Greenore. Its an Irish grain whiskey which was in the news a bit last year. It won many prizes and lots of people were very enthousiastic about it. Of course, I am willing to try this kind of stuff, especially if samples are available here or there. I’m also keen on trying grain whiskies the last couple of months. I think it is an underrated type of whisky that has some true gems every now and then.

Nose:
Lots of vanilla and some crushed black pepper to start off with. Unmalted barley, wet grass and some musty hay as well. There is some freshness in there and its actually pretty good.

Taste:
The mouth feel is very smooth but there a bit of fire. A bit of increasing peppery heat. The dry cereal makes an appearance again with some sugary sweetness.

Finish:
Dry and dusty. It tastes a bit like grist. The vanilla is nowhere near as big as on the nose and a lot of the sweetness has disappeared too.

A bit of an underachiever, in my book. I expected the fragrances in the nose to reappear while tasting it as well. I missed those, almost no vanilla, not as crisp as I hoped either.

Greenore 15, 43%, about 60 euros, samples available.

Nose: 7
Taste: 6
Finish: 5
Overal experience: 6
Price/quality: +1

Total: 25 points