PBMichiganWolverine
Red Spot 15 Year Single Pot Still
Single Pot Still — Ireland
Reviewed
August 25, 2019 (edited March 23, 2021)
I’m a little late to the party on this one. When it came out, there was a lot of buzz around it, causing some places to really inflate prices. If you bought early, you could’ve had this for just around $100-110. If you waited, it climbed to $150-160. I guess the pricing of these things is like pharmaceutical drugs—-no rhyme or logic, just based upon what the market will bear. If whiskey pricing was based solely on cost of production plus a profit margin, we’d not see BTAC prices at the monthly mortgage level valuations.
So, anyhow—-I finally got around to opening my sample, graciously provided by @Scott_E . I’m not a huge fan of Irish ( my love affair is squarely set for Islay, Cambeltown, Islands, and Indian). But, this was pretty good. Amazing nose of sweet sugar plums and fruits. Sweet on the palette, but not overly sweet like some types of bourbon. More like a restrained fruit bowl.
Would I pay the current asking price for this? No...not over $90. It’s good, but I actually didn’t think it was all that better than the Green, especially the wine finished Greens. Unfortunately, I think the market is willing to pay more than $90, so either I stay satisfied with my sample provided by Scott, or I wait till the market loses focus on this and moves elsewhere. Thanks Scott!
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I hope to see that one on the shelves in Europe. Currently, I only see it available in UK shops. Might be a bit overpriced, but given the lack of really good Irish malts, I'd probably but it anyway.
@worldwhiskies95 I think the Green takes on finishing in red wine really well. Red wine can be tricky...especially powerful Bordeauxs. You can have a bit tug of war, so it either takes a deft hand in finishing, or a flexible base. I’m thinking the Green has that flexible base.
@PBMichiganWolverine Haven’t tried the Barton green Spot but have tried the Chateau Montelana Green Spot and liked that more than red spot.
@Soba45 oh was it? For some reason I thought Blue was highest. In that case, makes no sense to not have Blue.
@PBMichiganWolverine I think Red Spot was the top grade historically. Unless they release a new variant.. that's why I thought it odd they skipped the lowest one (blue) and went straight to green
@Soba45 I’m just guessing. I’m assuming they’ll ride this Red train for a bit and then release the next grade up.
@PBMichiganWolverine Ah is that when Blue Spot is arriving is it? given it was the 7 year version I thought they would have wheeled it out by now. Really want to try red spot however given the price and the fact my tastes have changed over the years may not be rushing to grab one
@SolanaRoots two years down the line.
@1901 At some point, you might have to fit a Blue Spot in there too...
@1901 For me, definitely the Leoville Green, Red slightly over Green ( just a tad), then Yellow as the least. For the price, I’d have a hard time justifying Red over Green.
Spot on review. "restrained fruit bowl" is a good description IMO. I also think the Green Spot is better. My traffic lights are ordered Green, Red, Yellow!
@Scott_E I remember having a sample of the Green Spot Leoville ( I think that’s a Bordeaux). Loved it enough to immediately buy a bottle. I still have 1/2 of your pour of this—-so, I’m thinking of opening up that Leoville and doing a side by side. Will send over a pour as well in the next few weeks
@PBMichiganWolverine I quite enjoyed this one, slightly more so than the Yellow. I am partial to Irish whiskies and the Spot series. Is this worth $120, no. But I would drop $90 for it. I have not had any of the wine matured series and am curious how they stack up against this one. I would guess every March, the price will spike.