Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey

My Price: $26.95

Country/Area: Ireland/Dublin

Distillery: Bushmills

Proof/ABV: 80 proof/ 40% ABV

Mash Bill: Undisclosed Blend of Grain and Single Malt

Barrel: Ex Bourbon Barrel

Age: NAS (at least 3 years)

Nose: Grain, Green Apple, Heather

Taste: Shortbread, Sweet Cream, Hay

Review:

I will avoid getting into all of the particulars of Conor McGregor’s personal life. What I will say is that as a big UFC fan I was looking forward to the release of Proper No. Twelve in 2018 before Conor fought Khabib. My first taste of it the night of UFC 229 was much more lackluster than I was anticipating. The whiskey costs more than the standard Bushmills or Jameson that most of us are familiar with but I feel like it taste and drinks on par or even slightly below those standard offerings.

A number of months after opening the bottle and being disappointed, I loaded the whiskey into my backpack and took it on a day hike along the White River in North Central Oregon. There among the rocks we geocached what remained in the bottle hoping someone else would stumble upon it and partake. When we returned 6 months later the bottle was weather worn but untouched. We climbed up to retrieve it and upon pouring a glass felt that it was a much more mellow (less alcohol and metallic notes) than what we remembered tasting when we first opened the bottle. Since then, I have compared it to a freshly cracked bottle and find maybe some miniscule differences or maybe they just improved later versions of Proper No. Twelve. That being said there are still much better options out there for your money and I can understand why you would not want to support Conor although I believe he has sold off most of his investment in the company.

It is worth mentioning that $5 from every case of Proper No. Twelve sold is donated to support first responders, up to 1 million per year. Maybe that’s where the added cost compared to its rivals comes from.

My Rating: Shoot it. Better options for the price.

May the miles you hike be filled with wonder and the glasses you raise be filled with whiskey.

Cheers!

Rating scale:

-Spit: Don’t bother with this one. If a friend gives you a dram of it, are they even your friend?

-Shoot: Good enough to get you drunk.

-Sip: Tasty enough to enjoy neat or on the rocks.

-Stock: I’d recommend keeping a bottle on hand.

A bottle of Proper No. Twelve after being geocached in a canyon for 8 months.