Green Spot 40%
Tasted: Jan 2009
I was quite surprised at how darkly amber this malt is. The nose is very intense with absolutely oodles of big, juicy, earthy apricot fruit and liquid honey. It has a sort of restless energy, almost a buzzy graininess! It’s certainly not a shy and retiring malt, it’s bold and boisterous, yet balanced by a lovely crispness.
On the palate it is definitely full bodied with a gentle creamy begging, followed by a lovely depth of honeyed barley, malt, earth and apricot. A few high toned, grassy notes appear through the thickness in the finish and there an almost rye like grainy note as well. Definitely not your run of the mill irish!
Green Spot 40%
Re-Tasted: Mar 2012
I can safely say that the only thing that has changed about this malt is the packaging. The nose displays all that wonderful pot still hardness, which to me comes across just like the nip that you get from a good rye whisky. Wonderfully spicy with stewed apple, toasted caramel oak and the most juiciest barley freshness imaginable. With time a gentle floral note emerges too.
Gently oily on the palate, yet still full flavoured and soft. Stunningly deep with spicy apricot and stewed apple, lightly sprinkled with a cinnamon dusting and again that rye like, grainy nip which does make the middle a touch on the austere side. Lovely length with some dry barley and toasty oak on the finish and just like on the nose a slight floralness to end with.
Green Spot 40%
Re-Tasted: Feb 2015
Nose: Crisp, edgy pot still spice wrapped in honey and vanilla. The oak is quite creamy and with time begins to dominate.
Palate: Soft and honeyed with more of the pot still character showing. Crisp and lightly earthy with the oak developing pleasantly.
Finish: Pleasant with lingering honey and spice
Yellow Spot 12 year old 46%
Aged in Bourbon/ Sherry/ Malaga Casks
Tasted; Dec 2012
Very heavy aromas of lush sherry, which has a slight leafy character. Hints of burnt caramel and fleshy apricot smother the pot still grains, although they are just about discernible beneath the multitude of casks!
The palate is again quite heavy on the apricot and sweet sherry. It’s a big mouthful! But….. Like the nose the nippy pot still grains are well hidden. There’s also a fair amount of burnt caramel and bitter oak on the finish. To be honest it feels a little awkward and disjointed.
Powers Gold Label 43.2%
Bottling Code: C316115533/ Tasted: Mar 2014
Quite full and chunky with fragrant honey, cereal, botanical grain spirit and toasty oak. Some light pot still spice and walnuty notes appear.
The palate is a little flabby, caramel flattened and homogeneous to begin with. Some toffee/ chocolate, hard pot still spices and neutral botanical spirit comes through on the middle. Good length with a late creaminess and lingering oily pot still spices. To be honest the finish is the best part.
Powers 12 year old ‘John’s Lane Release’ 46%
Tasted: Mar 2012
A lovely nose of sweet American oak with plenty of fleshy apricot and banana. It’s a veritable fruit salad of a malt! Liberally sprinkled with a dusting of cinnamon.
The palate mirrors the nose, opening with the sweet oak and followed by some voluptuous, sub-tropical fruit. There is an almost grainy nip, which balances the mouth filling sweet fruit rather well. Long and oily, basically a continuation of the palate.
Powers John Lane Edition 12 year old 46%
Re-Tasted: Feb 2015
Nose: Pungent, coffee’d pot still aromas with brittle honey and fragrant, sweet oak. Very complex with hints of liquorice and light treacle. Stunning intensity of lightly rye-like herbalness.
Palate: Soft and spicy with a touch of dried fruit, with the pot still character a little hidden. However given time it begins to assert itself along with hints of pepper and violet.
Finish: Long and spicy with lingering coffee’d tannins and wood notes
Redbreast Mano a Lamh 46%
Sherry Matured Apparently!
Nose: Edgy and slightly herbal with honey and a touch of sweet, almost grainy notes along with sultana and white grape. With time it becomes a little tropical in character.
Palate: Opens with a touch of coffee and again a slightly crisp grain-like note. Creamy toffee appears on the middle as the oak arrives. Pleasantly deep if a little straightforward.
Finish: Fabulous spicy, mouth-watering and juicy, which was a surprise!
Conclusion: I thought it was going to be a fairly simple grain whisky and then it sprang to life on the finish.
Redbreast 12 year old 40%
Tasted: June 2008
Quiet a deep nose of orangey fruit, marzipan, baked apples, spice and vanilla. Very big for an Irish with loads of buttery oak. On the palate it is quite full and soft, intense and spicy with orange, marzipan and vanilla. It has an intriguing milky/ lactose middle and a crisp grainy finish. Not your average Irish whisky and definitely one to explore!
Red Breast 12 year old 40%
Re-Tasted: Oct 2016
Classic, grainy Pot Still aromas with an almost saline-like freshness. Hints of ‘Bourbony’ American oak, dark chocolate, coffee and subtle herbal sherry notes follow.
The palate opens with the silky American oak and liberally coats the Pot Still spices with vanilla. Dried, salt cured fruit follows along with a touch of coffee’d and treacly sherry on the middle. Long and juicy with the dried fruit and spice lingering.
Redbreast 12 year old Cask Strength 57.7%
Batch B1/11
Sherry/ Tasted: May 2012
A stunning, deep and grainy nose. Those pot still spices explode all over the place with pure vanilla pod, pine and some very subtle sherry notes. In fact blink and you will miss the sherry component it’s that subtle, but it does add a touch of dried juicy sultana fruit along with the fleshy apple and ripe banana. Beautifully weighted with some gentle oils.
The palate is lightly oiled, but crisp and grainy with the pure vanilla pod arriving on an oily wave! Plenty of sherried dried fruit becomes apparent adding a degree of richness amid the vanillins and under ripe banana. The wonderful pot still spice run riot as some late coffee with a citrus twist comes through. There is a little bitter chocolate on the finish and combined with the alcohol makes the finish a touch austere.
A drop of water makes the sherry character more noticeable and softens the pot still character a tad. The palate is oilier and softer, less intense but wonderfully mouth-filling. It lengthens and now the grainy notes come through. It’s still a bit austere on the finish but it leaves the mouth tingling with spice along with a beautifully, silky, vanilla’d after taste. Superb stuff.
Red Breast 12 year old Cask Strength 57.7%
Re-Tasted: Feb 2013
Nose: A pungent, rich nose full of fleshy fruit, barley and no shortage of grain-like spices. Underpinning is some dense, sweet oak but those buzzy spices are the star of the show. A drop of water emphasises the sweet oak.
Palate: Opens with the soft and sweet oak as the grainy spices begin to build. Lightly oiled with a touch of caramel. It becomes wonderfully fresh on the middle, but wow! Those spices! Water bring out a delightful liquid honey note and gives those spices a deliciously sweet edge.
Finish: Seriously long. Spice city!
Conclusion: Stunning and unique. Such an instantly recognisable style! [tasted blind]
Redbreast 12 year old Cask Strength 58.6%
Batch B1/12
Tasted: June 2014
A beautifully intense nose of spicy, pot still aromas. Completely unique odour buzzy spice, grainy coffee’d tannins and edgy honey coated apricot. Hints of marzipan and soft, sweet-ish vanilla appear but given time the aromas become earthier with developing notes of dry soil, loam and mulch.
The palate is full and again showing plenty of pot still bite. Wonderfully soft apricot, apple, honey and ginger appear, again with an earthy nuance. Lovely intensity with quite a woody middle, but the finish is long and chewy with light vanilla, marzipan and spice. Wow!
With water the nose softens but the spices are still alive and kicking! There is more of the mocha and coffee aromas and the oak has become sweetly fragrant. And that honey is just to die for now! The palate is like the nose softer and with the oak a little bit more prominent. However the pot still graininess shines through. Extremely mouth-filling with the spices lingering along with a little bitter tannin at the death. Stunning stuff!
Redbreast 12 year old Cask Strength 59%
Tasted: Feb 2015
Nose: Pungent aromas of spice, coffee, tannins and alcohol. Gently herbal but the alcohol is quite masking. With water the aromas sweeten and although still intensely grainy and coffee’d it’s a little soapy now. Pleasantly estery with banana and apricot fruit now apparent.
Palate: Dry, intense, grainy pot still and brittle honey. Again masked by its alcohol. Diluted it looses its way a little as the oak caramel notes dominate and flatten a little. Less spicy as well.
Finish: Alcohol soaked apricot and spicy. Very long with lingering sherry notes.
Redbreast 15 year old 46%
Tasted: Nov 2010
An elegant and high toned nose of floral spirit. I’ll be a bit picky and say that there’s a brief soapy note but it soon disappears under the American and European sherry oak. Lovely layering of fruit, dark chocolate, crumbly spices, grilled nuts, brittle/hard barley along with an almost rye grain note.
The palate is luscious, bold and mouth filling. First up comes the brittle barley followed by the rye like grains, buzzy spices and hints of treacle, coffee and sherry wood! A sublime mid-palate as the American vanillins and alcohol take a grip, gently finishing with a flourish of slightly perfumed, floral spirit. A superb, pure Pot Still whiskey!
Redbreast 15 year old 46%
Re-Tasted: Feb 2015
Nose: Pungent coffee’d pot still notes to begin with, very much like the Powers although it displays a little less honey and more of the herbal notes. Beneath some lovely, creamy bourbon oak and a touch of sherry wood can be detected.
Palate: Edgy and very spicy with apricot and light honey. A little earthy, sherry wood dried fruit comes through on the middle and the spices are absolutely gorgeous!
Finish: Long and spicy if a little hot, but you’ve got to love the intensity.
Redbreast 15 year old 46%
Batch L705931088
Tasted: Oct 2017
Deep, saline-like aromas of crisp pot still spirit. Hints of sweet vanilla, almond, moist plum, raisin, dark chocolate and subtle sherrywood spice follow to balance the intensity of the pot still crispness.
The palate displays a lovely combination of sweet, dried fruit, wood smoke and crunchy pot still notes. Intense and deep with a touch of dark chocolate on the middle. The spirit pushes back against the oak and thus the finish is a little austere but superbly mouth-watering. Subtly saline after-taste. Now, that is rather good!
Midleton Dair Ghaelach 58.1%
The result of a six-year exploration by the Midleton Distillery into the affect of using native oak to age Irish whiskey, Midleton Dair Ghaelach is a combination of whiskey aged 15 to 22-years-old that has been aged in Bourbon casks, before being married together and aged in Irish oak hogshead for an additional year.
Each bottle can be traced back to one of 10 130-year-old Irish oak trees in Grinsell’s Wood, which were felled in April 2012.
Tasted: Nov 2015
Nose: Soft and very oily aromas with some classic pot still graininess. Hints of gooseberry and under ripe apple follow. Hugely ‘Bourbony’ oaked with what feels like some virgin oak grip. Lightly coffee’d with the grippy spices building along with a subtle earthiness.
Palate: The oils are a touch lighter on the palate and it’s richer than the nose would lead you to believe. Again exuberantly oaked with a seriously intense spiciness enlivend by some biting pot still graininess on the middle.
Finish: Long and slightly marc-like with plenty of lightly oiled dried fruit, marzipan. However those spices make it seriously tongue tingling.
Conclusion: I’m trying to pin an age to this as it displays both youthful and mature-ish notes. One thing it definitely doesn’t lack is oak though! [tasted blind]
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 