Since Mrs. G-LO and I have tickets to see Lisa Hannigan (an Irish singer / songwriter) on Thursday night at Milk Boy Philly, I thought I would celebrate the occasion with a review of the Redbreast 15, a traditional Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey (for a bit of Irish Whiskey history, click here to read a fine article by our friend Patrick of the “wordsonwhisky” blog).
The Redbreast 15 is produced by Irish Distillers at the Midleton Distillery which is located in Ireland’s County Cork. Here is what Irish Distillers has to say about this whiskey:
Redbreast 15 Year Old is matured in a combination of Spanish Oloroso sherry casks and American Bourbon whisky barrels. Bottled at the higher ABV strength of 46%, Redbreast 15 Year Old is non chill filtered.
Here are my impressions of this whiskey…
- Appearance: Golden honey color. Thick, slow moving legs creep down the insides of the glass after giving it a swirl.
- Aroma: Toffee. Vanilla. Rum soaked raisins. Adding water brings out some cinnamon and ground ginger.
- Taste: Somewhat oily mouthfeel. That first sip warms the middle of your tongue. Starts with subtle maple syrup sweetness. A bit of cinnamon spiciness builds towards mid-palate, with some subtle smokiness far off in the distance. The finish, which lingers for quite awhile, is all mild cinnamon spiciness and toffee/caramel sweetness. Adding water enhances the spiciness a bit, but never to the point of making it overwhelming.
- ABV: 46%
I have had the Redbreast 15 on numerous occasions during our weekend dram sessions, but this is the first time that I was able to sit down on my own and really explore it. Smooth, full flavored, and very well balanced are three ways to describe the Redbreast 15. I enjoyed it so much that I found myself adding more whiskey to the glass throughout this tasting. If you’re curious about whiskey, but don’t know where to begin your journey, then I highly recommend that you try the Redbreast 15 (the 12 is also excellent). It is both very accessible for a whiskey novice, and full of enough surprises to keep even the most jaded whiskey lover entertained for many, many drams.
Many thanks to Limpd for lending me his bottle of this fine Irish whiskey!
One more thing…
Here is a YouTube video of Lisa Hannigan. Pour yourself a dram of your favorite whiskey while you enjoy this lovely performance. Slainte Mhath!
