Review #45 - Redbreast 12 Year
One of the best known quality Irish whiskies, Redbreast has been winning awards and gaining popularity over the past several years. Its most common bottling, the Redbreast 12 Year, is often cited as the best entry level single pot still Irish whisky - it is generally affordable, available, and gives plenty of nice flavors.
This was our entry into more serious Irish whisky, as well; we had tried some more basic bottles such as Jameson, but the Redbreast was the first step up into a realm of higher quality in this category. Still, it is bottled at 40% ABV, the bare minimum for whisky, and there is no indication of natural coloring or lack of chill filtration, so it's fair to say there is still a little ways to go before we can really consider this a whisky geek's bottle.
Redbreast 12 Year
Ireland - Single Pot Still
Price Paid: USD 65 (2020)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 60 (2023)
Age Statement: 12 Years
Strength: 40% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 13 months; bottles at 90%, 100%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Some nice refinement, with warm golden apple, some orange, and maybe a hint of a red wine influence as well; it's soft and somewhat clean. Lots of baking components: honey and a bit of spice like vanilla, cinnamon sugar, and brown sugar, along with biscuits and bread, maybe even oatmeal. There is a bit of oak in here, too, but somewhat mild and moist, not too dry; then we get into more fruit like sweet lemon and orange peel, just a bit of raisin. We end with some heather and a tiny hint of sulfur; it's a nice nose, but slightly subdued, probably due to the bottling strength, though it does grow stronger when given time to open up.
Palate: Gentle warmth to go along with a medium mouthfeel, and it is a little oily and rounded. Lots of different directions here; we'll start with fruit. Sherry fruits like plum, grape, and something red; also more of that orange rind we found on the nose. There's some sherbet up front as well, hard to place the flavor. Baking spices like vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maybe cardamom, as well as baked goods like bread, though there is a hint of more raw yeast and grain as well. The oak is more subdued now, and despite the breadth of tasting notes, the palate can be slightly less rich than the nose.
Finish: Medium length finish, soft warmth from sherry but relatively mellow. There is still a hint of that sulfur with the sherry, but we don't mind it; some stewed fruit as well, like raisin. Back on the baking theme, we get lots of vanilla, some soft cinnamon, baked bread, and some mild biscuits; during one tasting, we did get just a bit of a sour finish as well.
Final Note: Nice and classy, if a bit subdued overall; that bottling strength really neuters it. Glad we have the option of the Redbreast 12 Year Cask Strength! Still, despite the tameness here, there are a lot of pleasant flavors to explore, especially if you enjoy the ex-bourbon cask sort of baking spices and some gentle sherry influence. Pretty decent value, too, though we have seen it creeping up in price in a few stores.
Our Average Rating: 7.2 / 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: 7.38
