Tasting Notes: Redbreast – 15 Years Old

The Redbreast brand has become synonymous with pot still Irish whiskies and is indeed the world’s leader in “ultra-premium” Irish whiskey.

The classic 12yo has laid the ground for multiple age statement releases to follow with this 15yo being first released in 2005 as a special edition before then becoming a permanent edition in 2010.

“Each pot still whiskey is made with a mash bill of a mix of malted and unmalted barley from farms in the Munster region surrounding our distillery. The soft, clear water we use at Midleton Distillery comes from the Dungourney River, which flows through the lush green hills of neighboring Clonmult.”

The whiskey itself has been housed in a combination of first fill and refill oloroso sherry casks and bourbon barrels, before being bottled at 46% ABV.

Full-sized bottles are currently available at around £85 GBP per bottle at the time of writing – if you can find one!

Nose

Sweet, fruity, earthy, and tangy. A soft peachy and orangey fruity scent with an earthy honey, and there’s that distinct Redbreast copper pot smell too – a slightly metallic, drying, and nutty nose – presumably from the sherry cask influence as much as the still.

Taste

A very soft and buttery texture slips across the tongue and delivers a gentle vanilla cream flavour before the orange and stone fruits set in. Soon the nutty dryness, oak woodiness and spices take hold, with cinnamon and nutmeg bringing festive warmth.

Finish

A late red berry fruitiness and a final egg custard / pastel de nata combo of vanilla and nutmeg round things off.

Verdict

A well-rounded and enjoyable whiskey. There really are lots of influences at play here but they all seem to meld together well. The texture is really soft and classicly Irish in that respect.

The 46% hides itself well – the extra bite from the alcohol seems to work well with the oak spices and sherry oak influence.

I have tasted this several times before but only by having this sampling “Family Collection” pack have I noticed the subtle change in packaging between the bottles – the Robin actually takes flight across the bottles in then family! The Robin redbreast is stood proud on the 12, but in the Lustau it’s taken flight and on this 15 it has reached peak flight with its wing tips both high up. Having looked elsewhere I can now see that the wing tips are all the way down on the recent PX edition. A lovely touch and attention to detail there.

In fact the whole miniature collection is really high quality in terms of packaging – even the paper has foiled/gilt text in places and just feels high quality.

Overall a tasty and luxurious feeling whisky albeit not blowing my socks off. Lots of influences going on ambit all balanced and rather enjoyable.

Redbreast 12 v Redbreast 15

Having the opportunity to taste these side by side, I wanted to get some thoughts down on how they compare.

Somehow the 15 seems mellower and sweeter despite being more fully flavoured than the 12. Maybe it’s the extra age or just the preferred recipe? The 12 is pretty robust taste-wise but the 15 edges it. The 15 seems to have more tropical/stone fruit influence. Less spice too. The 15 has warmer and rounder flavour and fuller mouth feel. Maybe the extra percentage rather than the extra years.

On the facts of it, I’d actually pick the 15 over the 12 on a dram by dram sitting – the 15 edges it HOWEVER given that the 15 is often twice the price of the 12, and if looking at buying bottles and being faced with 2x bottles of the 12 vs 1x bottle of the 15, I’d find it hard to pick. I really enjoy the 12 and have always kept a bottle in the cabinet since first enjoying it, often replacing a bottle once it had been finished. In which case, I would probably still pick the 12 and have twice as much, as there is not enough of a difference or leap between them. It’s all personal preference at the end of the day.

Dram disclosure: I purchased the Family Collection miniature packs as a chance to try a favourite against its siblings. All notes are intended as an honest, fair, and independent review of the whiskey itself, and not as a promotion. Please drink responsibly. Please drink wisely!