skillerified
Blue Spot 7 Year Cask Strength Single Pot Still
Single Pot Still — Ireland
Reviewed
July 8, 2022 (edited August 30, 2023)
Review # 200. Breaking out the biggest of my big guns. And this will be a dead bottle when all is said and done tonight.
N: An absolutely heady scent of mature red wine, pear, peach, coconut milk, and toasted almonds. Crisp red apple, vanilla, caramel, and cookie flour. Tropical flowers. A boozy apple cider and cinnamon note. Rich, heavy, absolutely delightful.
P: Caramel, vanilla, spiced coconut, cinnamon, wood. Apples and dried leaves - taste of autumn. Cherry and bread pudding. Plenty of baking spice in the middle - ginger, more cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut shards, cardamom, cumin. Worn leather and some dust and earth. Then another splash of ripe orchard fruit, surprisingly. Mineral notes, slightly bitter, transition to the finish. Hot and chalky finish with sweet pear and green apple nipping at the sides of the tongue. More of the same baking spice as above lingers for a long time. Then something like a raisin cookie emerges after several seconds. Exquisite dram.
An incredible taste on par with just about anything else I've had (probably top 5) and certainly a top 2 in the Irish category. The only Irish I can compare this to is the Redbreast Cask Strength. The batch I had of that bottle was absolutely divine and a hair better than this, just a hair. This is deeper, richer, more complex and actually makes the RB look a little simple in comparison. But I liked that simplicity and I paid $67 for the RB and $300 for this (a moment of weakness following a COVID test - negative). It's really impossible to justify that swing. But then there's the batch variation in RB. Maybe Blue Spot will have significant batch variation - too early to say - so that could be a wash. Hard to pick a winner. Bottom line: a bottle of this at the $85 or so it's supposed to retail for would be the killer app of Irish whiskey, but that's just not how the whiskey world works right now. Still, I think the RB is (or was, at that time) underpriced and this is overpriced (thanks secondary :-/). I would probably grab this again (two bottles, in fact) at $150 or less. I'd be tempted at $200. If your budget allows the splurge, grab this one. Price aside, it is an excellent whiskey.
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@DjangoJohnson yeah, the RB cask strength is over $90 everywhere here now.
@PBMichiganWolverine Yikes. I'm a sucker for new Irish, so I'm sure I'd grab it if I saw it, but I will heed your words, likely ignore them, and rue the day if it happens. I wasn't looking for it at least and am less likely to now.
@DjangoJohnson Exactly. Would rather have two bottles of RBCS than one of this, if I have to choose. Thankfully I never do have to choose because this just isn't available and the RB is.
@soonershrink here both RBCS and Blue Spot are the same price but RB more available and honestly RB is great so I’ll buy that again. Here it’s the rarity that is the allure
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington I might have a sample still. I’ll send it over — you can see if it’s worth a buy
@PBMichiganWolverine there is a stack of gold spot locally, asking around $125 - seems like a pass for value but still tempting
@DjangoJohnson that'sa great find. I've only seen it once in store for about 115, and I passed it by for a bottle of RB cask strength for 65. Should have bought them both.
@PBMichiganWolverine I still haven't tried the Blue, but I did just pick up a Gold for $110. Hopefully can find a Blue at some point to compare.
@skillerified. Out of all the Spots, this was my favorite by far. Avoid the new Gold Spot—-2x as pricey and 1/2 as good
@DjangoJohnson Incredible. Nicely done.
Epic!
@DjangoJohnson just finding this is a feat, never mind finding it less than $100
Just bought a bottle today for $95. I’m walking on sunshine.
@skillerified thanks for the info. I will do an online search and see what I find. Perhaps I will check out discord one of these days as well. Cheers!
@Spirited_Away Thanks! I see it on shelves near me at $250 sometimes. I think that's probably too much for me, but maybe for a first try/splurge... There may be places online that are in that range, maybe slightly better. If you're willing to join the Discord, there are people who can provide links, usually to places they've shopped before. No pressure. Just throwing it out there.
Great review and congrats on reaching 200! 👏 I've been on the lookout for this for a couple years. It never has appeared by me unfortunately, but I'll keep trying. I thoroughly enjoyed the Green, Yellow, and Red spots which I still have. Hoping to score the ever evasive Blue so I can do a side by side. $300 is pretty steep, but at this point I may give in to that if it finally magically appears locally.
@skillerified this and the gold are the only spots I have yet to try. Just can’t get hands of this one. Out of the price range. Sounds great though. Congratulations on 200.
@PBMichiganWolverine Thoroughly agree. It was a dumb purchase that I don't regret, but also won't repeat.
200 and going strong! This one sounds amazing - yellow spot and RB 12 will get me by unless lightning strikes and a sub $150 bottle appears locally
Congrats on 200!!!
@skillerified out of the Spots (not counting the new Gold one) this is the best. But that price is simply way too high.
@skillerified congrats on review 200 and a great whiskey to boot