Review #15 - Redbreast 12 Year Cask Strength

Cask Strength Favorites Mini-Series: Part 2 of 3

The second entry in our cask strength lineup: Redbreast 12 CS out of Ireland. Perhaps our favorite Irish brand at the moment, though we admit we need to try a wider variety from this great whiskey-producing country - there are just so many to choose from!

The normal 12 year bottling is a mainstay on our shelf, always a great sipper with a couple of interesting flavors to offer. How will this one stack up? Like the ol' reliable 12 year, but turned up to 11? Or will there be some new tastes and complexity to go along with all of that strength?

Redbreast 12 Year Cask Strength

Ireland - Single Pot Still

Price Paid: USD 84 (2022)

Current Locally Available Price: USD 84 (2023)

Age Statement: 12 Years

Strength: 56.3% ABV

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 11 months; bottles at 100%, 90%, and 70% fill level at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Honey and mildly sweet apples, with a bit of red wine or sangria; it is a bit strong at first, but settles down as you get into the glass. There is some icing sugar, bread and baked goods to go along with the vanilla, brown sugar, and a bit of oak. Slightly sharp spirit, a little bit metallic at times, but still new flavors come forward: dark stewed fruits, a hint of salt, grass and leaves, and fresh lumber. With the nose situated a little further back from the glass, perfume and flowers are there as well.

Palate: Mouthfeel is thick, and this is quite rich and oily all around. Warmth from hot cinnamon oranges, orange rind, and a little bit of pepper spice; sweet apples and overripe pear, too, or even a mild stone fruit like peach. There is a little bit of smoke coming in with the wood notes, and the oakiness is medium. Brown sugar and baking spices take over, barley grain, cereal, even a hint of nutmeg and semi-sweet baked goods; bread and butter. All of this is rounded out with syrupy dark fruit, and then finishes with a hint of leather and perfume.

Finish: The warmth here lingers for a while, and the finish is of a medium-long length. It's pleasant, though, and we're finding apples, caramel, and some cinnamon red hots; then the subtle notes, orange rind, reddish-purple sherry fruit, vanilla, and oats. After the tannins subside, we're left with that little perfumed leather note from the palate, but it actually grows a bit stronger and comes to the front - this almost tastes a bit older and more developed than 12 years might make you think.

Final Note: Great dram; this looks like it will be a mainstay on the shelf as well. More complexity and a greater variety of notes than your average 12 year old whisky has to offer, and while the ABV strength does shove some heat down the throat at first, this mellows out to be a rather nice warm experience, like spicy candies. We're lucky that we can still find this regularly in our market, and we'd recommend it to anyone looking for a different take on a cask strength spirit.

Our Average Rating: 7.8 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 7.08