Redbreast 12 Year Old
Posted by Andrew Healy on
Redbreast 12yo along with Green Spot are often the first experience that many people have with Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. Redbreast 12yo has vast distribution here in the US thanks in part to the work done by Irish Distillers/Pernod Ricard over the last few years in securing listings for it across all of the sales channels out there.
There's a strong chance that you'll find Redbreast 12yo everywhere from your local corner liquor store to the big box retailers as well as Irish pubs across the USA. While the Redbreast range has grown significantly over the last few years (it now numbers eight offerings) many Redbreast drinkers continue to come back to the 12yo offering due to its classic single pot still style.
Redbreast 12yo is distilled and matured at the Midleton Distillery in Co.Cork and is made from a mashbill of malted and unmalted barley and then triple distilled in copper pot stills. The whiskey is matured in a combination of Bourbon seasoned American Oak barrels and Oloroso Sherry seasoned Spanish oak butts for a minimum of 12 years.
It sells at retail for anywhere from $55 to $68 a bottle.
Nose: It shows a deep intensity of flavors that start initially with spice and vanilla and is followed by a dried cherry character, a hint of liquorice, and warm baking spices. A few drops of water bring the spice and liquorice characters to the fore.
Palate: It's soft, smooth, balanced and mouth filling on the palate and shows black pepper spice, a hint of cinnamon, caramel tones, and dried baking fruits (think Barmbrack) and there are hint of fresh apple and pear notes at the edges. A few drops of water really bring out the pepper spice character.
Finish: The finish is medium to long, balanced, with the spice flavors - pepper and cinnamon - to the fore, and it leaves the mouth with a warm, pleasant feeling.
Overall: There's a reason why I and many others come back time and time again to Redbreast 12yo. It's almost the benchmark for Single Pot Still Irish Whiskeys due to its large distribution and ready availability and will continue to be the Single Pot Still responsible for the onboarding of whiskey drinkers to this category for years to come.
