It’s September and it’s still pretty hectic around here. Today was dusty (Mars like), and hot and humid as you can imagine in HELL. I was thinking about which whisky I should have and after a beer, or so decided to review the Redbreast 12 CS. This bottle has been sitting around for a few months, having opened it for an Irish whisky night with some friends. I never got to review it, and that is indeed a shame since it’s such a good whisky IMHO. This mind you is the cask strength edition, at 57.7%, which adds a lot of flavor and OOMPH. Redbreast is a pure pot still, made in the new Middleton distillery in Ireland. This one is for all of you snobs who claim not to like Irish whiskies (having not tried most, eh?)
Redbreast 12 Cask Strength, 57.7% abv, £60
Nose : Banana bread with vanilla cream, wood polish, butterscotch and cereals. Wood spices such as cinnamon and cloves and a hint of peach.
Palate :Big and round. Starts Sweeter then gets savory and a bit spicy. Vanilla ice cream topped with fried banana in syrup. Canned peaches. Dates and cinnamon. Maybe burnt caramel and golden syrup. Wood.
Finish : Demerara sugar. The peaches and banana are here too. Sweet and spicy wood. Caramelized banana with chocolate chips.
I really like this one, and at this ABV I do prefer it over the “regular” 12 year old. It’s fruity, creamy and intensely rounded. A very nice after dinner whisky, certainly not for sipping on a hot day (if you’re not inside a massively cooled house, inside which I was).