Single Pot Still Whiskeys You Need To Buy

Single Pot Still whiskeys seem to be making a comeback. Signature Release was released in the fall of 2013. A mixture of malted and unmalted barley, this whiskey is triple distilled in copper pot stills. Aged primarily in ex-bourbon barrels, there is a portion of the whiskey that is matured in first fill Oloroso casks.

This is the first release in the Spot Whiskey 'Wine Geese' series, a name inspired by the Wild Geese soldiers who left Ireland to fight in Europe during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. It is also inspired by the story of 'wine goose' Thomas Barton, an Irish man also known as 'French Tom,' who left Ireland to establish wineries in France in the 18th century. Léoville Barton in Saint-Julien, Bordeaux is one of those wineries, and after initial aging in a traditional mix of ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry barrels, this whiskey additionally rests between 12 - 24 months in casks once used to age this wine.

Redbreast is made in the classic Irish Single Pot Still style. This means it is produced using a mash bill consisting of both malted and unmalted barley which is triple distilled in copper pot stills. The 12 year is aged in ex-bourbon and European oak ex-oloroso sherry.

Dair Ghaelach is Gaelic for "Irish oak." It's a simple, fitting name for this single pot-still whiskey, which is a blend of 15 to 22 year-old Midleton that was initially aged in ex-bourbon barrels. Overseen by Master Blender Billy Leighton and Master of Maturation Kevin O'Gorman, this whiskey is further matured for 10 months in virgin oak grown in Grinsell Woods on the Ballaghtobin Estate in Co. Kilkenny. Note: This review is from Tree 6. There are 10 trees in total for this product with slight flavor and ABV variances which befit the nature of such a whiskey.

This version of the single pot still whiskey is in it's original cask strength. But what does that mean? No addition of water to bring down the ABV and mute its natural flavors. Furthermore, it is non-chill filtered. Think of it as a natural beauty without airbrushing for the marketplace. The whiskey is aged for 12 years in a combination of American oak ex-bourbon and European oak ex-oloroso sherry casks. Please note that each cask strength batch will vary in ABV.

For 32 years, Barry Crockett was master distiller at Midleton in County Cork, where he oversaw production of the monolithic Jameson, as well as Redbreast, Powers and several others. For the occasion of his retirement in 2013, he was given free reign to design this single pot blend. This swan song is made from a mash bill of malted and unmalted barley that’s triple distilled in traditional pot stills. It’s aged in ex-bourbon barrels then goes back for more rest in new American oak. It’s bottled at a robust 46%.

Unlike the standard Powers Gold bottling which is a blended whiskey, John's Lane Release is a traditional single pot still whiskey. Named after the distillery on John's Lane in Dublin that James Power founded. The whiskey is aged primarily in American oak barrels for 12 years.

Arriving in the US in early 2014, the Green Spot is a single pot still whiskey produced at the Midleton Distillery and made exclusively for Mitchell & Sons. These wine merchants would buy casks of pot still whiskey and age in ex-sherry casks. These days, sherry casks only amount for 25% of the barrels with the remainder being ex-bourbon. The name is derived from the dab of paint used to identify the barrels by age, which in the Green Spot's case, is 7-8 years.

We have the taxman to thank for the existence of Single Pot Still Whiskeys. Back in 1785, the Irish government created a tax on malted barley. As a result, whiskey began to be produced with a combination of both malted and un-malted barley (aka green barley). It is triple distilled in pot stills and is unique to Ireland. The 21 year expression is aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and 1st fill sherry casks.

Re-released in the UK in May of 2010, Yellow Spot is being produced again after not being bottled since the 1950's. This is a Single Pot Still whiskey that is distilled at Midleton Distillery for the wine merchants, Mitchell & Son. This is not finished in ex-wine barrels but rather is a combination of whiskeys that have aged in American ex-bourbon, Spanish ex-sherry, or Spanish ex-Malaga wine casks (a sweet fortified wine) for a minimum of 12 years. This has finally been released (February 2015) in the US so those days of smuggling the whiskey in from your travels are finally over!