The Soho Shebeen & Dubliner Spirits

Earlier this month I was fortunate enough to pay a visit  to the Soho Shebeen. Historically a shebeen is an illicit bar selling booze without a license, but in this case is was a three story  pop-up bar in Soho, there for a week to educate us on three recently launched Irish spirits - Dubliner and Oak Devil Whiskeys and Feeney’s Irish Cream Liqueur.

To celebrate the launch they had some fine cocktails on offer made from the aforementioned spirits, two of the my highlights (for which I’ve kindly been supplied the recipe’s) are below.

Dubliner Treacle
50ml Dubliner Irish Whiskey
25ml Cloudy Apple Juice
12.5ml Sugar Syrup (or dissolve a teaspoon of castor sugar in the Whiskey)
2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
Build in the glass and gently stir, garnish with lemon peel and add ice cubes.

Devil's Smash
50ml The Dublin Liberties Oak Devil Irish Whiskey
2 Wedges of Lemon (muddled)
6-8 Mint Leaves
12.5ml Honey Syrup
Muddle, build and churn the ingredients together. Garnish with a mint sprig and crushed ice.

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Nice looking cocktails right ? But what about the spirits that make them ?

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THE DUBLINER IRISH WHISKEY

The Dubliner is a blend of single malt and grain whiskies, aged in Bourbon oak casks which are known to give a warm and smooth whiskey. The Dubliner is a perfect introduction to Irish Whiskey for those looking for an approachable, smooth whiskey that works equally as well drunk straight or in cocktails.

Fox's Tasting Notes
Light, warm and meadow fresh, like walking hand in hand with your favourite girl through spring fields.

Dubliner Tasting Profile​
Nose: Fresh, grassy and apple notes with a clean malt aroma.
Taste: Smooth mellow, honey sweetness, with underlying pepper spice.
Finish: Silky smooth with a touch of caramel.
Average Price: £22.50

Fox's Rating 
​6/10

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THE DUBLINER IRISH WHISKEY & HONEYCOMB

Jumping into the now popular whiskey liqueur market, the Dubliner Irish Whiskey & Honeycomb is the sweeter little brother of the Dubliner and more importantly is a smooth blend of honeycomb, caramel and Irish Whiskey. 

Fox's Tasting notes
I've got that Friday feeling! Mighty smooth and honey sweet, like a liquid Crunchie in a glass.

​Dubliner Tasting Notes
Nose: Caramel, white chocolate and cream-of-soda vanilla with whiskey spice.
Taste: Caramel and honey with hot black pepper spice RSP:
Finish: Smooth and sweet
Average Price: £22.50

Fox's Rating
7/10

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FEENEY’S IRISH CREAM LIQUEUR 
Feeney’s Irish Cream Liqueur is made from Irish grain whiskey which has been matured for at least three years.

The next step would be to blended this with rich dairy cream from Irish cows (some would call this a sacrilege). Keeping it as fresh as possible it takes only 24 hours from dairy to distillery – one would like to imagine it being delivered by fresh faced dairy maids.

Feeney’s Irish Cream Liqueur has won several international awards including a Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and Platinum at the Sip Consumer Taste Awards in the US.

Fox'sTasting Notes
Noticeably creamier than it's popular rivals with an almost malty after taste, like drinking a whiskey infused clotted cream .

Feeney's Tasting Notes
Nose: A whiskey hint.
Taste: A rich smooth chocolate creaminess throughout to the end with warming whiskey notes.
Finish: Sweet and creamy
Average Price:  £12.50

Fox's Rating
7/10

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THE DUBLIN LIBERTIES OAK DEVIL IRISH WHISKEY

The Dublin Liberties Oak Devil is a new Irish Whiskey distilled and matured in Ireland by First Ireland Spirits.

The Dublin Liberties Oak Devil Irish Whiskey is a non chill-filtered, and sits at a respectably over-proof 46%.  .

It takes its name from the Liberties area of Dublin, which had a somewhat disreputable reputation in the 1700s, to the extent that an oak-carved devil stood watch over the entrance to the Liberties - watching the mayhem happening within. An image of that devil now adorns the bottle, perhaps to watch the debauchery once the bottle is opened.

Folklore aside the hard facts are that Oak Devil is a blended whiskey combining malt and grain, aged for at least 3 years in selected bourbon casks.

Fox's Tasting notes
Dark and full bodied, like dancing at midnight under the full moon of the witches Sabbath. 

Dubliner Tasting Notes
Nose: Rich, malty nose, with aromas of dark fruits and soft wooded notes.
Taste: Smooth and spicy, with notes of caramel and Christmas cake.
Finish: Smooth and lasting, with lingering pepper on the tongue.
Average Price: £35.00

Fox's Rating
​7/10

To sum up, a great time was had at the Shebeen. The star of the show for me was most definitely the Oak Devil whiskey. The Dubliner Honey was also extremely drinkable.

I'm probably not overly qualified to give you a true opinion of the Feeney's cream, but being a huge lover of creamy drinks, but I must say I prefer it to it's competition as you can really taste the cream and it is overly sweet.

I look forward to trying these spirits again, and anything new that the distillery comes up with. All the products can be bought at 31Dover.com 
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​The SilverFox