Showing posts with label Irish Whiskey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irish Whiskey. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Spirit Infused Coffee from Fire Department Coffee

I'm not a flavored coffee drinker, but I received samples of spirit-infused coffee from Fire Department Coffee -- part of their Spirit Infused Coffee Club. The company was founded in 2016 by Luke Schneider, a full-time firefighter/paramedic and a U.S. Navy veteran partnering with firefighter/paramedic Jason Patton. And "ten percent of net proceeds are donated to help provide essential resources and assistance to first responders who have been injured on the job, mentally or physically, or who are facing other serious health challenges".

The spirit-infused coffees are created using a proprietary process but basically, the whole coffee beans are infused with real spirits and then roasted -- all at their facility in Rockford, Illinois. This roasting burns off the alcohol leaving remnants of the spirit or spice. The spirits consist of bourbon, whiskey (Canadian & Irish), rum, and tequila; the spices are vanilla and cinnamon. 

Vanilla Bean Bourbon Infused Coffee ($19.99)
This coffee is smooth vanilla, not overwhelming, just enough for my tastes. There's also a small hint of nuttiness which may be the bourbon talking. This coffee is a welcome alternative to my everyday Pilon Espresso.

Peach Bourbon Infused Coffee ($19.99)
This is their best seller. I was hard-pressed to recognize any peach flavors, although it carries a bite - most likely from the bourbon - that is not bitter, just a jolt. Not bad, but still prefer the vanilla bean bourbon.

Monday, October 5, 2020

Redbreast 12-Year-Old Irish Whiskey - Sherry Barrel vs Bourbon Barrel

The highly acclaimed Redbreast 12-Year-Old Irish Whiskey is matured in a combination of Bourbon seasoned American Oak barrels and Oloroso Sherry seasoned Spanish oak butts that provide complex flavors to this light-colored whiskey. The whiskey starts as locally grown barley from the Munster province in southwestern Ireland. The mash bill includes both malted and unmalted barley with the traditional malting process imparting sweetness as the starch is more accessible to the yeast during fermentation. On the other hand, the unmalted barley provides a silky and creamy mouthfeel plus a dash of spice. Once the mash is cooked and fermented, the wort is triple distilled in copper pot stills that increase the alcohol content from 40% after the first run to 85% after the third.  Copper stills are preferred since they conduct heat efficiently, and more importantly, the copper reacts with volatile sulfur compounds to form copper sulfate which remains behind in the still. Furthermore, the large pot stills used at the Midleton Distillery allows for a large volume of heavier congeners to "reflux" back into the still producing a lighter style and higher strength spirit.

This whiskey is then moved into either used sherry or bourbon barrels. The sherry butts -- standard size casks used for maturing sherry -- are manufactured by hand at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, and are made from European oak harvested in Galicia, Spain. Prior to being shipping to Ireland, the casks hold sherry wine for two years. The bourbon barrels are made from American white oak that were manufactured in Kentucky and held bourbon whiskey for a period of 3 or 4 years prior to being shipped to Ireland. The inner linings of both types of casks allow the Irish whiskey to seep in during maturation, and when it withdraws in the cooler winter months the whiskey takes with it the spectrum of either sherry or bourbon flavors hidden within. These characters include nuts and dried fruits from the sherry and vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon from the bourbon. After a minimum of 12 years, and usually longer, the whiskeys are blended and the final Redbreast 12-Year-Old Irish Whiskey is excellent - hints of all these flavors within a lightly bodied sipping whiskey. Sláinte.