From the Octagon to the Distillery

Proper 12 is the new offering from MMA legend, Conor McGregor.

The whiskey proved to be so popular on its release that customers in Ireland were rationed to 2 bottles per customer.

The name refers Crumlin, South-West Dublin, where McGregor hails, Dublin-12. McGregor worked alongside master distiller David Elder (formerly of Guinness) to agree on the final blend chosen from almost a hundred different blends,

He said: “I come from a place called Crumlin, in Dublin 12. It’s a place dear to my heart. It’s where I learned how to fight, it made me who I am today.

“It’s a place I’m still very much a part of every single day of my life. So, that’s where the name came from. It’s proper Irish whiskey and twelve is my hometown.”

What to Expect:

The nose has a floral and fruity character, accompanied by aromas of almond and baked green apple.

Flavour/Taste – Incredibly smooth, with notes of vanilla, honey-like sweetness and gingerbread spice. The finish is strong and long, with a character of toasted-wood and honey.

On Review:

The smell is extremely satisfying and acts as the whiskeys defining feature. The floral and fruity aromas come through strongly and are incredibly enticing. The almond and baked green apple are muted, but can be bought to life by adding a few drops of water.

The taste is smooth and bitter with hints of sweetness and provides strong surges of honey. There is no alcohol burn, which is really nice!, but could be a bit more refined. To get the best out of the whiskey, I recommend giving it a bit breathing time to allow it to reveal its complexities – 10-15 minutes should suffice.

Proper 12 is a great entry level whiskey for novices. It is extremely drinkable and has been made to be highly palatable to the masses, rivalling that of Jameson’s.

Bottled at 40% abv. it has been triple distilled and aged for 3-years in bourbon barrels.

It has been described as a young grain whiskey which means it hasn’t been kept in the barrel for very long. There is a minimum requirement of 3-years for a whiskey to be called an Irish whiskey. Falling fowl of this, it can only be classed as a bourbon, which can be in a barrel for only 24 hours. By churning out whiskey as quickly as possible, it can be suggested that McGregor was driven solely by profit, rather than providing consumers with a great tasting whiskey – Releasing the drink right before the biggest and most anticipated fight of his career certainly would’ve driven up sales.

Having said this, the distillery company does donate $5 from every case sold to local emergency responder organisations and charities who will benefit by receiving up to $1 million annually. I feel like this is a really nice touch.