I had the Connemara Peated about 8-10 years ago and I LOVED it... totally killer to me back then but haven't tried it since. I was also probably around 25-26 so my knowledge and tasting has vastly improved.
I love the Connemara, it’s so good. You are right, it takes a bit of time to open up. It’s good once it’s opened up. It cannot compare to Ardbeg though, its still challenging for me, Connemara is my go to peated whiskey drink.
Erik, I am a chemist and would love to come by your place and do some experimenting. For science. Great review as usual. You have set your bar higher and higher.
Connemara is easily my favorite whisky currently but Ardbeg 10 is easily #2. The thing is that Connemara has my favorite part of Irish sweetness combined with my favorite part of Scotch, specifically Islay peaty/smokey awesomeness. Although Ardbeg can make pot pie night seem like Bar BBQ night, and that is something awesome to have going for you. Oh crap! I guess I gotta open the Big Peat while I watch your video on Ardbeg 10 vs Port Charlotte 10. Seemed apropos as I was gonna buy the Port Charlotte today but opted for the Big Peat. Cheers!
I love them both. The Commemrra is about $15 less than the Ardbeg 10 where I live. Since I'm going to retire next year, I'm going to be more toward the Irish for economic reasons. Good bye Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, etc.. Connemarra is still a great whisky!
Erik: Very detailed review, which I love, as always, but compare the Connemara to Bowmore 12. I believe the PPMs are similar although I am not sure. Good suggestion to try a recent bottling of Connemara, since it has been on the market for a while now and as with everything improvement comes with experience. SLÁINTE Mike
I don't have a ton of experience with American smoked whiskies as they are not very common. But If you can get it, try Andalusia Stryker. Here is my review: ruclips.net/video/nvDi-v-yTyo/видео.html
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies Thanks for the link, great info. The reason I asked about wood smoked whiskies is that we have a peach and pecan wood smoked single malt being produced by John Emerald here in Alabama. Alabama, like Texas, has opened up the books and is allowing distilling of spirits once again and there is already quite a bit of experimentation going on down here. I haven’t had John Emerald’s single malt yet as I’m afraid this style of whiskey may be little more than an novelty, so I picked up some Dettling bourbon instead. They use a really unique six grain mash bill and the guys over at the Whiskey Vault raved about it so I thought I’d give it a try. I highly recommend it but I made the mistake of cheaping out by buying the watered down 80 proof version as the cask strength is a bit pricey. Next time it’s cask strength or bust!
The Ardy' 10 is out on its own. Natural colour and non chill and robust abv unlike most other standard Islays. I love Lagavulin but the Ardy' has honesty and integrity which is more and more important the deeper I venture into Whisky. And incredible value up to recently. It has crept up in price from €60 -€65 up to €70-€75 now though.
Nice review Erik. I feel a little sorry for the 40% Connemara going up against Ardbeg 10 though :-) I didn't really like the basic Connemara, I did quite like the Connemara Turf Mor though. I haven't reviewed it yet but my notes mention some pleasant similarities to Kilchoman.
I was thinking the 12 yo. would be a closer battle with the Ardbeg 10? I'd like to know which you would prefer between those two also, since the 12 yo. is the one I'm interested in purchasing at some point, and I only know Ardbeg 10 and Wee Beastie. You rock Erik!!!🤘
All molecules have a half-life (decay time). Whiskey will change over time, even if sealed. When you introduce air, you have normal molecular breakdown and you will now get reactions between the molecules in the whiskey with the oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air. These will increase as the volume of air in the bottle increases and as the surface area of the whiskey to air interface increase. As the whiskey airs some molecules will also escape into the air, muting the favor over time. I do not know the specific rates of any of these changes, but I can say with 100% certainty that they are all taking place. What we care about is how fast a discernible change occurs. It will be different for every bottle, and we know this as whiskey drinkers - A classic example: Take a neck pour of a sherry finished whiskey and a peated whiskey. Compare those to pours from the middle of bottles of the same make that have been open for 6 months. The sherry finished whiskey will taste much more similar to its neck pour than will the peated. The peat compounds break down faster and outgas (escape) more rapidly.
Hey Erik, thanks for the review! Not to say you claim what I am about to dispute, but as a general statement as I have the impression some mates get the wrong idea: I strongly object the concept of "neck pour" as misleading in regard to "the neck part supposedly tasting differently than the rest lower down the bottle" b/c the composition is different. I have never experienced it or heard of it from other (very experienced) malt mates until a few years back from US youtubers (S4D?). As I see it it's all about oxygen exposure. Whisky - usually the higher the abv. the more obvious the difference - changes when it comes in contact with air as we all know. Neck pour means (or should mean) "freshly opened bottle" since if you poured twenty drams out of a new bottle consecutively, the "neck" dram would not differ at all from the others. It's all a matter of air exposure over time, the neck just naturally is the first part to be poured. I call it "just opened bottle effect" as neck pour effect is misleading imho. If neck pour as a location of the hot spirit in a bottle was a thing, you'd just need to give the bottle a shake before opening and voilá, no worries. But that's not how it works. Hopefully my remarks are redundant, but there might be people who believe in the magical neck where all the hot, nasty spirit concentrates. :-)
Yes, neck pour generally refers to a freshly opened bottle of whiskey or wine. But, opening a bottle and letting the bottle breathe without pouring any of it out doesn't do much as the neck of the bottle is very narrow. I have been experimenting with "decanting" some whisky in a glass in which I pout some whisky in a larger Glencairn in the morning (6:30 AM) and smell it and take notes. Then in the evening about 12 hours later smell it again and then taste it. The 12 hours in a glass makes a significant difference. BUT, this experience does not happen with every bottle. The first time I encountered the neck pour difference was with a Laphroaig 10 and more significantly with a Douglas Laing Highland Park 21.
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies Hey Erik, I full second that, it's about the neck's geometry and how comparatively little air gets in and has contact with a tiny surface of the liquid inside the bottle and not about the liquid in the neck being different. And in regards to whisky/air ratio inside the bottle the oxydization process naturally speeds up the lower the whisky level. Also as you mentioned there are general rules or tendencies but as each whisky has a more or less different chemical composition, underwent different levels of filtration et cetera, results vary. Funny side note, a bottle of heavily sherried cask strength single cask whisky recently went bad on me. (whiskybase no. 32823) Had it for 8 years and there were only a few drams left for maybe 3 years. Abv. seemed to not have dropped below, say, 45% as the stopper wasn't loose, but it went all cloudy and tasted off as we all recognized in our tasting round. Always tasted kinda dirty and a bit sulphury, but can't tell if that factored in somehow. Surely an interesting experience, I only knew this from 40-43% abv. whiskies which were left like this for some years. We never stop learning now, do we. :-)
This video is 3 years old. Wee Beastie was released in 2020 and was not available yet. As far as I know there is no Connemara 10 Year old, the first aged Connemara I have seen is the 12 year old.
Learning that whiskies change over time is probably the biggest thing I've learned from whisky tubers. I thought it was all in my head or maybe I was storing my bottles wrong until I found people like yourself putting it out there in plain english that yes, the flavors in the liquid inside the bottle do in fact change over time. Especially when you're talking about peat smoke intensity.
I dont mean to be offtopic but does anybody know a way to get back into an instagram account..? I stupidly lost the account password. I appreciate any tips you can give me!
@David Fletcher i really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and im trying it out atm. Takes a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
idk if this is a little to ridiculous but itd be funny to do the inro like an old boxing commentator introducing the fighter: "IN THIS CORNER FROM THE SCOTCH ISLAND OF ISLAY WEIGHING IN AT 40 PEAT PPM (or whatever it is lol) AAARRRDDDEBEEEGGGGGG!!! ... lol
If a blender waters back (to lower the abv) a whiskey too fast it can cause saponification. In the process the vegetable fat is converted into soap (a fatty acid) and alcohol which makes a whiskey smell and taste like soap. Personally, I did not pick any of that up in my bottles but perhaps it has occurred on some older bottles?
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies its popular they sell out of it all the time at my total wine. Maybe i need to try another bottle sometime. The case strength was to heavy on the alcohol note for me
It's been my observation is that there are strong tendencies towards national loyalties when it comes to whisk(e)y. I see it with Bourbon, increasingly with Canadian, and I see it with Irish; so I think those are strong decision making factors.
I definitely see that in the attitudes of Irish VS Scotch. The Irish don't seem to be able to talk about their whiskey without somehow making a reference to Scotland. With Bourbon, I think there tends be more a fandom due to it being more readily available and generally more affordable than Scotch. I don't see too many people shouting "USA! USA! USA! USA!..." while drinking Bourbon.
I disagree, although most people are 'raised on' a certain whisky type. The first decent whiskey I ever had was Bushmills. I didn't 'get into' whiskey until I lived in Ky. and lived very near bourbon country. Hence, to this day, I tend to favor bourbons although at present I am more into ryes. I'm always on the lookout for the next good thing, so I try a lot of things when the opportunity rises. I could not care a whit where it comes from. I've also ventured into rums as well (while I was in the Caribbean....surprise !).
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies yepp I agree in part, but there's still a decent selection higher than 40%. The Redbreast Lustau is fantastic, 46% and just soo good 👍
@Jeronimus Brodders That’s because it “punishes” Trump’s top enabler, Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell. It was in retaliation to a myriad of different harmful policies Trump implemented on EU goods.
I had the Connemara Peated about 8-10 years ago and I LOVED it... totally killer to me back then but haven't tried it since. I was also probably around 25-26 so my knowledge and tasting has vastly improved.
Very nice, detailed review. I enjoy the comparison videos. Keep 'em coming. They're fun! Take care.
-Alex
I love the Connemara, it’s so good. You are right, it takes a bit of time to open up. It’s good once it’s opened up. It cannot compare to Ardbeg though, its still challenging for me, Connemara is my go to peated whiskey drink.
A very well done review--I like that you made a case for when one might want to drink the Connemara Peated,
Thanks. I try to be fair and realize people have different reasons for buying or drinking a whiskey.
Yeah if you can consider comparing the cask strength Connemara and Ardbeg that is something I would look forward to.
That will be my next video! Stay tuned!
Completely agree on Ardbeg 10 👍
Erik, I am a chemist and would love to come by your place and do some experimenting. For science. Great review as usual. You have set your bar higher and higher.
Connemara is easily my favorite whisky currently but Ardbeg 10 is easily #2.
The thing is that Connemara has my favorite part of Irish sweetness combined with my favorite part of Scotch, specifically Islay peaty/smokey awesomeness.
Although Ardbeg can make pot pie night seem like Bar BBQ night, and that is something awesome to have going for you.
Oh crap! I guess I gotta open the Big Peat while I watch your video on Ardbeg 10 vs Port Charlotte 10.
Seemed apropos as I was gonna buy the Port Charlotte today but opted for the Big Peat. Cheers!
Kinda hard to beat Ardbeg 10 for the cash. I completely agree. 👌🏻🥃
True, but even if they were the same price I'd still prefer Ardbeg 10.
I love them both. The Commemrra is about $15 less than the Ardbeg 10 where I live. Since I'm going to retire next year, I'm going to be more toward the Irish for economic reasons. Good bye Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, etc.. Connemarra is still a great whisky!
Great review :) like both 🤘🏻
Erik:
Very detailed review, which I love, as always, but compare the Connemara to Bowmore 12. I believe the PPMs are similar although I am not sure. Good suggestion to try a recent bottling of Connemara, since it has been on the market for a while now and as with everything improvement comes with experience.
SLÁINTE
Mike
I don't think Bowmore has the peat character that would be comparable to Connemara.
Erik, how do you feel about wood smoked American whiskies? Are there any that you enjoy or would recommend?
I don't have a ton of experience with American smoked whiskies as they are not very common. But If you can get it, try Andalusia Stryker. Here is my review: ruclips.net/video/nvDi-v-yTyo/видео.html
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies Thanks for the link, great info. The reason I asked about wood smoked whiskies is that we have a peach and pecan wood smoked single malt being produced by John Emerald here in Alabama. Alabama, like Texas, has opened up the books and is allowing distilling of spirits once again and there is already quite a bit of experimentation going on down here. I haven’t had John Emerald’s single malt yet as I’m afraid this style of whiskey may be little more than an novelty, so I picked up some Dettling bourbon instead. They use a really unique six grain mash bill and the guys over at the Whiskey Vault raved about it so I thought I’d give it a try. I highly recommend it but I made the mistake of cheaping out by buying the watered down 80 proof version as the cask strength is a bit pricey. Next time it’s cask strength or bust!
The Ardy' 10 is out on its own. Natural colour and non chill and robust abv unlike most other standard Islays. I love Lagavulin but the Ardy' has honesty and integrity which is more and more important the deeper I venture into Whisky. And incredible value up to recently. It has crept up in price from €60 -€65 up to €70-€75 now though.
Nice review Erik. I feel a little sorry for the 40% Connemara going up against Ardbeg 10 though :-) I didn't really like the basic Connemara, I did quite like the Connemara Turf Mor though. I haven't reviewed it yet but my notes mention some pleasant similarities to Kilchoman.
I would REALLY like to try the Connemara Turf Mor.
It's been a long while since I had either of these two... I must be due for another trip backwards in time.
Your video on Connemara is four years old. Have you still got a bottle or did you finish it?
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies That bottle was drained a very long time ago... I rarely have anything open on my bar for longer than about a year.
Erik, kind of off topic but what type of shelves are the ones with your whisky behind you?
Those are oak book cases that I have had for MANY years. I have another one arriving soon that will be off camera to my left.
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies thanks Erik!
I was thinking the 12 yo. would be a closer battle with the Ardbeg 10? I'd like to know which you would prefer between those two also, since the 12 yo. is the one I'm interested in purchasing at some point, and I only know Ardbeg 10 and Wee Beastie. You rock Erik!!!🤘
Thanks. I have been looking for the Connemara 12.
$39?! I had to pay $53! And Ardbeg is at least $64 where im at in oklahoma. Must be nice
Where are you that these are available and that price?!? I have been wanting a bottle of connemara but cannot get it in my area at all.
Look at the date of the video. Prices have dramatically increased over the past 2 years. $45 whiskies are now $75+.
@Erik Wait Whisky Studies ah ok. Makes sense now lol. Can't even get Connemara in my state but I really want to try it 😞
All molecules have a half-life (decay time). Whiskey will change over time, even if sealed. When you introduce air, you have normal molecular breakdown and you will now get reactions between the molecules in the whiskey with the oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air. These will increase as the volume of air in the bottle increases and as the surface area of the whiskey to air interface increase. As the whiskey airs some molecules will also escape into the air, muting the favor over time. I do not know the specific rates of any of these changes, but I can say with 100% certainty that they are all taking place. What we care about is how fast a discernible change occurs. It will be different for every bottle, and we know this as whiskey drinkers - A classic example: Take a neck pour of a sherry finished whiskey and a peated whiskey. Compare those to pours from the middle of bottles of the same make that have been open for 6 months. The sherry finished whiskey will taste much more similar to its neck pour than will the peated. The peat compounds break down faster and outgas (escape) more rapidly.
^^ What he said ^^
Hey Erik, thanks for the review! Not to say you claim what I am about to dispute, but as a general statement as I have the impression some mates get the wrong idea: I strongly object the concept of "neck pour" as misleading in regard to "the neck part supposedly tasting differently than the rest lower down the bottle" b/c the composition is different. I have never experienced it or heard of it from other (very experienced) malt mates until a few years back from US youtubers (S4D?). As I see it it's all about oxygen exposure. Whisky - usually the higher the abv. the more obvious the difference - changes when it comes in contact with air as we all know. Neck pour means (or should mean) "freshly opened bottle" since if you poured twenty drams out of a new bottle consecutively, the "neck" dram would not differ at all from the others. It's all a matter of air exposure over time, the neck just naturally is the first part to be poured. I call it "just opened bottle effect" as neck pour effect is misleading imho. If neck pour as a location of the hot spirit in a bottle was a thing, you'd just need to give the bottle a shake before opening and voilá, no worries. But that's not how it works. Hopefully my remarks are redundant, but there might be people who believe in the magical neck where all the hot, nasty spirit concentrates. :-)
Yes, neck pour generally refers to a freshly opened bottle of whiskey or wine. But, opening a bottle and letting the bottle breathe without pouring any of it out doesn't do much as the neck of the bottle is very narrow. I have been experimenting with "decanting" some whisky in a glass in which I pout some whisky in a larger Glencairn in the morning (6:30 AM) and smell it and take notes. Then in the evening about 12 hours later smell it again and then taste it. The 12 hours in a glass makes a significant difference. BUT, this experience does not happen with every bottle. The first time I encountered the neck pour difference was with a Laphroaig 10 and more significantly with a Douglas Laing Highland Park 21.
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies Hey Erik, I full second that, it's about the neck's geometry and how comparatively little air gets in and has contact with a tiny surface of the liquid inside the bottle and not about the liquid in the neck being different. And in regards to whisky/air ratio inside the bottle the oxydization process naturally speeds up the lower the whisky level. Also as you mentioned there are general rules or tendencies but as each whisky has a more or less different chemical composition, underwent different levels of filtration et cetera, results vary.
Funny side note, a bottle of heavily sherried cask strength single cask whisky recently went bad on me. (whiskybase no. 32823) Had it for 8 years and there were only a few drams left for maybe 3 years. Abv. seemed to not have dropped below, say, 45% as the stopper wasn't loose, but it went all cloudy and tasted off as we all recognized in our tasting round. Always tasted kinda dirty and a bit sulphury, but can't tell if that factored in somehow. Surely an interesting experience, I only knew this from 40-43% abv. whiskies which were left like this for some years. We never stop learning now, do we. :-)
Why didn't you put the 10-year Connemara against the Ardbeg 10-year? Or, instead compare the Ardbeg Wee Beastie?
This video is 3 years old. Wee Beastie was released in 2020 and was not available yet. As far as I know there is no Connemara 10 Year old, the first aged Connemara I have seen is the 12 year old.
Learning that whiskies change over time is probably the biggest thing I've learned from whisky tubers. I thought it was all in my head or maybe I was storing my bottles wrong until I found people like yourself putting it out there in plain english that yes, the flavors in the liquid inside the bottle do in fact change over time. Especially when you're talking about peat smoke intensity.
I dont mean to be offtopic but does anybody know a way to get back into an instagram account..?
I stupidly lost the account password. I appreciate any tips you can give me!
@Frank Aldo Instablaster =)
@David Fletcher i really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and im trying it out atm.
Takes a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
@David Fletcher it worked and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thanks so much, you really help me out!
@Frank Aldo no problem =)
idk if this is a little to ridiculous but itd be funny to do the inro like an old boxing commentator introducing the fighter: "IN THIS CORNER FROM THE SCOTCH ISLAND OF ISLAY WEIGHING IN AT 40 PEAT PPM (or whatever it is lol) AAARRRDDDEBEEEGGGGGG!!! ... lol
Did it already in this video, check it ! ruclips.net/video/pCjINiUtuZ8/видео.html
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies lol glorious!
Someone said comamera had a soupy taste and now i taste the soapiness and it ruined it
If a blender waters back (to lower the abv) a whiskey too fast it can cause saponification. In the process the vegetable fat is converted into soap (a fatty acid) and alcohol which makes a whiskey smell and taste like soap. Personally, I did not pick any of that up in my bottles but perhaps it has occurred on some older bottles?
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies its popular they sell out of it all the time at my total wine. Maybe i need to try another bottle sometime. The case strength was to heavy on the alcohol note for me
It's been my observation is that there are strong tendencies towards national loyalties when it comes to whisk(e)y. I see it with Bourbon, increasingly with Canadian, and I see it with Irish; so I think those are strong decision making factors.
I definitely see that in the attitudes of Irish VS Scotch. The Irish don't seem to be able to talk about their whiskey without somehow making a reference to Scotland. With Bourbon, I think there tends be more a fandom due to it being more readily available and generally more affordable than Scotch. I don't see too many people shouting "USA! USA! USA! USA!..." while drinking Bourbon.
I disagree, although most people are 'raised on' a certain whisky type. The first decent whiskey I ever had was Bushmills. I didn't 'get into' whiskey until I lived in Ky. and lived very near bourbon country. Hence, to this day, I tend to favor bourbons although at present I am more into ryes. I'm always on the lookout for the next good thing, so I try a lot of things when the opportunity rises. I could not care a whit where it comes from. I've also ventured into rums as well (while I was in the Caribbean....surprise !).
Irish whisky to me always tastes anemic compared to scotch and bourbon. Proof for proof scotch and bourbon always wins.
Too many Irish whiskies are 40% ABV. They need to bump it up to at least 43-46% abv.
@@ErikWaitWhiskyStudies yepp I agree in part, but there's still a decent selection higher than 40%. The Redbreast Lustau is fantastic, 46% and just soo good 👍
That price increase will appear to be the doing of your Mister Trump and his tax increase on Scotch. Damn I need some of that Texas peated.
Damn! I thought it was inflation and supply and demand!
@@michaelward9880 Trump put a 25% tariff on Single Malt imports as part of a plan to punish the EU, for some obscure reason.
That would explain it then, tit for tat.
@Jeronimus Brodders That’s because it “punishes” Trump’s top enabler, Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell. It was in retaliation to a myriad of different harmful policies Trump implemented on EU goods.
EU, China, and even Canada had been screwing the U.S. for decades. Trump finally did some about it.