Orlando Spirits

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Whiskey

Irish Whiskey
For Irish Whiskey, we recommend checking out the Single Minded web site http://www.singleminded.ca/archives.htm.  Wikipedia also has an excellent discussion of Irish Whiskey at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_whiskey.  The one pure pot still whiskey available is a must buy (Redbreast 12 Year Old).  Powers Gold Label is the biggest selling whiskey in Ireland.  Pick up a Bushmills Malt (either the 16 Year Old or the 21 Year Old) and Jameson 1780 12 Year Old or the Jameson 18 Year Old and you would have a wonderful selection of Irish Whiskey! 

B-21 has an excellent selection of Irish Whiskey.  Although ABC Fine Wine & Spirits doesn't show much of a selection on their web site and their store on Semoran Blvd. below Aloma has Powers Gold Label and not much else, the ABC store on S. Alafaya south of Waterford Lakes shopping center has a very good selection including a number of items not shown on ABC's web site.  Knightly Spirits has a good selection of the better Irish Whiskeys. 

Florida Whiskey Prices for some favorite Irish Whiskeys

Lowest price shown in bold.
Prices taken from company web sites in July 2006 and personal visits to ABC stores and to Knightly Spirits.
*Not shown on company web site, but found in select ABC stores.

A wonderful book published in 2002 on Irish Whiskey is The Whiskeys of Ireland by Peter Mulryan. 

American Whiskey

Bourbon

Bourbon is one of the great bargains of the whiskey universe.  Not yet as trendy as Scotch (although it is getting there!), prices are still in the realm of reality.  Wonderful bourbon web sites are Straight Bourbon and Bourbon Enthusiast.  Possibly the best book on bourbon is Bourbon, Straight by Charles K. Cowdery.  It can be ordered at BourbonStraight.com.  Also highly recommended is Charles K. Cowdery's newsletter, The Bourbon Country Reader.   

In Central Florida the best bourbon selections can be found at Knightly Spirits and Pat's Liquor Leaf and Wine with some additional hard-to-find items available at B-21.  At Knightly Spirits (as of Feb. 2007) you can find selections such as Wild Turkey Tribute Jimmy Russell's 50th Anniversary 15 Year Old and various Black Maple Hill bourbons.  Items found previously at Knightly Spirits (but no longer in stock) included Old Forester 2003 Birthday bourbon and Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve 10 Year Old 101 Proof bourbon.  B-21 carries (as of Feb. 2007) the hard-to-find George T. Stagg and Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Four Grain bourbons.  Booker Noe Single Barrel and Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year Old bourbons can be found at some of the better liquor stores in the Orlando area.  Some excellent products like Eagle Rare 10 Year Old, Elijah Craig 12 Year Old, and Wild Turkey Rare Breed bourbons can be found at numerous locations across Central Florida.    

Rye

American Rye whiskey has been getting a lot of press attention.  For an excellent overview of rye whiskey, check out Cocktail Chronicles.  Rye whiskey can be very hard-to-find in Central Florida.  As of Feb. 2007, you could find Black Maple Hill 18 Year Old Rye at Knightly Spirits and Sazerac 6 Year Old Rye and Classic Cask 22 Year Old Rye at B-21.  As of Nov. 2007, you can find Rittenhouse 21 Year Old Single Barrel Rye and Russell's Reserve Rye at Total Wine & More and Russell's Reserve Rye and Hirsch Selection 22 Year Old Rye at B-21.

Whiskey Information Sources:

Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible is in its 4th Year with the 2007 version.  It reviews more than 3600 whiskeys and is an excellent resource.

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This page last modified on 11/26/07