Kilbeggan Blended Irish Whiskey

Rating: 5/23 N: Not much of a nose on this one. There's some fruit (apple, apricot, and lemon) along with a bit of grain and woody must. It doesn't smell bad and does smell decently aged, but it's muddled. P: The palate is sweeter than I expected with fruit (the same apple, apricot, and lemon) and sugar water hitting first. Then the burn sets in without a particular pepper flavor and the alcohol starts coming out. The alcohol brings out a bitterness and a bit of a savory note that I don't really like and it really stands out in here. This isn't a complex palate, but it does have some nice fruit flavor. Aside from that, it's mild and the alcohol is way too strong with a big harshness. There's a hint of bubblegum in here as well. F: The bitter alcohol is far and away the dominant flavor on the finish. There's also an occasional waft of the sweet fruit, but it pales in comparison to the alcohol. There's promise here for an older version of this, but as it is, this is deeply flawed. It would be easy enough to drown in a cocktail, but the harshness is particularly brutal. The obvious thing to compare this with is Pure Scot, which is more viscous and balanced with more sweetness and less alcohol, but which is also quite harsh. Still, between the two, I think that this is noticeably harsher. I can feel the tastebuds being ripped off of my tongue. Despite some oddities to its flavor, Pure Scot is a fair bit better than this, though this is in turn a substantial step up from Glen Logie. That puts this in the 5 to 6 range. I think that I might have overrated Glen Logie in giving it a 4, so I think that 5 seems about right here. I didn't have high expectations for this, but it failed to meet those that I had by a wide margin.

N: Citrus, dash of coconut, lemon, too much ethanol. P: Sweet with lemon and orange early. Moves to baking spice with some warm bread, vanilla, and caramel mid-palate. Holding it on the tongue brings out bitterness and basically makes you want to swallow and move along. Some tropical fruit. Finish has some heat - cinnamon spice, mostly - and lingering citrus bitterness (more palatable now). There's also some baking spice and eventually some lime. This is... okay. Worth taking home once, not likely to be repeated. _______ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

Nose: Cereal, muted honey, green grassy hay notes, white grape juice. Fresh and fragrant. Palate: Sweet and easy arrival. Cereal palate with a little soft spice and fruit. Nutty, some lemon hints, caramel, apple cider and malt. Finish: Short as a winter's day. Mild cereal notes fade into a dimly-lit sunset. On the whole - average. There's nothing bad about this whisky but neither is there anything to praise. It's super easy to drink but as a mixer just a bit nowhere. This is probably as close as you can get to the definition of "average" whiskey. At the price I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a soft introduction to whisky or to anyone looking for an affordable session whisky. "Average" : 76/100 (2.5 stars)

I consider myself a Tullamore Dew man but damn if Kilbeggan doesn’t bring it. This is $20-$25 depending on sales in Oregon which makes it a budget whisky. But it’s quality stuff. Right down the home plate of Irish blends, it’s not reinventing the category (although Kilbeggan does have some offerings that are off the Irish path) but it’s just a good product at a good price. Cant argue with that!

Very light, lacking depth, slight oakiness, maybe a distant hint of bright fruit if you put all your imagination into it, yet at the same time the nose has a little booziness that refuses to air out. Not worth sipping, but just good enough as an unintrusive ingredient for long drinks. Stated price is the regular one although I got it on sale for 11 EUR.

An original and very decent budget blend. The double distillation and 4 year premise make it stand out from other Irish triple distilled blends. This whiskey actually feels a bit maltier than the competition. Smooth, fruity and somewhat sweet. A highly recommended blend if you're looking for something different from Jameson, Tullamore and Bushmills.