Red Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey 15yo
Official Bottling | 46% ABV
Score: 5/10
Average In A Good Way.
TL;DR
The older teen of Mitchell & Sons that’s a bit reserved & shy
Sometimes Age Or Cask Maturation Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be
So, here we are. Back once again for another Pot Still Irish whiskey, bringing you the next review in the chronological release of the spot series (but it won’t be the last spot review, don’t worry! We’re saving the best for last). Red Spot from Mitchell & Sons which is the oldest in the range, at 15 years old.
Just a reminder, the unique flavour profile and texture of traditional pot still Irish whiskies is due to the combination of malted and unmalted barley (minimum 30% malted and a minimum 30% unmalted barley, with up to 5% of other cereals added; More commonly you get a 50/50 mixture of malted and unmalted barley) which is distilled three times in copper pot stills. You can catch the other spot reviews here on Dramface.
This expression was reintroduced in 2018, after a 50-year absence having been discontinued in the mid-1960s. The recognisable pot still brand created at the Midleton brings us an older age in the range compared to the Green Spot (with their wine finish variants) and Yellow Spot. Red Spot is made up of three parts, aged separately and then vatted together.
The first two spent their life in oloroso and bourbon casks respectively (remember those Lego blocks I mentioned back in my Yellow Spot review; that foundation is here in our Red spotted sibling), while the 3rd and final component spent five years in bourbon barrels before being transferred to Marsala casks. More of a maturation here in the Marsala casks than what could be defined a ‘finish’. In my opinion, a period from a few months to 2 years is the realm of a ‘finish’ in the whisky world.
After doing a bit of digging online, it is suggested that this expression from Mitchell & Sons is very much a new whiskey, rather than a complete recreation from the original Red Spot from the mid 20th Century. During the peak of bonding in the Mitchell cellars in Dublin, there would have been a flurry of wine casks that would be emptied before sent to Midleton for filling, so the maturation mix here is inspired by their stock of wine cask variation.
“I’ve only ever heard the stories about people kissing the carpet of the former Mitchell & Son shop on Kildare Street, but I’ve seen bottles of Green Spot passed between high end bars in the U.S. like a drug, watched its devoted following spore like a mushroom with each stray bottle, and even carried more than a few of those bottles across the Atlantic myself.”
Following on from my previous review of Yellow Spot, I’ll give you some more insight into how not much has changed with me tasting fortified wines. Apologies for that. For this review I can’t give any insight into the flavour profile of a Marsala wine and how much of this comes through in the bottled liquid. You’re here for the whiskey though, not my ramblings on alternative spirits or alcoholic drinks. I will delve into a bit of information on Marsala.
So, it hails from the Italian island of Sicily, produced near the town of Marsala. It is made from a local white grape, although sometimes it is indeed blended with a red grape. Here’s something, apparently all fortified wine is supplemented with a distilled spirit; in this case, it's usually brandy. Its popularity stems in being a dry to semi-dry cooking wine, also served as an aperitif or a delicious digestif. Marsala’s classification and pricing is based on colour and how long it has been aged. The flavours can range from brown sugar and nuts to more pronounced notes of honey, dried fruit, and licorice.
Now the Spot range boasts a varied collection of ages. Starting at the Blue Spot 7-year-old cask strength, a non-age statement in the Green Spot (roughly 8 – 10 years old), the Yellow Spot 12-year-old and this Red Spot 15-year-old. The Spot family is now seemingly complete given their historical availability as wine merchants daubing the cask with a coloured spot according to its ageing potential. It would be very cool to see something older from Mitchell & Sons potentially in the next few years. Perhaps a 17/18-year-old or a 20/21-year-old. Obviously, the price of these bottles would be astronomical given the landscape right now (writing this in 2022), but these older spots (whichever colour or livery they may dawn) could really change things up maturation wise. Build upon that foundation of bourbon and sherry with something left field. What other cask expressions could we potentially see?
Review
Non chill filtered, 46% ABV
I paid £80 for this bottle, but this can now range from £110 – 130. It’s available from most online retailers, some places are out of stock.
Nose
Initially met with the pot still aroma, which is quite dense and thick. Elements of copper and a tiny touch of bread dough. It’s quiet and I’m trying very hard to tease out some more from this dram. I’ve decided to pour an Irish single malt alongside this to compare & contrast the nose on this pour. After a long wait, vanilla cream and dusty wood emerge. Barely. Some of the spice from the start evolves into a slight liquorice hint. A bit of that Marsala touch coming through. That took a while, and I can’t seem to bring much else out of this. Perhaps it’s my nose on this occasion?
I poured another dram of this the following evening to see if my nose was the suspect in my nosing session. No change I’m afraid and I’m rather disappointed.
Palate
It’s much better on the palate. The mouth feel is exactly what you’d expect and want from a single pot still Irish. Slowly ramping up the spice, coating the tongue nicely and a great lingering finish with wood and some fruit sweetness developing towards the back end. You have rhubarb and custard hard sweets. Strawberry gelatine sweets there also. Afterwards there’s a touch of floral that becomes quite vegetal as it fades.
Second go at the palate here and not much else had developed on the tongue. Same mouth feel, texture and profile coming through as before.
The Dregs
To sum up, if any of you watched the HBO series Chernobyl, there was quite a memorable quote in that show from Paul Ritter’s portrayal of Anatoly Dyatlov: ‘not great… not terrible.’ I think that’s this dram in a nutshell to me (by the way, I never thought I'd type the words ‘Chernobyl’ in a whiskey review but here we are). You may think my score is harsh, I know a LOT of you are going to disagree with me. I have to score it from what I've experienced from my bottle and the dram I poured. I even went back a second time just in case my senses were off, or I was going a bit mad. This dram and score is independent of others on this platform, however similar or even if they come from the same brand/distillery. This just didn’t do it for me given what an older pot still Irish can do!
You could maybe debate that this is a 6 or a bit higher, but I'm not arguing with you. The price for this bottle is a bit too much and it didn’t live up to what pot still Irish can offer. Nor was the Marsala finish there at all in my opinion. I often like to experience and notice a slight enhancement of a liquid if there’s some different maturation or cask influence involved in the overall makeup. I don’t think for one second it’s due to me not tasting Marsala wine either.
For the asking price here, you can grab yourself a Redbreast 15 with change and have an even better experience. There’s more grip, spice and engagement with that liquid which is strange as they are both created at the same distillery. I’d even say just stick with the Yellow Spot, or Powers 12 year old John’s Lane. Both exceptional pot still Irish whiskies. As more and more distilleries pop up in Ireland, producing their own pot still Irish whiskey, it won’t be long until we get this fix from elsewhere and at a more reasonable price too. Which kinda begs the question as to why the price for Irish whiskey is so extortionate these days? We’re seeing 30 + new distilleries open on the island of Ireland, and that’s before we even begin to think of those new distilleries in Scotland, England & Wales. That’s a bigger discussion for another time!
Score: 5/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. HF
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