dhsilv2
Redbreast Kentucky Oak Edition
Single Pot Still — Ireland
Reviewed
June 28, 2022 (edited November 20, 2022)
Popped this open to get a quick idea on what we have here. I'll try and fill more out later. Highlights, it's still sherry and bourbon...so don't be confused by the marketing. The difference is they used a virgin oak cask, NOT charred, but air dried. So there's ZERO bourbon connection here. Other than the use of kentucky and the odd 101 proof. So blatant misleading marketing.
Nose - vanilla and toffee. Maybe some nutty elements. Rather nice rich irish nose. Does lack much fruit.
Taste - Sweet up front with vanilla and toffee (right off the box), then a nuclear bomb of spice, and then followed by funky over the top wood...more wood...and more wood.
Did I mention wood? And not yummy bourbon oak, but raw oak like you'd get on a wine or lambic beer. No char flavors that can add so many lovely elements. More spice. Not aged or mellowed long enough to do much good. This would be one to perhaps blend into some non virgin oak casks, not to bottle as one.
I'll leave this as a 1 star, but I'll try and come back and see if anything improves. I'm not hopeful.
99.98
USD
per
Bottle
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@StacieInOhio I'm terrible with keeping up with this. So I'll just leave you with this. It was bourbon and sherry matured whisky per the BACK of the label, not all ex bourbon which I feel the front label implied. I am ok with being wrong but I wasn't the only person who felt that way and these are other geek who i think are pretty sharp. Maybe our lust for a redbreast 100% bourbon was our downfall, but I stand by thinking the marketing was misleading as we all saw the front label only before we read the back. Cheers
@dhsilv2 The Details are correct, it IS ex-bourbon cask that was further finished around 5 months in Virgin American Oak. Sounds like you were expecting it to taste like Bourbon which it definitely doesn’t.
@StacieInOhio - I know the DETAILS on the bottle are accurate, but when you call it KENTUCKY, people assume some special ex bourbon cask in the whisky world. So I'll agree to disagree
I do agree with your review aside from the marketing. It’s just a heavy Bourbon finished Irish Whiskey that spent 5 months in American virgin Oak casks. There are other Irish Whiskeys with woody notes for a lower price than Redbreast Kentucky Oak.
The marketing isn’t misleading. It says Irish Whiskey not Bourbon. They partnered with Elk Cave Farm in Kentucky for the Casks.
I'll pour tomorrow or the day after and give this a proper write up, but gosh it was an oak bomb.
Crazy. This just showed up locally. Marketing looked cool, maybe too cool. Glad I pumped the brakes on an impulse purchase.
I'm not sure this is the kind of taste you can "like". But I would say, thanks for the warning. And it strikes me that the money is probably better spent on another bottle of Redbreast 12 CS?
This sounded like a gimmick…”Kentucky oak”…didn’t know that was a thing.
What a disappointment! Will return my bottle if it doesn’t improve.