Review: Powers Gold Label

A hugely popular whiskey in Ireland, Powers Gold Label is not very well known in the U.S., and that’s a shame. Powers Gold Label is a quality inexpensive blended whiskey produced by Midleton Distillery. A mix of pure pot still whiskey and grain whiskey, it stands with other better known brands as a very affordable and mixable Irish whiskey.

Nose: yellow cake, bready, bran, light honey and cinnamon, allspice, toffee, sweet, brown sugar.

Taste: brown sugar, anise, cinnamon, cardamom, sponge cake, challah bread, lingering cinnamon and cardamom, trace of orange, a bit fatty more than buttery.

Finish: Light wood, a bit of toast, continued sweetness and raw sugar taste, cardamom and clove, trailing off to general feeling of warm with a slightly bitter bite.

This whiskey has been billed as the best whiskey for an Irish Coffee, and I’d expect it would be fine in that. I prefer it with ginger beer, ginger ale, and other spicy complements, not to bury the flavors of the whiskey, but to spice up the dessert character and sweetness it has.

Powers Gold Label (Midleton Distillery, Midleton, County Cork, Republic of Ireland), 80 proof, $20