Redbreast Lustau Edition

Tasted side by side with the 12 year. Lustau is a much more concentrated flavor... but I don’t quite care for it as much. It’s more brute force, less elegant. Bold fruit, sherry, and sweet-tart oranges. All the strongly-flavored finishing casks make a fine spirit, but it lacks the rich, thick elegance of the 12. Kind of like pop music vs classical. Catches your attention... but you’ll have forgotten about it next year while the 12 is timeless. Given the retailer was asking $25 more for this one, it’s a no-brainer.

sweet, better without water, cleaner finish than Caribbean Cask, pepper aftertaste

N: Raucous aromas bursting with berries, figs, fresh baked bread, cranberry tartness. P: Sweet, balsamic-like acidity. strawberries, chocolate, spice, slightly grassy. F: shorter finish than I remember from the 12. Biscuit, jammy, more oak. This has less of the rich, round buttery and nutty qualities that I think of in the 12, but the balance of the malty sweetness and bright fruity tart qualities from the finishing barrel is amazing.