A St. Paddy’s Day Review of Peaky Blinders & McConnell’s Irish Whiskeys

Ahhhhhh, St. Patrick's Day! It's the one day of the year when all of us are Irish. We wear our Kelly Green, gather at the pubs, order pints of Guinness alongside our favorite Irish Whiskey, and have a grand old time with our family and friends.

Alas, St. Patrick's Day 2020 is going to be a little different thanks to a little thing called COVID-19, aka the Coronavirus. This nasty little bugger has put normal life on hold, and the smart people that are trying to contain it have advised all of us to stay home and minimize contact with one another in order to stop spreading it around. We at BoozeDancing Central wholeheartedly endorse this advice and hope all of you are taking care of yourselves and your loved ones during this global health crisis.

Just because you're cooped up inside doesn't mean that you can't have a wee St. Paddy's Day celebration in the comfort and safety of your home. Social Distancing may be the protocol, but thanks to Social Media, Facetime, Skype, or any other communications tool at your disposal, there's a way to raise a glass with friends without putting anyone at risk. That's how we plan to celebrate!

When we say celebrate, we, of course, mean raising your favorite pint or Irish Whiskey in honor of St. Patrick. Jameson, Redbreast, and Midleton are the norm at BoozeDancing Central, but as regular subscribers are well aware, we're always happy to try something new. Thanks to a recent email from our friends at The Baddish Group, we were given the opportunity to try two newly released Irish Whiskeys. One goes by the name Peaky Blinders, and the other goes by the name McConnell's.

Here's a bit of information about both...

Peaky Blinder Irish Whiskey is an award-winning whiskey inspired by the real story and spirit of the 19th-century urban street gang from Birmingham. Dating back to the 1870s, when they were usuals at Sadler's brewery in the middle of the Black Country during the Industrial Revolution. Crafted in small batches from an exceptional blended Irish whiskey and finished in bourbon casks - ready to drink as is, straight to the point!

Distillery: Sadlers Brewing Co.
Location: Lye, West Midlands
Type: Triple distilled Irish Whiskey
ABV: 40% vol
SRP: $18.99 (750 ml)

McConnell's Irish Whiskey is a robust and silky-smooth whiskey aged in bourbon casks which accent the vanilla sweetness in the liquid which is a 5-year-old blend, set to release February 2020! The packaging features a bottle shape that was inspired by a pill capsule, which harks back to the original label which had 3 references from doctors who recommended the whiskey and used to prescribe it for medicinal purposes. The label is the signature green and has a handsome metal plaque that reads "J.J. McConnell's, Estd Belfast 1776, Northern Ireland."

Distillery: Belfast Distillery
Location: Belfast, Ireland
Type: 70% grain, 30% malted barley
ABV: 42% vol
SRP: $32.99 (750ml)

Are these two Irish Whiskeys good enough to replace our usual Jameson/Redbreast/Midleton drams for tonight's celebrationals? For the answer to this question, click the play button on the following video:

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Many thanks to The Baddish Group for sending us these very generous samples!

Categories: Booze Banter, Booze Dancing TV, Booze Review, McConnell's, Peaky Blinders

Tagged as: A Tasting at the Murder Table, Booze Dancing TV, Irish Whiskey, McConnell's, Peaky Blinders, Review, Reviews, St. Paddy's Day, Whiskey, Whiskey review, Whisky, YouTube