KNAPPOGUE CASTLE | Ireland | Mark Edwin Andrews | Bushmills

Finding that the expansion of the original Bow Street facility was impossible, due to its location in the heart of the city, Jameson & Son built a new distillery in Midleton, County Cork, in 1975. The Midleton Very Rare is a selection of the best spirits from the Midleton distillery. It's a masterful blend, full of elegance and finesse, and one of the pinnacles of the whiskey distiller's art.

KNAPPOGUE CASTLE 1992 SINGLE MALT ($35)

Most Irish whiskeys are blends, but the phenomenal popularity of single-malt Scotches has led to the introduction of a few single malts from Ireland. Some of the best are those from Knappogue Castle. This is not a distillery but a brand, created in the 1950s by American Mark Edwin Andrews. Andrews selected aged single-malt casks from various distillers and bottled them under the Knappogue Castle label, named after the magnificent castle he owned in Ireland.

The whiskeys were bottled with the date of distillation. There are limited quantities of the 1951 Knappogue Castle still around for those with $650 in disposable income, but Andrews' son has continued the line with more recent (and more affordable) vintages, including this 1992. The label proudly displays a sketch of the original castle standing tall in County Clare, Ireland. The pale gold color leads to a smooth, mellow, and extremely elegant spirit tinged with vanilla and sweet oak.

BUSHMILLS BLACK BUSH ($35)

County Antrim, on the far northern tip of Ireland, is full of Irish mist and legend. Here, in the small village of Bushmills, is the world's oldest licensed distillery, Old Bushmills. Whiskey has been made legally in this location since the original license was issued to Sir Thomas Phillips in 1608, and very likely illegally before that. The Irish are notoriously independent and resisted the efforts of the Excise Administration to tax their spirits. In the late 18th century and early 19th century, illicit distilling became ramp-ant and the taxmen, called gaugers, needed private armies for safety. Things are a little calmer these days.