The Irishman Founder's Reserve

The Irishman Founder’s Reserve is a NAS blend of Single Malt (70%) and Pot Still (30%) whiskeys from Walsh Whiskey that is triple distilled and matured in Bourbon casks. Their Royal Oak distillery in County Carlow opened in 2016 and produces The Writers’ Tears range also. I took an interesting tour of the distillery last year - I was in a tour group of one, so I got some undivided attention from the knowledgeable guide. With their own means of production they plan to expand their range under both brands, and they hope to soon release the first whiskey distilled at their new facility. In the meantime this is produced to Walsh's recipe by Midleton distillery. This smells better than it tastes. The nose is light and fruity, with cereal and vanilla but a tad too much ethanol. The palate is lightly sweet, malt and honey - pleasant but far from remarkable. A few drops of water mutes the ethanol but I found that it is easily drowned. Calibrate carefully! In my opinion, it’s not as good as The Irishman 12 Year Single Malt, which is also aged in ex-bourbon casks, but better than The Irishman Single Malt NAS that is aged in a mixture of ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. But hey, my personal preferences tend to slightly lean away from the sweeter “winey’ finishes

After reading the reviews here, I wanted to try this. Unfortunately, the lowest price I could find it locally was $37 before tax. It's a good spirit, a bit hot, but with great flavors of honey, malt, vanilla, spice, and a hint of sweetness – which I believe is typical of Irish whiskey. It has a great mouthfeel, much heavier than a typical Irish. I admit that Irish isn't my usual choice. Looking at my collection and empties, the ratio is roughly Scotch 20, bourbon 3, rye 2, and Irish 1. I do like this Irish; it's really good. However, since I rarely drink Irish and this is quite expensive in my area, I'll likely stick to the more readily available Bushmills, Jameson, and definitely the excellent Black Bush, all at a lower cost. If this were available for around $25 here, it would be a regular purchase.

I believe this spirit is quite overlooked. A blend of single malt and pot still is uncommon. Writer's Tears also has this, though with a higher proportion of pot still. I found this on sale with two glasses for $19.99. The nose shows some complexity with honey, green tea, and fresh sunflower. It has good legs and a pleasant mouthfeel. The flavor is rich with excellent body and balance (almost like scotch) – tasty malt with pot still spice. The finish is smooth, long, savory, and dries out to oak. A true gem in my opinion, somewhat like a young, affordable Redbreast. I think I'll stick to pure pot still, single malts, or these types of blends, as regular grain blends don't compare for me. I already bought another one for backup. 84/100 Update: I see it now for around $32... I think I'll try Writer's Tears.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Fairly or not, I tend to categorize Irish whiskey as either Green Spot or everything else. It might even be sacrilegious to admit, but I enjoy its flavor profile more than Redbreast 12. While Irish whiskeys share many common tasting notes, the green apple and almond/marzipan I detect in Green Spot aren't always as prominent in others. This had all those same qualities to the extent that I'd say it's the closest I've tasted to Green Spot, at half the price. That's the highest compliment I can give it, besides stating that it's delicious. I will definitely seek it out again and buy it whenever I see it. Cheers!

We see a handful of reviews that compare to brands like Redbreast, Green Spot and Writers Tears. Top shelf quality! The Irishman, distilled at Walsh Distillery, the same as Writers Tears.. has a heavy single malt and pot still blend.. it is fantastic! It could very well be a benchmark for Irish whiskey, especially with such strong POT STILL flavor. Single Malt texture with bursting pear, green apple nose + taste with smooth honey finish. It's obvious why some mention Redbreast, Green Spot and Writers Tears comparisons, it is really THAT good! If one were looking to explore Irish whiskey, I'd start here knowing this is really good stuff.

This bottling left me perplexed. I was unsure of my thoughts a few months ago when I first opened it. I remained unsure as I thoughtfully worked my way through it. And now that it's finished, I still don't know what to think. But it's gone, and I must write something. I appreciate this brand/distillery. They typically produce excellent products. This is not an excellent product. It's rather dull. It never evolves, even after breathing. It remains dull. Perhaps too young, perhaps too malty. I'm uncertain. I don't know what to think. However, I'm somewhat relieved the bottle is empty so I don't have to drink any more.