Monday, May 21, 2012
Buy it Now: Trader Joe's Single Malt Irish Whiskey
While we're on the subject of Trader Joe's, you may recall that I was a big fan of their house label Trader Joe's Single Malt Irish Whiskey, a great Irish malt at a great TJ's price of $20. Well, if you have an interest and you're holding out, you may want to pull the trigger. That whiskey was made for Trader Joe's by the Cooley distillery, and as many of you undoubtedly know, Cooley was recently purchased by Jim Beam. One of the first things Beam did upon purchasing Cooley was to announce that they would reduce sales to independent bottlers. Now, if Trader Joe's has a contract going forward, Cooley would likely still have to honor it, but if the Trader Joe's bottling was a limited release or a short term contract they thought they could renew, we might not be seeing more of it.
In other TJ's news, it looks like their next house label whiskey will be a bourbon made by Buffalo Trace.
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2 comments:
If the TJ Cooley whiskey is a harbinger of things to come, then some whisky buyer at TJ is doing something right! In an Irish whisky tasting with friends including whiskeys 5 times more expensive, TJ Cooley came up on top. I really liked your notes on it Sku, calling out the peat and the sherry, despite the label - I agree with that! I found the TJ even better with some Connemara mixed in, amping up the peat while maintaining the depth and balance of the sweet and malty flavors. I don't drink that much Irish so I think I'm set for now with 4 bottles of TJ in reserve...
thanks for the tip! I picked up a bottle and tried some last night, the peat flavor was stronger than I had expected from an Irish (though my only experience was with Redbreast 12... haha), but the complexity of flavor was indeed surprising, and I liked the balance and interplay between fruity and smoky flavors. Definitely worth much more than the $20... gotta love Trader Joe's!
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