...where distraction is the main attraction.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Redbreast Small Batch C

Onward to Redbreast Small Batch C, and quick word about pricing. Of course.

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Wait for it.

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These small batches were priced fairly.

Each of the four 14 year old cask strength batches had the outturn of a single hogshead. One bottle cost $100 dollars. Redbreast's regular 15 year old is mass produced and diluted, but it costs $120 a pop in Ohio. Or in the rest of the USA it averages $98, per Wine Searcher. The 12 year old cask strength which is released in much larger batches and is regularly available clocks in at $81 on average. The 16yo single sherry cask Master of Malt of was slinging to years ago? Its outturn was two of the 14yo small batches combined, yet cost nearly $200. In fact there were several of those 2001 sherry casks floating around the UK/Ireland market, and they now carry $350-$400 burdens on the secondary market.

Maybe that was a lot of slow words, but I did try to keep them short.

Batch A - "Modern scotch-styled Irish pot still”, 85 points
Batch B - "Chocolate, fruit and flowers", 88 points.
Batch C - .......


Distillery: Midleton
Brand: Redbreast
Region: Cork, Ireland
Type: Single Pot Still
Age: at least 14 years
Maturation: bourbon casks and oloroso sherry casks
Batch: C
Bottled for: Title Town and Blackwell's Wines & Spirits
Outturn: 252 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 59.1%
Chillfiltered? ???
Color added? ???
(from a bottle split)

NOTES
The nose is a little tighter than A's & B's, taking at least ten minutes to lift off. Once it does, there are dried berries, almonds, ginger ale and dried apricots. Countering those perky notes is an earthy note and something oily-ish Clynelish-ish. That latter note shows up in the palate as well, industrial, almost smoky. Getting close to Powers territory too. It's also nutty and limey. Small notes of dark chocolate, berries and chile peppers. After about 20 minutes it shifts gears as tart citrus tumbles in alongside a glowing herbal bitterness. Chile peppers and walnuts finish up matters, followed by a squirt of lemon, a little bit of sweetness and a good dose of herbal bitterness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Here my experience parts with how the whisky was officially described — "showcasing exotic fruit and toasted wood flavors" — and for the better, really. Batch C is more complex than A and B, and it takes some time to get there. It was worth the wait, as it may be the darkest style of Redbreast I've had. It actually has the least direct wood and fruit notes of the four batches, leaning heavier on oily spirit, herbs and a bit of the 27yo's tartness. Another excellent batch.

Availability - US of A
Pricing - it was $100
Rating - 89