This was a blind sample poured for me by a friend. After taking down some notes and handing them over, he revealed to me what I had been drinking.
Musty grain, sweet rich toffee and caramel. Faint pear and apple.
Thin mouth feel. No heat. Not a lot of anything, in fact. Some pear, apple, light smoke. Not bad, but also not exciting. Cereal grains. Pepper.
Short, musty and a bit of varnish. Vanilla, honey, pepper.
Not sure what to make of this. Guessing young malt or bourbon, probably malt. Young, 43% ish ABV maybe crafty? This was revealed to me to be 40% ABV Coleraine Irish Whiskey, an old defunct brand now owned by Bushmills. It certainly felt hotter than it should for 40%, and while it wasn't amazing, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. That said, there is much better Irish found in other brands, so I'd steer clear of this one.
4