Hey there, fellow whiskey enthusiasts! Happy Whiskey Wednesday! To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and Irish Heritage month, we are going to dive into another electrifying Smoke & Oak Mash Up! This week, we’re breaking all the rules and shaking things up by pairing the four traditional types of Irish Whiskey and the bold flavors of the Filthy Hooligan by Alec Bradly Cigars. It’s like the ultimate mash-up of tradition and rebellion, guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!
If you’re new to our Smoke and Oak Mash Up shenanigans, buckle up because we’re about to embark on a smoke-filled journey where we mix and match whiskeys from one brand with cigars from another, just to see what kind of crazy pairings we can come up with!
Now, let me tell you, folks, picking just one brand from each of the four Irish Whiskey styles was no easy task. But fear not, because with a little help from our fantastic Whiskey Wednesday fans, affectionately known as “Barrel Heads,” we’ve narrowed it down to the cream of the crop!
So, grab your favorite glass, pour a little Irish, light up that Filthy Hooligan (don’t worry, it’s just the name!), and let’s sit back, relax, and watch the madness unfold as we dive headfirst into these tasty Mash Ups! Cheers to whiskey, cigars, and the luck of the Irish!
The Filthy Hooligan
Brand: Alec Bradley Cigars
Size: 6X50
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habana, Honduran candela, and Nicaraguan Habana maduro
Binder: Ecuador Sumatra
Filler: Panama and Honduras
Price $16.99
Experience:
Body slight sweet mustiness
Foot tobacco: musty earth, tobacco, tight draw
On the light: Slights cedar, musty wood, and tobacco, followed by white petter. Retro is hay and a soft white pepper with a slight bright note that I can’t figure out.
Into the first: Brun is great. I’m always worried when it come to a barber pole that the burn is going to go crazy. Flavors up front are musty mushroom, earth, hay, with a slight chocolate power, Theres a bright note in there, almost like cut green grass but it’s there and gone quicky. The retro is hay and white pepper. Medium body, thick and creamy smoke texture. Medium finish of mostly white pepper on the lips
Into the second third: Still a great burn and holds a great ash through each third. Absolutely no issues. I must say I’m completely surprised. Not many barber poles, let a lone a triple barber pole can smoke without a burn issue. Flavors now musty Earth, sweet grass, hay, and nuts. Slight salty note followed by white pepper. Retro is white pepper, cream and hay. Medium strength but lots of favor.
Final third. Burn is still fantastic; smoke is thick and full. Ash is still holding. Flavors are still the same. Up front I get a musty earth followed by hay, green grass and nuts and finishing with a salty taste. The only new note I’m getting is a bitter coffee note but its not bad. The retro is white pepper, hay and black coffee. Still med strength and full flavor.
Unblind Review of the 2024 Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan Shamrock using the Cigar Public Scoring System.
Construction 18
Draw: 12
Burn: 15
Flavor Complexity: 18
Flavor Enjoyability: 18
Smoke Output and Texture: 4
Overall experience: 4
Total: 89
Thoughts on the Cigar. I’ve never been a fan of Alec Bradley cigars, so I went into this with a heavy heart. I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it and was worried about how this article would go. I found out that this is absolutely my favorite cigar from them. The roller coaster ride or flavors has me wanting to buy more. This cigar is an absolute winner. Great job Alec Bradley.
The Busker Single Grain Irish Whiskey & Filthy Hooligan
Proof: 88.6
Price: 39.99
Whiskey on the Nose: sweet corn, honey, slight wine note, strong ethanol burn
Whiskey on the Palate, very sweet, Youth corn up front followed by lots of fruit notes…. Almost the taste of Tropical Fruit Stripes bubble gum. Finishes with an almost butter popcorn taste. Oily mouth feel. A good Irish Whiskey for anyone who likes a sweet easy drinking whiskey.
The Pairing: Up front the sweetness from this whiskey is stronger than the cigar. It completely kills all the musty notes and well as the pepper note. What you are left with is a tropical sweet gum forward mixed with a very long and sweet cream finish. For me this is not the pairing that I would enjoy.
Tullamore D.E.W. – Blended Irish Whiskey & Filthy Hooligan
Proof: 80.0
Price: $21.99
Whiskey on the Nose: Sweet, very Sweet, Lots of green apples, Honey, Carmel Vanilla slight ethanol burn
Whiskey on the Palate: Thin, sweet apple candy, slight caramel. Thin mouth feel
The Pairing: With the cigar being a lot of musty earth, salt, white pepper, and hay notes, and the whisky being so cany sweet, the sweet candy apple notes really enhance the salt, white pepper and hay notes in the cigar. It also tames the mustiness of the cigar as well as lowers the sweetness of the whiskey. The after taste becomes like a salty, sweet peppery mix that goes well together.
Green Spot – Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey & Filthy Hooligan
Proof: 80.0
Price: $79.99
Whiskey on the Nose: Bright wonderful nose of green apples, vanilla, caramel, slight oak, no burn on the nose
Whiskey on the Palate: Slightly sweet, tart green apple, oak, vanilla cream, caramel. Oily mouth feel. Finishes like a green apple pie with whipped cream.
The Pairing: There is a brightness of the green apple of the whiskey that does something good to help push forward a little cocoa note of the cigar. It also helps and balances out the musty flavors and leaves you with a nice, sweet hay and white pepper finish. I don’t know how else to describe it. Every enjoyable.
Dingle – Single Malt Irish Whiskey & Filthy Hooligan
Proof: 92.6
Price: $109.99
Whiskey on the Nose: completely different from all of the others. strong malted honey and Port wine notes. No burn on the nose
Whiskey on the Palate: Smokey oak, slightly charred barrel, vanilla cream, honey, and dark fruit, medium finish. Leaving you with a smokey, almost chocolate fruit note. Thick and oily mouth feel
The Pairing: Wow, all I have to say is wow. The smokey malt and oak note from the whiskey enhances every note in the cigar. Your palate goes through a roller coaster of flavors. A sweet and smokey start followed with an oaky white pepper finish middle, and then a salty chocolate pepper finish. Its sweet, smooth, salty, its creamy, it’s so good.
Overall, I really enjoyed this mash up. I thought that the Green Spot would have been my favorite and Tullamore D.E.W. would be my least favorite. I would say that the mash up with Dingle was by far the best whiskey of the four and for me I really didn’t enjoy the pairing with the Buskers at all. It just did not fit my palate.
Let’s get a conversation started! What’s your thoughts on Irish Whiskey? Have you had any of these? I would love to know. If you have any suggestions for the next Mash Up, please post it as well. As always, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Let me leave you with this: “There are good ships, and there are wood ships, the ships that sail the sea. But the best ships are friendships, and may they always be.”Until the next Whiskey Wednesday, if you’re going to enjoy a little smoke & oak just remember, “Life’s too short, enjoy the good stuff”…. and do it responsibly!
Charles Ruth