The_Rev
Redbreast Lustau Edition
Single Pot Still — Ireland
Reviewed
November 30, 2017 (edited October 8, 2019)
"Redbreast fans have long cherished our whiskey's sherry notes" says the audio commercial for this bottling, and...well, yes. The sherry-tinged quality of Redbreast is probably its best known trait. It plumps up the dram, giving it a rich, fruity, nutty roundness lacking in, say, Green Spot. And, in Redbreast's best iterations, it's a delight - I think about the 15 year old. This NAS (the youngest whiskey in the mix is 9 years old, or so I heard on WhiskyCast) is finished in first fill sherry casks..and things go from pleasantly round to REALLY plump. Like, me after my third piece of pie at Thanksgiving plump. The spicy, toasted bread pot still quality that dances with the sherry notes in the standard bottlings is lost here; instead, there's almond, marzipan, a medley of dried fruit. There's more "young spirit" nip here than in the age statement versions, but it's far from the worse NAS offender on this front. I've vacillated on a rating; I settled on a high three stars since it's an enjoyable dram, but not quite up to the high standards I hold for Redbreast.
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I certainly enjoyed it (it'll probably be my pre-bedtime dram here in a bit), and it's a good example of what I like to see in NAS bottles - taking some risks and trying new approaches rather than just selling me younger, inferior whiskey for the same price. Total kudos for that. It just felt a bit unbalanced for me - lots of sherry notes, but missing some of the pot still character that I enjoy. That being said...I've had a few pours from the same bottle, so given Middleton's consistency issues, who knows what I'll find in the next bottle?
Yeah it's interesting this one. Reviews have been mixed. Not sure if it's due to preference or variation in quality. The bottle I had people loved and demolished in a heartbeat. I've bought a lot of Middleton stuff and have noticed a fair bit of variation - yellow spot was a recent one. First one blew me away. 2nd a year later not so much