My Favourite: Powers John's Lane Release. plus Cork Whiskey Festival details.

Powers John's Lane Release Whiskey

Cork Whiskey Festival.

From the uncountable volumes written about whiskey, this is the line I always remember: “It makes me sick when I am well, it makes me well when I am sick”. Something of a generalisation, no doubt, and some truth there too.

So, which whiskey - and with an “e”, I’m talking Irish here -  do you want as your cure, as your first choice, as your final choice?

Once upon a time, I thought Paddy was your man, your one and only man. But then I found many more including Powers, Bushmills, Hewitt’s, and Dunphy's, most of them that little bit gentler than Paddy.

But around the same time, it became clear that Irish whiskey was dying. Three white-as-a-sheet bodies got into bed in Midleton as death beckoned. Somehow the last-gasp trio survived. And, thanks to a French kiss, thrived. And, now whole and healthy, continue to thrive. Viva Irish Distillers.

So, now which whiskey would I prefer when an póg beatha is required. It’s got to be that reviving rush, that generous warming wave that reaches the parched shore, that rich and rare one, “droplets of pure pleasure” as one of our greatest bards put it, it’s got to be the magnificent Powers John’s Lane Release Single Pot Still.

Love my Jameson, in all its marvellous manifestations, my Redbreast in all its glorious hues and aromas, the various coloured “spots” of Powers but, when it’s a matter of life and death, John’s Lane’s your only man. Slainte! 

Widely available, including in Bradley's of Cork, and Very Highly Recommended.

The Cork Whiskey Festival begins Monday April 3rd. Get the details of the week-long fest here.