Redbreast 15 Years Old is an Irish single pot still whiskey from Midleton Distillery near Cork. Originally it was a limited edition made exclusively for the French spirits giant La Maison du Whisky, but Redbreast 15 has since become a permanent part of the range. You couldn’t do without it! Here you will find more depth and complexity than in the little brother of 12 years, and it is also bottled at 46%.
Colour: Golden.
Aroma: Full-bodied aroma rich in ripe berries, cloves, marzipan and honey.
Tasting notes: Really nice taste, with notes of candied ginger, cinnamon, sherry and toffee.
Serving suggestions: Should be enjoyed neat, possibly with a drop of water or two.
Midleton Distillery, close to the port city of Cork, is by several lengths Ireland’s largest distillery. It is home to one of the world’s largest pot stills and a string of well-loved whiskey brands such as Jameson, Redbreast, Powers, Paddy, Green Spot and Writers Tears. Many good drops flow from the kettles at the distillery, which is almost divided in two; in one part, grain whiskey is made in column stills, while in the other, typical Irish single pot still whiskey is made. The grain whiskey is used in blends such as Jameson, and here the uniquely Irish single pot still whiskey is also used, which is made with both malted and unmalted barley, but this is bottled in a larger and larger style without mixing in grain whiskey – certainly a good sign for the future of Irish whiskey.
Jameson Whiskey is the best-selling Irish whiskey in the world. No less than 83 million bottles were passed over the counter in 2017. It is the Midleton distillery, close to Cork, that is behind the production of Jameson. Midleton is Ireland’s largest distillery (and has one of the world’s largest pot stills) and a large number of the best-known brands are made here, e.g. Redbreast, Powers, Paddy, Green Spot and Writers Tears. Many good drops flow from the kettles at the distillery, which is almost divided in two; in one part, grain whiskey is made in column stills, while in the other, typical Irish single pot still whiskey is made. The grain whiskey is used in blends such as Jameson.
Green Spot is one of the oldest Irish whiskey brands. The story starts with the Mitchell family, way back in the 19th century. The Mitchell family was an enterprising merchant family that had been doing business in Dublin since 1805 and as the family business grew, the range was expanded with its own bottlings of the local whiskey from the Old Jameson Distillery, which was then located in Dublin. Empty wine casks and mulled wine casks from Portugal and Spain were filled with new spirits and stored for many years under the Mitchell family shop in Fitzwilliam Street. For many years, customers in the store could choose between a Blue, Red, Yellow and Green Spot bottling – all with different ages and character. However, it was always Green Spot that customers wanted most, and the whiskey brand survived the test of time untouched until the end of the 1960s, when the Jameson distillery in Dublin closed and production was moved to Midleton in Cork.
