Tastes

An intriguing pour! Unlike other ryes I’ve tasted but somehow superior. The nose is shy and mostly ethanol when I first stick my nose in the glass. Taking a swig and letting it sit a moment helps open it up. It then reveals black pepper, star anise, some clove and allspice, and some of the barrel. On the taste, this whisky really begins to open up, with notes of brown sugar, a little rummy funk, and lots of barrel bitterness. The finish is long and dry (the opposite of sweet), and the rye spiciness is there but not overbearing like some of its American cousins can be. A little water softens this one up a bit and smooths put some of the edgier notes. I find that many of the nicer Canadien expressions (so not your standard Crown or Club) benefit from a little water, and they’re often bottled above 40% to accommodate that without loosing flavor. A good pick if you can find it. Certainly a fine expression of what rye has to offer.

I wanted to like this more. I feel like maybe I had too high of expectations going into this given all the positive reviews, but I found it not very inspiring. If I were given this in a blind tasting I’d swear it was from the highlands, not Islay. Lots of malty notes with a short finish and a nip from the proof. Not a bad dram by any measure, and good for the rainy night I consumed it, but I wanted more, and if your going for Islay, there are far superior options. If you’re looking for a truly magical Islay malt that is unpeated, I much prefer the Classic Laddie.

A fine and affordable way for you to decide what your favorite Redbreast expression is. Helped me definitively decide that the 12 year was my favorite expression without buying full bottles. My only lament is that it doesn’t include the 12 year cask strength or a sample of the 21 year, though that may make this set prohibitively expensive. Also makes a nice gift for someone just getting into whiskey, as Irish whiskey is a good gateway and nothing beats Redbreast in my opinion.

I thought it high time I did another head to head tasting. This time around I'll be reviewing the four widely available expressions from Redbreast: the 12 year, 15 year, Lustau edition, and the 12 year Cask Strength (CS). I'd love to include the 21 year in this lineup but my wallet can't handle that sort of hit. If any of you fine folks would be willing to send a sample it'd be most appreciated. I'm also curious as to your opinions on my rankings and whether or not you'd rate these differently. Redbreast is one of my favorite whiskey brands and any of their expressions are worth having in your collection. My previous review for this expression holds up. It comes in just shy of the standard 12 year just because the standard 12 is so easy to drink. This is definitely worth the money for just a few more $$, though, and if you can find it, well worth your hard earned cash. For today's tasting I'm rating this #2 out of 4.

I thought it high time I did another head to head tasting. This time around I'll be reviewing the four widely available expressions from Redbreast: the 12 year, 15 year, Lustau edition, and the 12 year Cask Strength (CS). I'd love to include the 21 year in this lineup but my wallet can't handle that sort of hit. If any of you fine folks would be willing to send a sample it'd be most appreciated. I'm also curious as to your opinions on my rankings and whether or not you'd rate these differently. Redbreast is one of my favorite whiskey brands and any of their expressions are worth having in your collection. This one is definitely a bit more interesting. Color is the same in the glass as the other expressions, but the nose has a lot more barrel spice on it. Bit more alcohol on the nose as well. The taste here is where things really get interesting. There's more roundness and spice than the 12 year, and it reminds me of when I proof down the 12 year CS by myself. Curiously the finish isn't as long as it is on the standard 12, and it comes in a bit hotter also. Certainly a fine expression, but not worth the extra $$$ in my opinion. For today's tasting I'm rating this #3 out of 4.

I thought it high time I did another head to head tasting. This time around I'll be reviewing the four widely available expressions from Redbreast: the 12 year, 15 year, Lustau edition, and the 12 year Cask Strength (CS). I'd love to include the 21 year in this lineup but my wallet can't handle that sort of hit. If any of you fine folks would be willing to send a sample it'd be most appreciated. I'm also curious as to your opinions on my rankings and whether or not you'd rate these differently. Redbreast is one of my favorite whiskey brands and any of their expressions are worth having in your collection. This edition looks the same in the glass as the 12 year (maybe a little lighter). On the nose, it smells younger and a little more astringent (as expected for a NAS expression), but you can also smell more of the sherry influence. The taste is noticeably different. Much more sherry on the palate, and a lighter mouthfeel. The finish isn't as long as the 12 year, and it comes in a little more hot. Overall it reminds me of a less interesting version of the 12. For today's tasting I'm rating this #4 out of 4.

I thought it high time I did another head to head tasting. This time around I'll be reviewing the four widely available expressions from Redbreast: the 12 year, 15 year, Lustau edition, and the 12 year Cask Strength (CS). I'd love to include the 21 year in this lineup but my wallet can't handle that sort of hit. If any of you fine folks would be willing to send a sample it'd be most appreciated. I'm also curious as to your opinions on my rankings and whether or not you'd rate these differently. Redbreast is one of my favorite whiskey brands and any of their expressions are worth having in your collection. The classic Redbreast 12 pours into the glass with a beautiful golden color. The nose has beautifully layered aromas that dance between the biscuity pot still malts and the sherry casks. This one is a classic for a reason. While I'm normally wary of 40% abv offerings, this one seems like that's the right fit (after having fiddled around with the CS for a time). The taste is lovely, with just a little nip from the alcohol and smooth, buttery texture that warms your body as it goes down. The finish lingers nice and long. A supremely drinkable dram, and the benchmark for the rest of the line. I could drink this all day. For today's tasting I'm rating this #1 out of 4.

This one is not a keeper. Very astringent nose and no flavor. Mixed it with lemonade. The bottle makes a bold claim that it “may be the greatest American whiskey”. Hardly. Spend your money elsewhere.

I try to keep a few expressions of every kind of whiskey at home at any given time for variety’s sake and I must admit that I bought this to round out my collection, the reviews were favorable, and I didn’t feel like paying $85 for Yellow Spot (though I’m sure it’s lovely). It’s rumored that Knappogue Castle sources their spirit from Old Bushmills, which is perfectly fine with me because who doesn’t like Bushmills? This dram is also on my radar only because I was watching Ralfy review the Bushmills 10 and recommend this dram over that (bless you Ralfy for all the good work you do from one malt mate to another). The Distiller review hits this one on the head. Easy to drink with Irish triple distilled smoothness and a bouquet of honey on the nose. The palate gives you this caramel, nougaty taste (no doubt from the bourbon barrels. What did they do before bourbon barrels in Scotland and Ireland I wonder...). The finish is smooth and satisfying, the way you expect a Irish whiskey to be. All together a highly agreeable dram with a 12 year age statement. I’m bumping up my score a bit for the elegant and stylish bottle design as well. A great value for a quality single malt from an independent bottler if you can find it. Cheers!

Delicious. Everyone here reading this has probably either tried the standard Redbreast 12 or heard its virtues extolled by others on this site and beyond. It is the quintessential Irish whiskey in my opinion. What Middleton has done here is presented that form of perfection in its full unadulterated cask strength glory. The initial nose comes bellowing out of the glass with the ethanol (something more associated with CS bourbons or Islay whiskies than Irish!). This one had to sit for a while while I nosed and contemplated it. All the shortbread biscuit and sherry notes are there but they’re dialed WAY up to 11 on this edition. I took a sip and let it sit on my palate for a bit and came back 20 minutes later, which helped tone down the ethanol. From there only happiness ensued. One of the fun things about CS whiskies is that you essentially get to pick your proof. I played a little game with myself, adding a splash of water every two or three sips until I found a comfortable drinking proof (which in hindsight I suspect was close to the standard Redbreast 12’s 40%). That took about three splashes of water (a most technical and academic of terms) to bring it down compared to my usual one. The dram was still complex and delicious at every stage but I feel that it achieved maximum “drinkability” after more water than usual. If you get the CS version you can try for yourself. Good news is I still have most of a bottle left to continue dialing in my ideal amount. Where I live this edition cost about $17 more than the standard 12 for the cask strength. Most worth it in my opinion. Redbreast 12 has been one of my favorites since I first tried it, and this edition allows me to experience it in the most personalized and optimal way possible. Highest marks!