One of the perks of reviewing products is when the product I’m sent to review is some sort of alcohol. Cause seriously? You can’t beat that with a stick. Right?
(Thank you, Molly, for being so patient with me. Molly’s the awesome lady who sent me this to review and life happened and it’s taken me a coon’s age to get this up; she sent me the bottom two recipes on August 20th.)
Let’s get to the review, shall we?
Kilbeggan has a long history in the whiskey business.
Matthias McManus founded Kilbeggan Distillery back in 1798 in Ireland. The distillery continued production until 1954 and then became a museum. Cooley Distillery bought Kilbeggan. Production started back up in 2007 and then Beam finalized their purchase of Cooley in 2012. Winding path, no?
Though not as well known in the states as other brands, Kilbeggan stands up well to other mid-range whiskeys. I don’t enjoy whiskey neat (by itself) or on the rocks (over ice) but I gave the Kilbeggan a try. Nope. Still don’t like whiskey neat or on the rocks.
It’s not you, Kilbeggan. It’s me.
I mixed it with Pepsi Max (Don’t stone me!) since that’s what I use as a mix with just about all low to mid-grade dark liquors. Pretty nice, actually. It didn’t have an overwhelming…whiskeyey taste to it. Just the right amount without being rude.
Then I whipped up a Kilbeggan Secret Sour (second recipe down) and cocktails seem to be where Kilbeggan shines. Kilbeggan Secret Sour (a whiskey sour) is balanced and very tasty. I don’t know why I didn’t triple the recipe and put number of drinks to one since that’s the truth of it.
If you have a hankerin to try a very decent Irish whiskey without spending a whole bunch of money, Kilbeggan is a spirit worth looking into.
And watch their YouTube commercials. They crack me up.
- 1.5 Parts Kilbeggan Irish whiskey
- .5 Parts Yellow Chartreuse
- .5 Parts Lemon Juice
- .75 Parts Honey Syrup (2 parts honey, 1 part water)
- 3 Blackberries
- Muddle blackberries with honey syrup in a shaker base.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and ice, shake and double strain into a chilled coupe glass.
- Garnish with lemon zest and blackberries.
- 1 1/2 parts Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey
- 1 1/2 parts Club Soda
- 3/4 part Dry Vermouth
- 3/4 part Simple Syrup
- 1/2 part Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1/2 part Fresh Grapefruit Juice
- 1 dash Orange Bitters
- Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass over ice and shake.
- Strain into a Collins glass with ice.
- Garnish with a lemon peel.
- 3 parts Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey
- 2 parts Sweet Vermouth
- 1½ parts Cherry Syrup
- 1½ parts Cranberry Juice
- Dash Simple Syrup (optional)
- Combine all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake for 60 seconds.
- Strain neat into a martini glass.
- Garnish with a black cherry.
