Redbreast 12 Year Cask Strength

Classic Irish butter cookie on the nose. The higher proof isn’t abrasive but it’s also not hiding in the nose or the palate. Up front the taste is full of fruit that shifts into more typical Irish flavors of unmalted barley. If Irish was my thing this seems like it would be the gold standard.

Pungent and inviting nose of graham cracker, vanilla, baked apple, pear, sherry, oak, and burnt leaves. Surprising lack of ethanol given the proof. Palate opens with honey, hard candy, dried apricot, vanilla, fig, and golden raisin transitioning to butterscotch and smoked almond in the mid-palate. Pleasant grassy note rides in the background the whole way through. Rich and elegant. Pepper, oak, copper, toffee, and custard in the extremely long finish. As good as it sounds. A residual mineral salinity after everything else fades. Mouthfeel is thick, heavy, and oily. I found this to be an absolute knockout. Flavorful but yet subdued, punchy but not overpowering, it’s a little hard to describe. Bottom line: it’s just so damn good. Everything comes together rather perfectly. At $75 that I paid, it’s a rebuy all day every day and will probably occupy a permanent space in my cabinet.

First impressions. It’s bold and well-balanced. The sweetness doesn’t play up too much like in some Irishes. The dried red fruit and buttery wafer complement each other well. I’m reminded of those jelly-in-the-center shortbread cookies. And not the crappy kind that come in a big tin either. Mine is blueberry and raspberry with a drizzle of vanilla frosting over top. Some lingering baking spice plays up at the end. Good. Very good.