Bottle 12: Redbreast 12
Redbreast 12
Distillery: Midleton Distillery
Region/Country: Midleton, Ireland
Age: 12 years
ABV: 40% ABV
Cask type(s): ex-bourbon and Spanish Oloroso sherry casks
Grain Bill: Malted and unmalted barley
Tasting Notes
- Nose: A complex spicy and fruity aroma with toasted wood notes.
- Palate: Full-flavored and complex. Silky smooth with a harmonious balance of spicy, fruity, sherry and toasted notes.
- Finish: Satisfyingly long. The complex flavors linger on the palate.
Irish Whiskey
There’s conflicting claims as to who first invented whisk(e)y. Some say it’s the Scottish, and some say it’s the Irish who first distilled the uisce beatha1. Legend has it that Irish Christian monks started distilling in the 6th century, repurposing the distillation technology from the perfume industry in the Middle East at the time.
One of the earliest references to distilled spirits in Ireland appears in 1324 in the Red Book of Ossory, a medieval manuscript compiled in Kilkenny by Bishop Richard de Ledrede. While the manuscript itself is better known for its Latin hymns and ecclesiastical notes, it also contains a written recipe for aqua vitae, or “water of life.” This is widely regarded as the earliest surviving record of distillation in Ireland, predating Scotland’s earliest whiskey reference by almost 200 years. The entry places Ireland firmly at the forefront of whiskey heritage, showing that the island was experimenting with distillation at a very early stage. 2
Clearly the Scottish won the public relations campaign, but there is a rapidly growing resurgence in Irish whiskey production today.
For a number of reasons, including civil unrest, trade wars, and mismangement, the number of distilleries in Ireland dropped from 28 in 1887 to two in the 1970s. Luckily, since the 1990s more and more distilleries have been reclaiming the tradition; in 2019, there were 32 distilleries in operation with more planned or under developement.
For a whiskey to be considered an Irish whiskey, it must
- be distilled and matured on the island of Ireland from a mash of malted cereals with or without whole grains of other cereals
- be fermented by the action of yeast
- be subject to the maturation of the final distillate for at least three years in wooden casks
- be distilled at an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% ABV, where only plain water and caramel color has been added
- have a minimum alcoholic by volume content of 40%
Irish whiskey has a reputation for being smooth, subtle, and elegant. The Irish don’t usually use peat in their process, so smokey and peaty notes are not as common (but still sometimes found). Expect light floral notes, caramel, honey, vanilla, and fruit. Today’s offering has been conditioned in sherry casks, which are sure to bring some darker fruit (raisin, date) flavors.
Music to drink to
