By
George Brozowski
Michael
Collins was launched in 2006 in the USA by the late
marketing guru Sidney Frank, of New York based Sidney Frank
Importing. He and his minions are the very same folks that
made Jagermeister an American college major and migrated
Grey Goose in from France.
To
bring you up to speed on this whiskey I would like to give
you the Readers Digest version of how whiskey and civilization
came about.
In the beginning, well actually around 10,000 BC or so, ancient
man stopped hunting and gathering and running around like
a wild man and began settling down to grow grains, get civilized
and drive BMW's.
Bread
was the first product produced from those grains and a week
later it was discovered that beer could be made from that
unbaked bread dough as well as baked bread. Man had found
purpose to his existence and woman was finally happy.
The
discovery of beer is credited with the formation of cities.
People settled in groups around the breweries because refrigeration,
transportation and logistics hadn't been invented yet much
less the wheel or the Segway and beer needed to be consumed
before it went bad.
As
everyone knows in order to distill whiskey you first have
to make beer. Huh? Brewing and distilling both start with
mashing which is the process by which the grains and water
are heated which allows enzymes to break the down the starch
into sugars creating a liquid called wort. At this point you
can take that wort and brew it into beer or distill it into
whiskey. Beer was preferred for thousands of years because
it was ready in less than a week and just in time for that
impending wild weekend party. Man did not evolve the patience
to wait years for whiskey to mature until woman taught him
how to be patient.
In 1174 the precursor of whiskey and Scotch aqua vitae (the
water of life) was noted by King Henry ll of England on a
trip to Ireland. By the mid 1700's there were over 2,000 distilleries
in Ireland and 16 bakeries.
These
people had their priorities straight. But after the great
famine of 1845 the distilleries began disappearing and by
1887, very sadly, there were only 28 and today, more sadly,
there are only 3 and Michael Collins is distilled
and bottled in the Cooley distillery.
Michael
Collins is a double distilled blend of malt Irish
whiskey and grain Irish whiskey, aged 4 years in bourbon seasoned
casks and bottled in Ireland.
It
has an uncomplicated oaky nose with vanilla and citric notes
accented by bright ethanol flourishes that settle down to
semi-sweet vanilla highlights.
On
the palate it is straight forward, pleasantly warm and clean
with a subtle sweet/tart mouth feel and a clean smooth finish
with a slight short lived fresh tingle on the tongue.
This
is a very simple, uncomplicated, mildly sweet, straightforward
down to earth whiskey. To me this is not a straight up sipping
whiskey as it just can't hold my interest much past the second
sip. It becomes even less interesting diluted with ice. HOWEVER,
it makes an excellent mix and is the perfect whiskey to use
in cocktails. It absolutely sings a beautiful harmony with
ginger ale. Its sweetness and flavors match up with the tartness
of cranberry juice deliciously. It cuts nicely through most
fruity liqueurs and gives them a distinct and interesting
whiskey edge. If it was less than $20.00 per bottle it would
be that much more interesting but at $25.00 or so it's certainly
got my attention.
For
more Rants & Raves click
here.
Try
these Michael Collins Recipes:
Gorgonzola
Stuffed Figs
Honeysuckle
Irish
Whiskey Pork Loin, Sautéed Mushrooms and Butternut
Squash Purée