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| Power's Gold Label Irish Whiskey |
What is the best selling whiskey in Ireland? Bushmills? Jameson's? Jameson's standard bottling is enormously successful in the United States, so why not in the homeland? Nope, it's Power's Gold Label. Never heard of it? Vaguely familiar from visits to the grocery store? Yeah, I know you. You should be getting that package of organic pasta or 12 grain bread, and where do I find you? Yeah, scopin' out the booze! Don't pretend you have never seen Power's. You've seen it. Maybe you didn't buy it because it was $19.99. Don't worry, I bought a bottle.
Power's is very affordable, no-age-statement, Irish whiskey that is as smooth as Irish charm. It is probably the best of the no-age-statement standard bottling Irish whiskey. I'd take it any day of the week over the standard Jameson or Bushmills. A great starter whiskey for the newbie, and amusing to the old horse too.
Nose
Freshly fallen pine needles, steaming orange pekoe tea.
Palate
Sweet bread, apples, limes wrapped in an oily texture with a dash of nutmeg.
Finish
Flavors do not linger very long, so the finish is what we would term 'short.' What we are left with after the whiskey is gone are pleasant notes of classic pure pot still flavor. Hard to describe it if you are not familiar with Irish whiskey, so lemme try anyway.
Irish whiskey tastes distinctly different from scotch due to the use of a pure pot still. Power's showcases this classic flavor.
This whiskey is a blend of pot still and grain whiskey, but I am told the ratio of pot still to grain is like 60/40, which in turn is responsible for the unmistakable Irish whiskey taste. So, what's pure pot still taste like? That classic Irish taste is of lime and a little green onion. Done well, it is restrained and pleasing. Done poorly, it can come off as young, raw and spirity because the flavor of green onion dominates. Power's do a fairly good job, but on the edge of being a little young. We can forgive this given the ridiculously cheap price.
General Impressions
Power's Gold is a very good introduction to Irish whiskey. While the price is low, the quality of the taste is not. Maybe not super complex, but hey, if you live in the US, you probably only paid $20! Extremely smooth, with some spice to make it interesting. Flaws? None really. Compared to other no-age-statement Irish whiskies, this is probably the best of the lot. Definitely better than Jameson's standard bottling.
If you are familiar with scotch whisky, and never tried Irish, this is a good place to start.
Cheers!
Jason Debly
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