Tullamore Dew Tullamore D.E.W. XO Carribean Rum Cask Finish

What can I say: I'm a sucker for new whiskies. My local store didn't have my first two choices so I picked this up as a consolation prize, despite my reservations. Why reservations? Because I had a bottle of standard Tullamore and it did nothing for me, which summarizes my opinion of typical Irish blends. On the other hand, their 10 year old single malt was fantastic, so I figured it was worth a shot.

First impression was not great: flat, bitter, lacking in character. But I've been at this long enough to know these things need time. Now my impression is: an easy-drinking blend which benefits from the extra ABV, if not necessarily from the rum finish. It does have a bit of extra richness, though I would stop short of describing it as sweet and tropical like the bottle suggests. It's a simple whiskey which isn't worth dissecting but goes down nicely enough and would work fine in cocktails. Not sure it's worth the premium over the standard Tullamore, Jameson, or what have you. Now that I'm on my fifth glass it's quite enjoyable.

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