Review #234 - Redbreast 12 Year Re-Review
We're revisiting the whisky that introduced us to the higher quality side of Irish whisky, specifically of the single pot still variety - Redbreast 12 Year Old (original review here). From the Midleton distillery (along with a huge number of other brands such as Jameson, Midleton Very Rare, the Spot whiskies, etc.), this whisky is one of the more well-established quality Irish options that's garnered widespread acclaim.
This standard 12 Year bottling is aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, and it's a mix of American oak and Spanish oak, so we should have some sweet notes and some spicy notes. Unfortunately for us enthusiasts, they bottle this at the bare minimum 40% ABV - luckily, there's the cask strength version for us to fall back on when we're looking for more punch.
Redbreast 12 Year
Ireland - Single Pot Still
Price Paid: USD 55 (2021)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 57 (2024)
Age Statement: 12 Years
Strength: 40% ABV
Cask Makeup: American oak ex-bourbon casks, Spanish oak ex-Oloroso sherry casks
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 3 months; bottles at 50%, 40%, and 30% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Woody and baking spices - oak, clove, brown sugar, and some malty character that's both sweet and sour. Hints of grain here and there, and we get a bit of orange, or slightly bitter orange seeds.
Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium-thin viscosity; heavy on the baking spices overall, with lots of clove, cinnamon, brown sugar, and hints of pepper. There are soft fruits of orange and lemon peel, even a touch of dried fig; oak is soft, and that mild grainy character returns, but it's subtle.
Finish: Medium-short, a bit simple. Lemon peel and sour dried fruit wafts in, but this is mostly woody spices: star anise, vanilla, cardamom, other nondescript brown baking spices. Hints of hay and malt come from time to time.
Final Note: We enjoyed the acidic fruits notes throughout the experience, but overall, this has dipped a little bit in our view - it comes across as more grainy, and the plain baking spices don't hold our attention as much. Really, it's the bottling strength that's at fault for stopping the flavors from being delivered with more gusto.
Despite the slightly plain character, this is still a nice casual sipper, and value isn't too bad - not cheap, but it's reasonably priced in our market, and quite a bit cheaper than any of the other Redbreast options.
Our Average Rating: 6.0 / 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: 6.24
Check out our other Redbreast reviews:
Review #218 - Redbreast Lustau
Review #131 - Redbreast 15 Year
