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Greenore 18 Year Old

Banana custard!

0 789

@PierreReview by @Pierre

24th Jan 2011

0

Greenore 18 Year Old
  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Finish
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  • Balance
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  • Overall
    89

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This upcoming release from Cooley is the oldest grain whiskey they have released to date. I bench-marked it against the 8 year old.

Nose: I usually find grain whiskey, even when it's quite tasty, to be somewhat muted on the nose but this has an immediate zingy freshness and lot's of banana. The banana notes start out as green banana skin but develop to very ripe mashed banana. The trademark Greenore corn and milk notes are in evidence but the chemically metallic notes of the younger expression are replaced by a more appealing liveliness.

Taste: Thicker, smoother and more complex than the 8 year old, I can see why they are bottling this at 46%. It's mellowed with age and can cope with the extra ABV. In fact the higher alcohol content really carries the flavours and probably contributes to the more oily mouthfeel.

Younger grain spirit is often harsh and chemically but the 18 years this has spent in the cask have removed all that. Instead we have an abundance of vanilla building to tropical fruit, a touch of menthol then drying out with some grassy notes. Finally creamy sweet notes take us to the finish.

Finish: Creamy egg custard with vanilla pod, the oily texture making it linger. A delightfully long finish.

I've recently tasted the 8, 15 and 18 year old Greenore expressions. The 8 year old has won many fans, myself included. To my palate the 15 year old - whilst a more grown up version - had lost some of the exuberance and sweetness along the way. If the 15 year old is a work in progress the 18 year old is the finished article. The sweetness from the 8 year old is back but with a thicker mouthfeel, added fruit, far more elegance and a longer finish.

For me the 8 year old is cornflakes and warm milk but the 18 year old is caramelised corn fritters with crème anglaise. If you like Greenore 8 you are going to love this.

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7 comments

@dbk
dbk commented

"For me the 8 year old is cornflakes and warm milk but the 18 year old is caramelised corn fritters with crème anglaise." Lovely, @Piero! Added to the wishlist!

13 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

Sounds great! When are the Americans going to start producing 8 to 18 year old corn whiskeys? Greenore 8 yo has finally just now arrived in my local stores, but God is it expensive! If Buffalo Trace produced an 8 yo corn whiskey it would probably cost $ 15 where I live, about 1/4 what I would/will have to pay for the Greenore 8.

13 years ago 0

@dbk
dbk commented

@Victor, the taste profile of the Greenore 8 is utterly different from your typical corn whiskey! I'm not saying that the price is commensurate with the value, but I suspect you've been spoiled by all the wonderfully low priced bourbons and ryes of impeccable quality in the US. Everything, including American whiskey, is more expensive outside of the US.

13 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@dbk, yes, I do know that liquors are more expensive outside the US. It is hard to say how different the taste profile of Greenore is from a US aged corn whiskey, since it is almost impossible to find a US aged corn whiskey. I have found it impossible thus far to even locate a bottle of J W Korn, 4 year old US corn whiskey and have never seen any other references to corn whiskeys made in the US that were not sold essentially unaged. Perhaps you know some brands and sources that I do not? I want to taste the corn without rye or wheat overpowering its flavour, and to see what a little wood mellowing does to the corn whiskey flavour compared to the unaged version.

13 years ago 0

@dbk
dbk commented

Fair enough, @Victor, I have yet to try an aged corn whiskey, either ; ) I suspect, however, that even with sufficient age, the differences between corn whiskey and the Greenore expressions would be pretty large.

13 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

I'm very much looking forward to this one.

13 years ago 0

@zerostar
zerostar commented

I've been waiting for this one to hit ATX (US) for quite a while now, to no avail; none of the local stores seem to have any inkling as to when this little treasure will arrive. I haven't tired of checking though - SO looking forward to it ;)

12 years ago 0