aacharbonneau
Yellow Spot 12 Year Single Pot Still
Single Pot Still — Ireland
Reviewed
September 7, 2019 (edited June 15, 2021)
Nose: An explosion of fruit and flowers! Candied oranges, berry syrup, plums, and nectarines. There's a small bit of biscuit and spice back there as well. There's a smell like one of those pre-packaged vanilla ice cream cones with the sugar cone, vanilla ice cream, chocolate and stale peanut chunk - but of course covered in loads of stewed stone fruits.
Palate: Thick, sweet, and oily. It's like fruit syrup on the tongue. Nice buttery biscuit, a burst of cinnamon, oak, and other spices. There's a fruity sweetness that I really only ever get from peaches and nectarines - almost tart, but also a little nutty. A small bit of caramelized sugar, like the crisp outside of a Belgian waffle - loaded with whipped cream and peaches.
Finish: Loooong... this lasts and lasts - roiling in waves of biscuit, stone fruits, dry, and mouthwatering. There's some vanilla and cream in those waves as well.
Conclusion: And I never thought I'd find a whiskey as good as Redbreast 12 CS... The amount of stone fruits, floral notes, and vanilla biscuit goodness loaded into this liquid is astounding! This is an absolutely beautiful whiskey, unlike any I've had before, and it has a permanent place in my cabinet now!
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@aacharbonneau @PBMichiganWolverine I would give the edge to Redspot. The fruity spiciness worked for me, but the Yellow is quite fine itself.
@aacharbonneau just slightly better. It had a more fruitier taste to it; best I can think of is a fruit salad bowl. If you like your whiskey on the sweeter side, you’d like the Red more. I’m more of a savory taste bud person, so wasn’t as impactful for me
@PBMichiganWolverine I haven't been able to get a hold of a sample/bottle of Red Spot yet, but I'm keeping my eyes out for it. There's not much of a selection where I live... Would you say that, despite the price, you like it better than Yellow?
@aacharbonneau have you tried the Red Spot? Was curious of your take on it. I liked it, but not that much better than this Yellow, especially when you factor the price
@aacharbonneau Sadly no. They don't do samples and I can't get bottles in NZ. Definitely looking out for it!
@Soba45 that's an interesting observation. I'll see if I can find another sample to compare my bottle to. I'd love to see what kinds of variation there are between batches. I haven't had a chance to try the Red Spot, would you say you like this better?
Good review :-). I really enjoy this one too. My favorite in the spot range. The first bottle I had blew me away. The 2nd wasn't quite as good so seems like there is a bit of batch variation.
@aacharbonneau soon as I can find a bottle I’ll let you know. SRP for this one is $85 in Texas and I’ve been hesitant to pull the trigger on that much for a 12 YO whiskey, but might be time to get over that...
@WhiskeyLonghorn honestly, I wasn't expecting it to even be close, but I'd say they are tied now for my favorite whiskies. They are very different though. Yellow Spot is bright, fruity, and vanilla floral while RB CS is much darker and deeper in opinion. I'd love to know what you think of it though, because I have a soft spot for light floral whiskies, so that probably weighs heavily in my rating.
High praise. I’ve passed on this one before because it seems a poor value for the money, but if you think it’s comparable to the Redbreast 12 CS, then maybe this ones worth another look...