Hector McBeth of WhiskyShop invited us to a tasting of premium Irish Whiskeys
collated by Irish whiskey negociant Daithi O'Connell
The tasting was held at The Gin Emporium in the V&A Waterfront, which also houses WhiskyShop,
where Hector McBeth sells a very large selection of excellent Scotch whiskies, Irish whiskeys
and others from all over the world
The building has the most amazing views and Lynne would have loved to have moved in! She has an affinity with water. Apparently, it was the show house for the developments in the Waterfront and has now been converted into business premises housing the Whiskey Shop and Gin Emporium. What a location, on the edge of the yacht basin
Four Gins are on offer at the Gin Emporium. We were not offered a tasting of them
They do have an Aroma Wheel and descriptions of the four Gins
A highball to start was offered, made from Ginger ale, a Naartjie shrub and Campari (a shrub is a concentrated syrup that combines fruit, sugar, and vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is the most common base for shrubs, and herbs and spices are often added to create interesting flavour combinations). It was very refreshing, somewhat like a good ginger beer
While we waited for the people to attend to arrive, we watched the activity in the harbour
There were crews practicing Dragon Boat racing - when Lynne worked for Safmarine they had a successful boat
And we watched some very impressive boats and yachts steaming home after a day at sea
- how the other 10% wealthy live
All set to begin
Tables filling up with media and guests
Hector McBeth, co-owner of WhiskyShop
Compère and broadcaster Guy McDonald. He works with Hector as Two Macs and a Dram
Daithi O'Connell is a Bottler and Bonder. His company WD O’Connell is a very different kind of whiskey maker. Their headquarters are in Kilmacthomas, County Waterford, Eire. They do not have a distillery and they are not trying to build one. They bottle & blend the best spirits they can find, to curate a bottle and cask library that matches their adventurous spirit. They seek out the finest new-make and mature spirits from the best of Ireland’s distillers. Working with peated whiskey; single grains; they cherish an all-sherry cask strength release. They are happy to re-mature whiskey in a Madeira cask, and source the best Scotch whisky Islay has to offer. He had just arrived that day from Ireland
He told us all about his company and how he had started in April 2019, when he bought his first cask of whiskey. Now they have a 1000 sq metre warehouse for blending, bottling and maturation racking and another building of 800 sq. metres which they will expand into a History of Whiskey exhibition
Time to taste. We are experienced whisk(e)y tasters as well as wine! And we always have a good bottle or two at home
We were to taste these three Whiskeys. The first a 10 year old single grain Bourbon and Rye cask Irish Whiskey
Bill Phil is a single Malt peated Irish whiskey, it is named for Daithi 's great grandfather - see the back label below
It becomes a little softer with a drop of water. You need to be a fan of peated whiskey; those who were enjoyed it a lot
Then a limited edition 12 year old Irish single malt; cask strength (59.5% proof) from a single sherry cask
Lots of cardamom spice, caramel and smoke on the nose
Unadulterated, it is hot with alcohol, we are not used to so much
It did need a drop or two of water to calm it, which brought out the spice, hazelnut, cigar smoke and fruit flavours
We really enjoyed this one
All these whiskeys and many more can be ordered from Hector at the WhiskyShop https://whiskyshop.co.za/
As we left, the Waterfront was aglow with all its night illuminations
The tasting was followed by public tastings in Cape Town and Johannesburg
of the international range of whiskies sold by WhiskyShop
The WhiskyShop price list
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