Redbreast Lustau Edition Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
46% ABV $70 Website What the Distillery Says A unique collaboration between the Bodegas Lustau and the Midleton Distillery, Redbreast Lustau Edition is made from a mash of malted and unmalted barley and then triple distilled in copper pot stills. Having spent its final maturation journey in casks seasoned with the finest Oloroso Sherry in the Bodegas Lustau, the result is the ultimate sherried style of Redbreast.
Nose: Rich infusion of dark fruits, prunes, dates and figs with liquorice, marzipan, toasted oak and aromatic spices. Taste: Silky smooth Pot Still; assertive spices balanced with richness of the sherry finish and contribution of fresh Spanish Oak. Finish: Endless. Sweetness and assorted spices endure while Oloroso Sherry and Spanish Oak have the last word.
THE BEST WAY TO ENJOY A GLASS OF REDBREAST IS WITH SOMEONE ELSE. #PassItOn
What Gary Says
Nose: Rich with raisins, cherries, plus, dates, baked goods, a hint of anise, toasted oak, freshly grated nutmeg. Palate: Rich mouthfeel, smooth entry with raisins, luxardo cherries, ripe peaches with a dusting of cinnamon. Finish: Moderately long with lingering fruit sweetness and spices. Comments:Redbreast 12 Year Cask Strength was the first Irish whiskey I really loved (and still one of my favorites). I first tried Redbreast 12 Year in 2004 or 2005. I liked sweet (Crown Royal neat was my drink of choice at the time), and a server recommended it. I did enjoy it, but not enough to seek it out at the time. I enjoy this quite a bit – nice mouthfeel and fruit notes. Another shining example of what a higher ABV and non-chill filtering brings to the table. This takes water well, but doesn’t need it. If you’re a fan of Redbreast, I’d consider this a Must Try.
46% ABV $55* (as of this review, this product isn’t being sold in the United States) Website
What the Producer Says
This exquisite, triple-distilled single malt is matured only in select handpicked Spanish sherry butts which have previously been seasoned with the finest Oloroso sherry. It is the influence of these scarce butts that give this expression of Writers’ Tears its signature rich, ruby hue and hence the moniker – ‘Red Head’. The expression is distilled without chill filtering as nature intended and at a distinctive 46% ABV.
Colour: Rich Ruby Red Nose: Orange peel, dried fruits and sherry plums Taste: Nutty Oloroso, Spicy Raisins and creamy oak Finish: Long and wonderfully complex with a flourish of orange. An unhurried journey.
What Gary Says
Nose: Orange blossom, malty cereal/grain, hints of cherry, raisins, oak. Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, dark fruit sweetness with cinnamon and pepper spice, just a hint of orange. Finish: Moderately long with cinnamon and orange zest with fading pepper spice. Comments: The nose screams young whiskey, with the grainy/cereal notes. I do appreciate the ABV and non-chill filtering, which help given the likely young age of the whiskey. The finish is longer than I’d expect as at this age. I’d love to try some older version of this, but at the end of the day – this is a pretty tasty and dangerously easy to drink whiskey.
Note that we don’t have a web-site link above, as this isn’t your typical whisk(e)y. We found a great article from the Houston Chronicle though that gives the backstory. While we don’t know the distillery or age, the article explains that the owner of Spec’s (a Texas family-owned liquor chain) had an opportunity to take some bulk whiskey off some Irish distillery, and with that created Old Tom Horan Irish Whiskey. The namesake is a retire public relations maestro who is active in promoting Irish pride and heritage in Houston, TX.
What Gary Says
Nose: Sweet cereal and malt mash, honey, freshly baked and buttered biscuits, a hint of toffee. Palate: Smooth and sweet with honey, light brown sugar, toffee, a slightly sour oak note. Finish: Short to moderate in length with that sour oak note. Comments: Ironically enough, I bought this because of the name. No, I’ve never met “the Tom Horan” for which this was named, but I work with a gentleman named Tom Horan. This whiskey reminds me of Jameson more than a bit. It has more grainy notes on the nose, but in a side-by-side, the palates were quite similar. A couple of bucks less than Jameson, this strikes me as a pretty straight-forward ‘you get what you pay for’ bottle. If you like ‘smooth Irish whiskey’, for the money this likely won’t disappoint, but also isn’t likely to be too impressive either.
Conor McGregor’s Whiskey Triple Distilled Irish Whiskey Proper No. Twelve’s Triple Distilled Irish Whiskey is an ultra-smooth blend of fine grain and single malt with hints of vanilla, honey and toasted wood.
What Gary Says
Nose: Sweet young malt, furniture polish (think lemon-scented Pledge), hints of vanilla and heather. Palate: Grainy, barley sugar with a slightly sour oak note, a bit of lemon-flavored cookies. Finish: Short with pepper, sour oak and a hint of lemons. Comments: Let’s get the non-whiskey part out of the way. I was thinking about buying a bottle to try last year when I head the news of Conor McGregor’s assault in a bar in Dublin. That alone left me not wanting to buy a bottle (and initial reviews I read weren’t very kind either). That said, because I do like to try damn near any whiskey I can, I was excited when a friend offered me a sample from their bottle (thanks Tommy!) I was also intent on assessing the bottle contents on their own merits. I focused squarely on the whiskey – the above notes and rating below have nothing to do with the celebrity but wanted to share that in full disclosure. This stuff is pretty bad. Granted, for $20 I had low expectations, but I recently bought a similarly priced bottle of Old Tom Horan Irish Whiskey (review pending!) and liked it markedly better than this. I hope this isn’t the first bottle of Irish whiskey for folks out there (it has sold quite well) as it might single-handedly slow the growth of the category.
Continuing to get into the holiday spirit (get it? Both the whiskey & . . . nevermind), here’s my thoughts on Jameson Black Barrel neat, as well as in two holiday cocktails. We would like to thank Jameson and Ketchum for sending us a sample to review, as well as the cocktail recipes!
Triple distilled, flame charred, for a rich smooth taste. Charring is an age-old method for invigorating barrels to intensify the taste. Jameson Black Barrel is our tribute to our coopers, who painstakingly give their bourbon barrels an additional charring to reveal their untold richness and complexity. The select double charred barrels produce a whiskey with even richer flavor and intense smoothness.
Nose: Time spent maturing in these barrels leads to intensified aromas of butterscotch, fudge and creamy toffee. Taste: Nutty notes are in abundance alongside the smooth sweetness of spice and vanilla. Finish: Enjoy the richness and intensity of toasted wood and vanilla.
What Gary Says
Nose: Rich with vanilla, honey, oak, notes of butterscotch and fudge toffee with an herbal grassy note underneath. Palate: Sweet with caramel, vanilla and honey before the spice kicks in with cinnamon, pepper, and charred oak. Finish: Moderately long, on the damp side with cinnamon, pepper and caramel trailing. Comments: Compared with Jameson’s standard bearer, this packs in more flavor, with more vanilla and spice notes and is a bit sharper (but by no means sharp). This stays more aligned with Jameson than some of the recent cask finishes we’ve reviewed, and I personally prefer this over those (mainly because I’m not a beer drinker).
Rating: Stands Out
Now onto the cocktails! This first one required a bit of prep work, as I didn’t have cinnamon syrup laying around (and none of my local liquor stores or grocery stores carried it). I used this recipe to make some, cutting it in half (which yielded just over 100 mL of syrup) and using demerara sugar.
Jameson Black Barrel makes any holiday party into a true event. Simple enough for any busy host to mix up, the Crimson Cranberry Punch is a bright crowd-pleaser with tastes of lemon, cinnamon, and cranberry.
1.5 parts Jameson Black Barrel
1 dash Angostura Bitters per serve
1 part Cranberry Juice
0.5 part Cinnamon Syrup
0.5 part Lemon Juice
0.5 part Club Soda
Combine all ingredients together in a punch bowl (or a glass)
Garnish with lemon wheels, orange wheels, cranberries
Serve in rocks glasses chilled over ice
What Gary Thought: I skipped the punch bowl and and just combined the ingredients in a rocks glass, stirred, and added ice. Of the various cocktails I made this week, this had the strongest ‘holiday vibe’ for me with the cranberry & cinnamon. The lemon helped cut the sweetness and really balance it out nicely. This was also my wife’s favorite of the several I made that day (and no, not because we had each drank several prior!)
The holidays are here and it’s your time to shine with the Jameson Ginger Sparkler. We’re combining old favorites like ginger and lemon with sparkling wine and Black Barrel for a truly special sip.
1.5 parts Jameson Black Barrel
1.5 parts Lemon juice
1.5 parts simple syrup
1.5 parts Ginger Beer
1.5 parts Sparkling Wine topper
Build all ingredients except for sparkling wine in a shaking tin
Add ice
Shake
Strain as you pour into a highball glass
Top with Sparkling Wine
Garnish with a lemon wheel and a rosemary sprig
What Gary Thought: I have to call this out, but if every ingredient in the recipe is in equal measure – you can just refer to them all as ‘1 part’. And yes, I know that this isn’t a highball glass either (although I’m confident it didn’t impact the flavor). All that aside, I really enjoyed this fresh take on a whiskey sour. I did find that the rosemary sprig comes across a bit strong (but I did like the added aroma – I might just dunk a rosemary sprig in for a few seconds before serving instead of using as a garnish). This had a fresh and refreshing quality that made me think more of summer than the holidays, although if someone was serving these at a holiday party – I wouldn’t turn it down. I could do without the sparkling wine topper personally, but still enjoyed it as designed. I used Idris Fiery Ginger Beer for those interested, which I find is nicely balanced.
