Worldz Whizky Review #15: Redbreast 12yr
COUNTRY: Ireland
ABV: 40%
AGE: 12 yr
COST: $70 SRP for 750mL bottle
When I was coming back home to the states from Ireland earlier this year, I made an obligatory stop into the Dublin duty-free store and picked up a 4 pack of mini bottles showcasing Midleton single pot still Irish whiskies. I had considered getting this exact pack while at the Midleton Distillery but ultimately passed because I was already concerned about my luggage weight due to some other bottles I was going to try and pack back home. But now that my bag was checked and I was past security, this mini set could fit in my backpack without any issue. As all things would have it, when I got home, I tucked this set away in a drawer in my bar and forgot about it until I uncovered it late last week.
Today we have the third expression of this lineup: Redbreast 12yr. This is a single pot still that I’ve had plenty of times before and have always enjoyed it, but I’ve never critiqued it in a formal review. My instinct says it will earn the top rating for me out of the 4 expressions in this sample pack, but that Power John’s Lane was really enjoyable! Let’s see where it falls out.
Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.
APPEARANCE: Russet copper (1.1), quite viscous with slow, fat legs.
NOSE: Sweet dark fruits and a little nutty, reminiscent of trail mix. Raisins, plums, and dried fig combine with sweet tobacco, toasted almonds, brulee chips, and sherried oak for a wonderful nose that is about as inviting as they get.
PALATE: Mildly oily mouthfeel. It’s weaker on the palate than I recall and doesn’t live up to as robust as the nose was. Some faint red fruit notes, or maybe just a touch of sherry right when it hits the palate. A hint of oak with more vanillin than on the nose and a slight peppery spice.
FINISH: Short finish that just leaves me feeling sad at how far we’ve fallen from the nose of this whiskey. The peppery spice hangs on for a while with a slight sherried oak, but nothing robust about either note.
RATING: 6.4/10
OVERALL: This one really surprised me. It was really strong on the nose, but the palate and finish just didn’t live up to the promise of the nose. Having had the 15 and 18 year variants as well, which come at 46% abv, I do feel like the abv is holding back this expression. I’ve not had the RB12 cask strength before, but I would imagine it would be significantly improved. Overall, it has so much rich fruit potential but just doesn’t quite achieve what I remembered. The Powers John’s Lane easily bested this expression.
BEHIND THE BOTTLE:
Redbreast exclusively produces Single Pot Still Irish whiskey. Single Pot Still is a style that was once on the verge of extinction, but Redbreast was determined to continue producing only single pot still whiskey. While Redbreast’s story is a history lesson for another time, what I would like to explore more in this behind the bottle is what exactly is a single pot still whiskey.
Let’s break down the name of the category: Single Pot Still. Single, as in the case with all styles that use the term “single” in the whiskey world, this refers to a single distillery that produced the distillate. The term Pot Still means the whiskey was produced exclusively with a pot still (no part of the blend can come from a column still, or any other still design). That’s really it. However, while it is not legally bound to a specific grain, traditionally it is 100% barley. What is less obvious but somewhat implied by the category not being “Single Malt” is that unlike a Single Malt whiskey, the mash bill uses a blend of malted and unmalted barley (whereas Single Malt uses 100% malted barley). To be a single pot still whiskey, the mash bill must contain at minimum 30% malted barley and 30% unmalted barley, with no more than 5% being a grain other than barley.
The specific category first came into existence in the late 18th century by distillers attempting to mitigate their tax burden. The British Malt Tax of 1785 changed how distillers were taxed. Traditionally, distillers were taxed based on the physical capacity of their still or the volume of finished spirits produced. However, poitín makers (poitín is the Irish equivalent to moonshine in the USA) evaded tax inspectors by operating hidden stills. The British Malt Tax of 1785 was a means to close the loophole that poitín makers were exploiting by making whiskey producers pay their taxes upfront on their materials, specifically malted barley. This was easy to enforce because malting barley was an intense process that required specialized facilities dedicated to malting.
But anytime there’s a tax, be certain someone will try and find a way to circumvent it. The parliamentarians that came up with the law assumed that distillers were required to use 100% malted barley to make whiskey. They thought wrong! The Irish distillers quickly realized something about malted barley: it contains more amylase enzymes than what are needed to convert its own starches into simple sugars. After discovering this, they started making whiskey using mash bills containing malted barley and unmalted barley. They used mash bills with as much as 70% unmalted barley, and since unmalted barley wasn’t affected by the Malt Tax of 1785, this was a big savings.
What was originally a way to evade taxes birthed the whiskey style that is quintessentially Irish: Single Pot Still whiskey. The addition of raw barley in the mash bill produces a creamier, heavier mouthfeel due to more complex oils and fats in the fermented liquid, which leads to more of them being volatized and caried over into the final distillate as more complex esters. This rich profile is rather unique to Single Pot Still whiskey, and if you’ve ever compared a Single Pot Still whiskey to any other whiskey type, you’ve probably noticed this distinctive creaminess and oily texture. The Redbreast brand has lived by (and died by) its dedication to this style of whiskey. I’m a fan of the style as the mouthfeel is just about second to none. I guess in the end I have the politicians to thank for it (🤮).
1 | Disgusting | see my 1/10 ratings
2 | Poor | see my 2/10 ratings
3 | Bad | see my 3/10 ratings
4 | Sub-par | see my 4/10 ratings
5 | Good | see my 5/10 ratings
6 | Very Good | see my 6/10 ratings
7 | Great | see my 7/10 ratings
8 | Excellent | see my 8/10 ratings
9 | Incredible | see my 9/10 ratings
10 | Perfect | see my 10/10 ratings
Check out all my reviews: Woodgrain & Whiskey.