less well-known brands. Because the consumer, obviously, the reason why we spend so much money And the reason why brands spend so much money on advertising is because we have so much little time in our day to think about what's the next purchase is going to be for my whiskey for the weekend, that they spend money on advertising. But now that we have an awful lot more time because of COVID, and the consumer can go online and read these articles, or she can look online and see the different websites and different material, They're beginning to look at brands like Nepal, understand their value. And, and one thing I will say as well for super premium single malt Irish whiskey, Nepal castle is unbelievably well priced in the American market.

Yeah. I think there's only four States that four or five States that you can't get it. And there's those are controlled States. MSRP or in the store 35 99. That's not too bad for 12 year old whiskey.

Absolutely not.

So let me ask you a sort of a basic question. Why bourbon barrels? Why are bourbon barrels the aging barrel of choice for your whiskey coming off the still?

Yeah, historically, really, the answer to that is because they were available and easily and readily available simply because, you know, an awful lot of the time sort of, you know, pre-World Wars, accessibility and good quality barrel was something that was very difficult to find and source for the Irish distillers at the time. So bourbon barrel was something that was readily available. accessible, able to ship from the States and straight over. So the American White Oak X Bourbon barrel was something really, not because it was historically or scientifically proven was the best barrel to use, but simply because it was readily available at the time. A lot of our cousins, so for example, Scotch whiskey, Scotch whiskey at a time when World War II hit and Irish whiskey couldn't source more bourbon barren simply because of World War, the Scotch community decided to start sourcing barrels from Europe, in Sweden, in the Nordics. Different flavors, but they were quite happy because there was a lot of blending going on. Irish whiskey suffered then because we were very, very resolute. It was bourbon barrel. It was consistency. We always liked the flavor. and the liquid and the coloring and the maturity that came from the bourbon barrel. So we wanted to stick to it. And hence we have predominantly stuck to it. And look, we are beginning to maybe do a little bit more experimentation, but I think going forward, the foundation and the future of Irish whiskey will always be based on a bourbon barrel.

That's a great answer. I'd love to hear that. I think that, you know, we love to see those barrels get a second life. We love to see them go out there and do some more good.

Yeah, look, you know, you've got to remember as well, you know, when you're fighting in a world that's so competitive on a brand level, you know, to have an association with the bourbon whiskey and our brothers and sisters that are in the Irish whiskey, sorry, the bourbon whiskey industry in America. It can only be something to boast about and advertise because your whiskey, the bourbon, is a phenomenal product. If you respect Irish whiskey, and I would be a believer in a real whiskey drinker understands and respects his bourbon, his Irish, his scotch, et cetera, et cetera. So it's nothing for us to be only proud. that we age our Irish whiskey in bourbon.

So Tony, what you're saying is that Americans drink a crap ton of bourbon and have a whole excess of bourbon barrels to use.

Yeah, absolutely. I'm actually I was in Louisville about two years ago and I had the pleasure of calling to one of our barn suppliers God, guys, I wonder, can you give me the name of it? They charred their own barns. They're huge producers down there in Louisville. But it was Kelvin. Oh my God, what an absolute honor to spend some time there when I was down in Louisville to examine exactly how they're making the barrels, how they char them. They send them out to their urban customers, but also then the agreement that they take them back in and then organize to send them off to the Irish whiskey distributors in Ireland to age distillers and to produce. It's a wonderful, wonderful cycle. And I think it just goes to show the brotherhood and sisterhood that is in the whisky business.

Well, Mike, I think I learned something new today. I didn't realize the Coopridge did that service. They take them back in and then we ship them.

Wow. It's a, what a, what a business, what a business idea and what a cycle they sell to the main, the Jack Daniels, the Brown Foremans. And once the life cycle is over for the bourbon, they bring it back in. They take our orders and they ship them straight to Ireland. So it's a, it's a match made in heaven.

I think that's, that's pretty awesome. That's recycling at its best right there. It goes through two and even after probably you guys use it, it probably gets used again.

Yeah, and look, you know, we obviously, you know, take that to another level than when we're taking in, you know, sherry butts from Spain or we take in Marsala and Barolo casks from the wine areas of Italy and France. So all of a sudden, you know, and that's a very good point, Mike. about the upcycling, not just we've aged our whisky out goes the barrel, that we are now upcycling the sherry butts, the wine casks, the whisky, you name it. So yeah, definitely it's quite a modern topic.

Well, Tony, we'll take a quick break here. Listeners will come back. Jim's going to drink some 16 year old. I don't know how he got that bottle and I'm going to drink some 14 year old. And we'll keep chatting with Tony about the Pogue castle brands. See you in a couple of minutes.

We would like to thank Tommy and Gwen Mitchell from Loghead's Home Center for supporting this episode of the Bourbon Road. Loghead's Home Center, nestled in the hills of Kentucky, is an industry leader in building handcrafted rustic furniture. Family-owned and operated, they take pride in offering only the very best for their customers. The Logheads, and that's what they like to call themselves, are skilled woodcrafters who are passionate about creating rustic furniture for people who appreciate the beauty of natural wood. Owners Tommy and Gwen don't just sell the rustic lifestyle, they live it. And you can be sure that Loghead's furniture will always be handcrafted in Kentucky by artisans who embrace the simple way of life. Loghead's rustic furniture is made from northern white cedar, a sustainable wood that's naturally rotten termite resistant. Its beauty and quality will add warmth to your earthy lifestyle for generations to come. Be sure to check out everything they have to offer at LogHeadsHomeCenter.com. And while you're at it, give Tommy and Gwen a shout on Facebook or Instagram at LogHeads Home Center. All right, so we are back and we're with Tony Carroll from Napole Castle Distillery and we've completed our first half. We tasted their 12-year. We got to talk a little bit about the history of the company and a little bit about what it means to be an Irish whiskey and how it's made. And in this half, we're going to try their 14-year and their 16-year. expressions. And today, Mike, you have a 14-year, I have a 16-year, so we'll let Tony lead the tasting and then we'll each talk about the one we have. How's that?

Let's do it. All right.

Okay, guys, so we're going to try the 14-year-old single malt in the Poe Castle Irish whiskey. It's 46% ABV, so I think we're talking about 92% proof, if I'm correct in saying that, for the states. This tasting right now, we are talking about bourbon cask and a marriage with a sherry or a raso cask. So just some history on here. First of all, for the bourbon cask we've got, what we've done is for 14 years we've aged in bourbon cask, grade one bourbon cask, grade three char. So full 14 years Irish whiskey in bourbon cask. For the same 14 years we've aged in bourbon, or sorry, in sherry or rosso cask. uh for 14 years so what we've got here in the bottle is a marriage and ideally and sort of this is a really really good example of the the mastery of the master blender when we come to talking about distillers and distilleries we would have expected about a 50-50 percent um mix here with the liquid 50 percent bourbon cask 50 percent or rosso cask but of course the experience of the distiller and the blender, it actually ended up to be 80% bourbon, 20% sherry a la rosso. So what he found was that was the perfect mix for the 14-year-old. But what he did was rather than the 43% of the 12-year-old that we just previously tasted, he's moved it now up to 92 proof in America, which is a really, really nice kick of alcohol. He wants you to pick up on the sherry a la rosso notes. but also really appreciate also the 80 percent of the bourbon cask that you're beginning to taste as well. So it's what I would say about this is it's a real complex whiskey. It's a real step up from the 12. We've got a really lovely entry level, quite smooth with the 12. This is a real step up. Now we're getting different complex whiskey. We're getting the Oloroso, we're getting the Berlin. And we're also getting the extra kick with the alcohol. So we have a really, really nice fun-packed whiskey here. Let's dive in first, Mike, and have a little look again when we look at the side of our glass, when we tip our sideways, great longevity in the legs and the salinity of the whiskey. Again, we know we're dealing with a serious whiskey. Beautiful color again, sort of a deep golden whiskey here. So again, we can see the maturity coming through on this. Again, as I said, 80% bourbon, 20% sherry, also cask. One thing I would say about know, super premium and premium whiskeys in Irish whiskey, we spend an awful lot of money and time and investment in the cask and the wood. And remember, when we talk about whiskey and we talk about producing whiskey, it takes on average about 35, 36 days to produce a barrel or a batch of Nippau Castle Irish whiskey. That actually just produces clear liquid for us. So remember the importance of the wood, the barrel, in all of this. The barrel gives us the colour, it gives us the flavour. And if we close our eyes, guys, whether it's brown liquid, whether it's clear liquid, we want to drink with our nose and we want to drink with our taste. So for us, the wood is all important. And we go to great depths and great lengths to source grade one bourbon barrel from the top two. bourbon producers in the States, which I'm sure you guys are well aware who that is. They're phenomenal price spirals, but we do purchase them because we know if they're reducing grade one whiskey and bourbon, we're going to get that added flavor and benefit into our Irish whiskey. Second of all, when we want to source the sherry a la rosso, we go to the very best bodegas in Spain to source them. We label them. We make sure they know when they're finished with that producing their sherry a la rosso. It comes to Ireland, burn a bone. So there's a real backdrop to getting the product that you're going to drink in the 14. It's the grade one bourbon barrel. It's the high grade sherry a la rosso. It's the aging for 14 years. We age our Irish whiskey in very, very mild tempered climates. Irish whiskey is easily matured in Ireland simply because our climate is very, very stable. There is no peaks and troughs. We don't have cold winters and hot summers. Unfortunately, we've got about rain about 364 days a year. It ain't summer climate. It ain't too cold either. Funnily enough, there's a good story there. We had a heat wave about two years ago. It's going to be very, very interesting in about another 10 years. when we start aging and bottling those whiskeys that come out during the heat wave, what will be the fluctuation? What will be the difference in the taste profile? Because we've just had an extremely hot summer. So that is the beauty of the temperature that we generally age in in Ireland, but there's always fluctuations. So Mike again, sorry, Mike, go.

I was going to say this, this, uh, nose on this, it's almost like walking into a flower shop. It's very floral. I still get a little bit of that banana taffy. I know that's weird, but I still get a little bit of that little bit of citrus on the nose and stuff. Now I'm interested, very interested to taste it though.

So I've got April, Apple and apricot is what I've got coming off it now nose wise. Uh, again, uh, You know, front palate, unbelievably smooth again, approachable whiskey and getting fruity, getting a little bit of nut. And I am beginning now this time getting a lot of vanilla, which is coming from the bourbon barrel. But I would hope certainly, Mike, that you're getting on the nose without doubt. There is definitely a sherry influence coming in off the nose. Would you get that?

I definitely get that. But what I do get is a vanilla buttery cake frosting on this. Just that homemade, you know, you pour some like some Mexican vanilla in there and make that frosting for a good cake. And you almost can taste that cake too in it. This is such a beautiful whiskey. I love it.

Yeah. And you know what? It's funny, you know, when we talk about we've just tasted a 12 and if you were to even take out the Sherry contribution in this, Mike, you know, we're talking just two years, but isn't it amazing what the two years flavor wise brings to the whiskey? You know, when you talk about, you know, the different flavors, you know, the strength of the whiskey and what you're getting from it, two years really does make a difference. And sometimes you often hear consumers, oh, you know, Why am I paying so much more for two more years? You've just proved our point because the flavor and the experience can be so much highlighted.

A lot less spice on this. I actually got a story about frosting. When I was a kid, my mom would like to have to hide the cake frosting because I would take it and eat it with a spoon. And then none of my brothers or sisters were getting frosted, just get a dry cake. Well, I got to enjoy the frosting. And it's probably why I'm a foot taller than almost all of them. Is that a cake frosting?

Well, you know, funny enough, a tasting note that often comes from a lot of consumers when I'm tasting the Pope with them is a Christmas cake. And I think that's maybe something that you're sort of referring back to, is that sort of fruitiness and deepness, which is certainly with the vanilla as well, is in the flavor of all the Poles 12, 14, 16, and our finishes. So well done for picking up on that. A little bit of.

That citrus, maybe a orange, like an orange jelly. What's that stuff? Marmalade or some orange marmalade I'm picking up on maybe just a little bit of that.

Yeah. Yeah. Like, as I said, like sort of the fruity nutty sort of, uh, aspect to it that I'm picking up on with the strong vanilla. But as well as that, you've got to remember you're bringing in the Sherry Oloroso here. So the Sherry Oloroso is completely aged in a different climate, coming from Spain, northern Spain, down into the, southern Spain, into the Bodega. So you're picking up on an awful lot of sort of different aging and heat climate as well. So I would totally agree with you. Yeah, sort of it's more complex.

So the MSRP on here is $60. Picked it up a little bit, but still, for a 14-year-old whiskey, that's still a great price. I think it is. And me and Jim, just last week, we actually drank two whiskies that one was $100 and one was $190. for around that same age. So for $60, if our listeners are listening, you want to get out there and pick up an older aged whiskey at a little bit cheaper price. This ain't something bad to grab right here. A little bit harder to find in the United States. Probably about half the stores have it, but still worth the hunt.

So Mike, do you mind me asking, you know, with the 92 proof and the step up from the 12 year old in alcohol content here, you feel that it's worthy of the 14 year old?

I think it is. I think it's beautiful. I always, Jim would say that I always say that I'd like to see an age longer or I'd like to see the proof go up. But 92 proof for this is pretty spot on. It is a beautiful sipping whiskey. You could sip this year round from the fall to the winter to the spring and the summertime. I couldn't mix it with anything. I just think that would do it. This justice for a 14 year old whiskey, but still a great whiskey.

Tell me, Mike, I'm going to ask you two things. We just tasted a 12. We just tasted the 14. Give me a month that you'd like to drink 12 year old and give me a month. You'd like to drink 14.

So I'd say that. 12 year old is a good October fall season for the state of Kentucky. Cool weather is just coming on. You get that little bit of spice, get that little bit of hug right there in your throat. Um, And then probably July, uh, when Kentucky is a hundred degrees, this 14 year old was perfect. It's got that, them floral notes are coming through that sweetness, that, that cake icing. It is perfect for a summer supper. If somebody's looking for it, that's saying a lot for me because I'm a weeded whiskey guy. I love some wheat whiskey, but this would stand up right against it.

Wow. That's fabulous. I love that, Mike, because that's such a contrast from the 12 to the 14. You've gone from winter straight into summer there. So well, just goes to show how versatile the whiskey is.

Most definitely. We better let Jim drink some whiskey here now, because he's got that 16 year. I see he's killing him.

I got I got that itch, you know.

OK, so if we're tasting the 14 year old with Mike, we spoke about an 80-20 rule, which was 80% bourbon barrel finished and we had a 20% sherry-aller-osso finish. So a beautiful combination with sort of a slow minimum influence of the sherry-aller-osso. Really what the master blender wants to achieve with the 16-year-old is the maturity, obviously, of a 16-year-old Irish single malt Irish whiskey. but also he really, really wants to challenge the consumer with the influence of the Sherry Oloroso. So what we've done here is we've aged for a full 14 years in grade one bourbon barrel, and then for a full two years, swapped out all the liquid and straight into a Sherry Oloroso cask for two years. So what you should be experiencing here is all the beauty and all the flavor of a 14-year-old single malt Irish whiskey, Bourbon Cask, then picking up the huge, huge influence of the Sherriola Rosso. So again, we have a little look and look at the legs again, great solidity, great legs. As per all Napoleon Castle finishes, we're very, very lucky high-end premium single malt Irish whiskey. beautiful, strong nose. Again, straight away, we're talking about the malty, fruity nose on this, but straight away, if you're not getting Sherry Otter also from this gym, it's time to book yourself into the doctor and get your sinuses or your nose checked out.

Well, I guess there's only one thing I can say then, right? Definitely picking up that Sherry.

Oh, my God.

This is screaming, Sherry. Yeah, so this is definitely reminiscent of some well-finished whiskies that I've had that have spent some time in Oloroso barrels. They definitely pick up those extra fruity notes. It's also picked up some color as well. So this one's a little bit darker.

Very dark, absolutely.

Compared to the other 14 and 16. So 12 and 14, absolutely. Yeah, you can see the color change. And we've dropped down from the 14. The 14 was at 92 proof, and this one's at 86.

Correct. We're back down to 86. Absolutely. And the reason why behind that is because we've aged for two years into Sherriola Rosso, and the master blender wanted to make sure you don't get blinded by the strength of the alcohol. He really wants you to pick up on the flavor and the influence of the Sherriola Rosso here. This is really, this whole production of the 16 is around experiencing the difference in barrel finish of Sheriola Rosso.

So this is rich and sweet. It's creamy as well. It definitely has a more fruity note, a more deep and rich, a little bit darker note than the 12 has. It's definitely picking up that sherry, picking up the color of the sherry, picking up the richness of that sherry. But it's maintaining that creaminess, that nice viscous mouthfeel that I just love. It's a beautiful whiskey. It is.

A term that's used in wine a lot is it's full bodied. This would be classed as a real full bodied whiskey here. It's a real mouthful. beautiful succulent Irish whiskey, a maltiness as well, but beautiful lingering sweetness to it. I think as well, you know, for me, it'd be interesting to hear. I asked Mike about, you know, give me his 12 year old month and give me his 14 year old month. What's your month that you would associate the 16 year old with, Jim?

OK, so this one is This one's really hanging out on my mid-palate a little bit more. So not so much in the back. Not so much of a hug and a nice warming effect on the back. So I would definitely put this one in the warmer months. But I might go spring with this. I might talk about Midwestern U.S. April-May. April-May. Wow. April-May.

Generally, when I'm presenting Napoleon Castle in international markets, and a lot of people ask me, when would you really like the 16 year old? I always allude to the 16 for me would be very much when we get to the lighting the fire season in our late November, December, because it's quite a heavier whiskey compared to the 14 and the 12. But again, this is the beauty of experiencing different people's opinions and where they live is simply because you guys are in a very, very hot climate. So it doesn't particularly mean, you know, for me, it's raining, as I said, pretty much every day of the year. But it gets much colder in Ireland later on the year for you guys. And drinking bourbon, you've got a different perspective on it. And that's lovely to hear.

Yeah, and this one actually has a little bit of a, just a hint of a savory note to it for me. Yeah. So I'm thinking about that first of the season, breaking out the barbecue grill and having something, you know, smoking on the grill early on in the season and having something like this. I think it would be nice. And yeah, you know, it is different for different people. We live in, we live in bourbon country. We're in the middle of the U.S. It gets a little bit hot here in the summer. It gets quite cold in the winter. And our seasons are, you know, we have four very distinct seasons here. So that affects our palates. I think it absolutely does.

Absolutely. Yeah. And, you know, and again, you know, you're you're very, very lucky. You've got a lot of barbecue season and barbecue season does really, you know, play to the strengths of I think of whiskey sampling and enjoyment. So you're quite lucky. Can I ask a question in regards to Irish whiskey? Is it something that's becoming more prevalent and more accessible and more, I guess, more sampled and enjoyed in the bourbon community or where are we? Where do you think you are?

There's probably two schools of thought there. I think there are those who feel like, and it's probably the same with Irish whiskey aficionados and Scotch aficionados and bourbon aficionados. There are those people who like to stay in their lane. But then there are also those people who like to step outside that lane and experience new things. And I think Irish whiskey presents a very great opportunity for somebody who likes the wide variety of flavors in a bourbon. For me, I've always been a lover of Irish whiskey. Mike and I have had Irish whiskeys on the show before. Yeah, so Mike and I are quite familiar with Irish whiskeys. You know, we both have Irish whiskeys in our bar. We've had Irish whiskeys on the Bourbon Road show before. So I think that, you know, at least our listeners have been introduced to Irish whiskey and are open to exploring the world of Irish whiskey. So yeah, I think it's a great opportunity for some, I don't know, what do you call it? Communicating across the aisle, right?

Yeah, I think that's a great explanation to our relationship and to the bourbon drinker. I guess the next question I would have is, do you guys, do you get a sense of what would be your opinion of, do you get the influence of bourbon in our whiskey? Can you sense the cask and the bourbon, grade one bourbon barrels coming through? Is this something that you can associate with?

I can't a little bit. I don't try to compare different regions. I can get that little bit coming out of the bourbon barrel, but different regions, like you said, you guys are cooler temperature. We're here in Kentucky where we have some hot summers, not extremely hot, but we don't really have that cold of winters. And me and Jim always talk about that different regions of the United States because Kentucky is probably about the size of Ireland. But the different regions of the United States all have some type of different whiskey. One of the ones we always talk about is Texas, my home state, and their whiskey is just so much different than everybody else's because their heat is so extreme there in the summertime. And they get about 20 to 30 degrees in the wintertime to where their whiskey is just different. So we don't try to compare a bourbon to a Scotch or an Irish whiskey. We just, hey, it's whiskey from a different region. And we want to try it. We want to get our listeners to drink it. We want them to buy it. Um, or Irish whiskey coming out of the United States. I think true whiskey drinkers want to try a little bit of something and have a little bit of something on their shelf for every one of their visitors to their house.

Yeah, I think that's a fabulous point. And I think it's spot on in regards, you know, I think that the modern consumer, you know, if we go to somebody's house, or we go out for a night, the possibilities are we're going to have some wine, we may try a cocktail, we may have a bourbon, we may have an Irish, we may have a Scotch. And I think We're beginning to mix through the generations and mix through the styles of whiskey, which can only be more beneficial to all the whiskey categories, be it Scotch, Irish, or bourbon. So I think everybody's going to be a winner here if we all promote the mixed use of bourbons or whiskeys, because that's where everybody is going.

Now, if you were going to talk about having a mixed drink in the 12-year would be a mixer, I guess. I would probably mix that a little bit in the summertime. You guys actually have two recipes on your website. You have the peach smash recipe, and you also have the castle to castle recipe for two mixed drinks. Both sound just delicious to me.

mixing whiskey and cocktail whiskey. I guess the 14 to 16 is going to be a little more difficult, but certainly the 12 year old is a very good launching point.

As I continue to sip on this 16, the extra barrel influence is really starting to shine in it and I'm starting to really pick up a little bit more of the oaky barrel notes that I'm getting out of it. That extra two years, the Orosa Cask, the extra time that's spent in the Bourbon Cask, in addition to that 12 year of your main release, definitely gives it a unique flavor. I wish I had had an opportunity to try that 14 mic. It sounds like it's a little more fruity, a little more summery. This one's a little more creamy spring, I think.

Jim, there's none left.

Yeah, I think that's a very good point, Jim. It is a big step from the 12 to the 16, and I guess that's why we have the 14 there. And it's a lovely sort of a mild step from the 12 to the 14 to the 16.

I think that 16-year-old, it would be a special gift for somebody if you're looking for something. I think the MSRP on that's around $100. If you're looking for an older whiskey to buy some money and you want to buy them a nice Christmas gift or a nice birthday gift, that'd be perfect for them. Even though I didn't taste it, I trust Jim's tastings on it. I believe it'd be perfect for a gift for somebody. If you're looking for a retirement gift, birthday or Christmas, 16 year old whiskey, it's kind of hard to come by, right? And it's not too oaky from what Jim has stated. If you would get a 16 year old bourbon, you're going to get that little bit of bitterness, heavy oak coming through, and you're not going to get that with that Irish whiskey. So maybe surprise somebody and get them that 16 year.

Yeah, absolutely. And you know what? I sometimes find when we're doing tastings and, you know, I can be, I can be blamed for just accepting that, you know, single monitors risk is a 12 or 14 to 16. You know what? It's a long time to produce a 12 or 14 to 16. We're very lucky people to be able to be able to be sampling such beautiful quality whiskey. And for the consumers, it is a really, really great entry point at 12, 14, 16 to go on the journey of single malt. I think the beauty of Nepal is that you can get entry level at 12, which is our opinion, the sort of the entry level. Go to 14 and appreciate some sherry or also go to 16 and experience that. But then jump into the Nippo finishes, which is your wine bar finishes. So I really think we're really well set up for the longevity of the consumer. And that's all go on this journey of Irish whiskey.

Well, Tony, I'd like to say thank you for having us on and definitely sharing your whiskey with us. Me and Jim appreciate anybody that wants to share their whiskey with us. We want to tell the world about it. Where can our listeners find Nappogue whiskey, Nappogue Castle brands on social media?

So, Mike, it's Nappogue Castle for Instagram, Facebook is Napogue Whiskey.

All right listeners, if you're listening to this, follow Napogue Whiskey on Instagram, on Twitter and on Facebook. Go out there, find yourself a bottle of this, or go to an Irish pub in America. They've got thousands of them out there that have, or carrying their whiskey in America. Go out there and get yourself a pour of this. Try it first. If you like it, then go to a store and buy it. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, at The Bourbon Road. On Facebook, we actually have a private Facebook group called the Bourbon Roadies. There's about 1,100 people in there like-minded like us that love whiskey. They love talking about it. They love sharing it. We just don't sell whiskey in there. To join the group, all you have to do is answer three questions. Are you 21? Do you love whiskey? And do you agree to play nice because we don't tolerate any rudeness? You can also buy our glasses that we drink out of the bourbon road, Glen Karen on our website, the bourbon road.com. I also write a blog on there. It's not about the episode itself. It's just about what I'm thinking that day. Probably this week, what I'm going to talk about is Irish whiskeys and Irish heritage in the United States. Of course, Jim has a little bit of Irish heritage in himself. He's a Shannon. So I think that's pretty dang cool. If you like what you're listening to, scroll on up, hit that subscribe button so you can get us every week. If you really love us and love what you're listening to, scroll down, hit that review button. It'll help us out. If you want to give us a five star, give us a five star. If you give us a one star though, please tell us how we can be better. And so we can make this podcast better for you and what you want to hear. If you really want to hear something, you got an idea for a show, hit me and Jim up on our email addresses from our website. We're always looking for new ideas, new whiskey companies to check out. We have two shows a week. We do a review of craft distilleries on Monday. And then on Wednesdays we do a show like this where we'll have a guest on a distillery. Great people like Tony Carroll will drink their whiskey cause me and Joe love some whiskey, right? So check that out.

Yeah, and you know, Mike and I drink every week out of our Distillery Products glasses and Premium Bar Products. If you are needing some Glen Caron glasses, some Rox glasses, some Tua glasses, if you're needing a flask or a decanter, you definitely want to check these guys out. PremiumBarProducts.com will custom make with your logo, your name, your bar, mantra, whatever it might be, they'll put that on your glass. They have no minimum orders. You can order one or four or 12. If you're a distillery or if you are a bourbon group or a whiskey group and you need to have a case or more, definitely check out distilleryproducts.com. They will hook you up. Prices are great. Mike, I'm jshannon63. I'm One Big Chief, and we will see you down the Bourbon Road. We do appreciate all of our listeners. We'd like to thank you for taking time out of your day to hang out with us here on the Bourbon Road. We hope you enjoyed today's show, and if so, we would appreciate if you'd subscribe and rate us a five star with a review on iTunes. Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, at The Bourbon Road. That way you'll be kept in the loop on all the Bourbon Road happenings. You can also visit our website at thebourbonroad.com to read our blog, listen to the show, or reach out to us directly. We always welcome comments or suggestions, and if you have an idea for a particular guest or topic, be sure to let us know. And again, thanks for hanging out with us.