...where distraction is the main attraction.

Thursday, April 8, 2021

Redbreast 12 year old Cask Strength, batch B1/20 (my bottle)

 So here's the 2020 batch, with its new label style and bespoke chair.

Honestly, I had not sipped a drop of Redbreast 12yo Cask Strength since I moved to Ohio. So I decided to schedule this 4-part series, ending it with the most current version I could find. It's rare for me to buy a whisk(e)y blind, but I figured since this is Redbreast, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, my first three pours (not in the same night) were kinda boring. That bothered me. The previous two bottles I'd opened, the Kilchomans Machir Bay (2018) and Vintage 2007, are/were good but I've never been excited about drinking from either. Is it me or the whisky? This Redbreast had me thinking that I'm the problem. But of course, that would force me to think a little deeper about my choices.

And why do that? I'll just have a Redbreast Taste Off instead!

Brand: Redbreast
Country: Ireland
Distillery: Midleton
: Single Pot Still
Age: minimum 12 years
Maturation: ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks
Batch: B1/20
Release year: 2020
Alcohol by Volume: 57.6%
Chillfiltered? No
Colored? Probably
(the fourth pour from my bottle)


It's weird, I'm not getting much from the nose. First comes the American oak, bark and sawdust. Vanilla. Yesterday's 12yo CS was scotchy, will this be bourbonish? Then there's a hint of copper, some cranberry juice, cloves and sour apple candy. Diluting it to 40%abv and......yep, there it is. Cherry juice, menthol, toasted coconut and apricot hamantaschen.

The palate is more expressive but quite hot. Orange bitters shifts to orange candy. Almonds. A hint of mango juice. A bit of tannin. It's much gentler at 40%abv (surprise!). There's apricot jam, honey, limes and nectarines. The tannins are still there but remain in the background.

The finish may be more interesting than the palate, with dried mango, tart apples, orange juice and cayenne pepper. Once reduced to 40%abv, the finish keeps the palate's (and the neat finish's) fruits without taking on too much sweetness, while the pepper starts to lean towards the tannins.


Water saved this for me. It's fine but almost exhausting when neat. What we used to pass off as a "craft whiskey" trend of big heat and heavy casks, is now a contemporary style across the whisky world. And it's alive in this one. But bringing it down to 40%abv really draws out the fruits, which is something I look forward to in a daily drinker. Or any whisk(e)y, for that matter.

For a moment, I considered replacing the bottle's ~120mL of open space with water. Then I realized I shouldn't make that sort of decision after drinking. Or should I???

Availability - This batch still exists as of this moment of typing
Pricing - $65(!) to $100(!!)
Rating - 86 (diluted)