Powers Irish Rye (43.2%)

Here we continue with reviews of Irish spirits and, eventually, beer, because the Irish despise he-who-shall-not-be-named as much as we do, and St. Patrick’s Day comes but once a year.

The Irish are known for many things, whiskey-wise. Lighter bodies, for one, thanks to their habit of triple distillation. Blends, for another, mixing single grain and single pot still whiskeys. And of course, that single pot still whiskey on its own, a calling card of premium Irish whiskey if ever there was one.

What they are not known for is rye. And that’s where this new Powers whiskey comes in.

As I noted in my year-ago review of Powers Gold Label, the Powers brand was a pivotal one in Irish distilling history, once one of the great four family distillers in Dublin, but presently owned by the French drinks giant, Pernod Ricard. And as you may know, Pernod also owns a little brand called Jameson, so Powers languished, little seen outside of Ireland until quite recently.

The revitalized label has been on a roll of late, however, releasing not just a 12 year old single pot still whiskey, John’s Lane, but also this, Ireland’s first modern 100% Irish rye whiskey. (The John’s Lane is quite lovely, btw, and I hope it soon gets wider distribution in Canada.) But if you’re expecting a whiskey in the style of either a Canadian or American rye, prepare yourself for disappointment, because while this is definitely a rye, it is also most definitely Irish.

Apparently, the distillery has a bit of a time finding an Irish supplier for its rye, hence why it’s the first whiskey there to be distilled from entirely domestically grown rye, but they were obviously ultimately successful. They don’t say too much about process, but given its character my guess would be the standard Irish triple distillation followed by a fair few years in oak.

Light to medium gold in colour, the nose has pinpricks of the peppery spiciness you’d expect of a 100% rye whiskey, but softened by a sort of ginger cream character and accented by orange- and lemon-flavoured caramel. Vanilla serves as an additional aspect of the aroma, along with a whiff of floral allspice.

The body seems very Irish, by which I mean sweet and relatively light, at least up front. There is a touch of black pepper on the palate entry, but mostly it is caramel and lemon curd, followed by a subtle drying and the emergence of more spice, pepper balanced by cinnamon and maybe a touch of allspice, and a further drying with emerging flavours of grain as the taste progresses. The black pepper finally shows itself in full glory on the finish and lingers.

Unlike softer, fuller Canadian ryes or more boisterous American ones, this deftly combines Irish technique with clever rye distillation, producing a whiskey which, from my very first taste, I feel is something quite apart from all other ryes. It may not appeal to all aficionados of Irish whiskey, or to all lovers of rye-based spirits, but for those willing to sample something new, it is a definite treat.

86 ($50 - $53)