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

Redbreast Small Batch B

On Tuesday I reviewed the first of four recent cask strength small batch single pot still Redbreasts. Though I missed out on their simultaneous release, I was able to get in on a group bottle split. I tried all four side-by-side to get a better perspective of these whiskies. Each was different than the next, which in itself is an impressive bit of blending. Here's the scorecard so far:

Batch A - "Modern scotch-styled Irish pot still”, 85 points.
Batch B - .......

Distillery: Midleton

Brand: Redbreast
Region: Cork, Ireland
Type: Single Pot Still

Age: at least 14 years

Maturation: bourbon casks and oloroso sherry casks
Batch: B
Bottled for: K&L Wine Merchants and Gordon's
Outturn: 252 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 57.2%

Chillfiltered? ???
Color added? ???
(from a bottle split)

NOTES
The nose is very milk chocolatey. Think Hershey's Kisses and Milk Duds. There's also some orange peel, circus peanuts, saline and a slight rosy note. Musty sherry cask and lime zest emerge with time. Bright fruits and florals emerge from the palate first. Tangy oranges and peaches. Pear juice. Cranberry juice with Angostura bitters. Toasted grains and toasted oak. It finishes with nut butters, dried cranberries, peach skin and pinch of cayenne pepper.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This batch, bottled for K&L, was described as "having added depth from sherry cask maturation", per Whisky Advocate. That's a pretty safe description and, yes, the sherry casks do some good work here.  But so do the bourbon casks. While the nose seems to hint at a complete sherry bomb, the palate instead reveals some great juicy fresh fruits. I dare say this has the best palate of the four, and also the most flamboyant. I'm a sucker for fruity whiskies, from any country, so this was a very easy drink. It's too bad I missed out on a full bottle of this one.

Availability - US of A
Pricing - it was $100
Rating - 88

Redbreast Small Batch A

Though Irish was my first whisk(e)y love, I stopped paying attention to that category at least five years ago. It's not because it became popular, rather none of Midleton's one or two dozen new inventions sounded remotely interesting, and I was uninspired by Cooley/Teeling's regular output.

As a result of this behavior, I missed out on four cask strength actual-small-batch releases by Redbreast, the one brand I always enjoy. And by "actual" I mean there were a total of 1000 bottles between the four batches. These bottles were split between eleven retailers in San Francisco, San Diego and Boston. All four were 14 or more years old and a mix of bourbon and oloroso casks.

Thankfully I was able to get in on a bottle split and try all four side-by-side.

First up, Batch A...

Distillery: Midleton

Brand: Redbreast
Region: Cork, Ireland
Type: Single Pot Still

Age: at least 14 years

Maturation: bourbon casks and oloroso sherry casks
Batch: A
Bottled for: Julio's Liquors and Redstone Liquors
Outturn: 252 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 58.6%

Chillfiltered? ???
Color added? ???
(from a bottle split)

NOTES
The first thing I notice about the nose is that it's very "scotch", like a late-teenage first-fill bourbon barrel Speyside. Butterscotch and oak spice, rather than vanilla. White nectarines, lychee candy and pencil shavings. Hints of blossoms and dried apricot. There's very little heat in the palate, considering the ABV. There's oak spice, fresh ginger, halvah, honey, Cara Cara oranges and a creamy vanilla note. After 30ish minutes the whiskey is all ginger+honey+oak spice. The finish follows a similar pattern. Oranges, honey, almonds, ginger and caramel.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Per Whisky Advocate, Batch A is described as "wood-driven". While I agree, the whiskey is more rounded and pleasing than the sound of that phrase. It trends towards toasted spices (as noted repeatedly) rather than sawdust, tannins and capital "V" Vanilla. The honey and oranges are also a nice touch. It's a modern, undemanding but tasty whiskey, something that will appeal to casual single malt scotch fans. Those looking for vibrant sherry casks will have to look elsewhere....

Availability - US of A
Pricing - it was $100
Rating - 85

Redbreast 27 year old, batch B1/19

Since some of us are shut in our homes with our children during this St. Patrick's Day Week, I elected to keep us buoyant with All Kinds of Redbreast. Five days, Five RBs.

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It seems as if Midleton (and Pernod Ricard) have suddenly embraced the ultra-luxury market after seeing scotch's success. There are now 20+, 30+, 40+ year old cask strength pot still whiskies flashing through the markets. Redbreast 27-year-old sells for $500 and up, sitting at the base of this new category's price spectrum.

The marketing material focuses on the whiskey being "enriched by Ruby Port Casks". To get the real(?) scoop, one will have more luck reading this Master of Malt blog post. The highlights:

What we have here is a combination of four cask types: first-still[sp] bourbon and refill bourbon, first-fill oloroso sherry casks and first-fill ruby Port pipes”...

...Today, Irish Distillers now imports between 40-60 European oak 500 litre port pipes annually. The wood is medium-toasted and seasoned with red wine for approximately 12 months before ruby Port is added for approximately 12 months. [Head of maturation Kevin] O’Gorman explained that the process was a response to “the challenge of seasoning Port. If you put it into a virgin oak cask, you’re going to get a major wood contribution. One of the techniques we figured out right from the start was that we needed to take some of these tannins and wood compounds out from the start,” O’Gorman explains.

I like that their head of maturation actually wants to reduce "major wood contribution", taking some "tannins and wood compounds out from the start". That sounds almost scandalous in the modern whisk(e)y era. Time to find out if he was successful.

The times

Distillery: Midleton

Brand: Redbreast
Region: Cork, Ireland
Type: Single Pot Still

Age: minimum 27 years

Maturation: first-fill and refill bourbon casks, first-fill oloroso sherry casks and first-fill ruby Port pipes (see above for more details)
Outturn: 528 bottles
Batch: B1/19
Alcohol by Volume: 54.6%

Chillfiltered? ???
Color added? ???
(from a bottle split)

NEAT
The nose begins with mango, grapefruit, newspaper print and wheatgrass. Then cantaloupe and yellow peaches. The fruit notes grow muskier with time, and are then joined by hints of white chocolate and dunnage. It's reminiscent of old Longmorn and older cognac. Oak spice hits the palate first, then is trampled by gorgeously tart fruits, reflecting the nose's tropicals, citruses and stones. Then come the roses and an intensely mineral white wine. Salt appears after 45 minutes, as do mint leaves and Werther's Originals, but it never loses that vigorous tartness. The finish is loaded with mango, grapefruit and lime juices. Roses and butterscotch pudding. A hint of peach pit.

DILUTED TO ~50%abv, or >½ tsp of water per 30mL whiskey
The nose remains similar. Maybe some brighter fresh stone fruit notes. Some toffee. Guava rather than mango. A new fresh herbal note jumps with the palate's tart fruits. Thyme, rosemary, cardamom, lemons and grapefruits. A pop of chile heat, a spoon of cherry jam. The cherry note joins the tropical fruit and limes in the finish, underscored by that peach pit bitterness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This is fabulous. Its price made me want to hate it, but it's just too freaking lovable. Kristen took a sip and then said, "More." It's all about the fruits and the herbs and flowers and the minerals, rather than fortified wines or vanilla. As I mentioned in my nosing notes, this Redbreast reminded me of other gracefully matured spirits of even greater ages. Impressive cask management here. I'm going to say the Midleton crew was successful.

Availability - US and Europe
Pricing - $450 - $650
Rating - 92

Hanyu 15 year old 2000 Ichiro's Malt, The Final Vintage

After having produced sake for three centuries, the Akuto family founded the Hanyu distillery during World War II. Though they gained a post-war license to distill, Hanyu focused entirely on grain whisky until 1980 when two pot stills were installed. The distillery was closed in 2000, then dismantled in 2004. Ichiro Akuto bought up the remaining stock and has since released it under his brand, Ichiro's Malt. He also went into the family business in 2004 with the opening of his Chichibu distillery.

This will be my first Hanyu experience, and probably my last unless I can find a pour whenever I go back to Japan. Please don't look at the prices of Hanyus on the secondary market. They will make you cry.

Distillery: Hanyu
Bottler: Ichiro Akuto
Region: Japan, Saitama Prefecture
Age: 15 years (2000 - 2015)
Maturation: ???
Outturn: 3710
Alcohol by Volume: 46.5%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES
The nose begins with digestive biscuits, anise and mint. Loose genmaicha, cloves and an ultra-nutty sherry (Amontillado?). Fresh hay, dried parsley and dried thyme. Whiffs of mocha and toffee puddings appear after some time. The austere(!) palate starts off very nutty as well, but more on raw nuts than toasted ones. Perhaps walnuts and almonds. Hints of flowers and ginger beer. A bitter stout. It gradually develops tart citrus and hops notes after 30+ minutes in the glass. The long, warm finish has that hops note as well, along with citrus, flowers, molasses, black pepper and something almost smoky.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This lean striking Hanyu drifts away from familiar single malt characteristics into dry sherry and Charbay-like distilled beer territory. Though I just typed those words, I'm not sure I agree with them, such are the unique qualities of this whisky. If you do get a chance to try this whisky, I highly encourage you not to add water since it turns tannic and papery with just a few drops. Ichiro may have found the best ABV right at 46.5%. In any case, I appreciate trying something so different, and I wish I had more of this to study!

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - High
Rating - 88 (neat only)

Glen Flagler 100% Pot Still All-Malt Scotch (black label)

Ah yes, my first and last Glen Flagler. There were several of these "100% Pot Still" "All-Malt" releases, some apparently better than others. Here's a terrible picture of the bottle from which today's sample comes:

You may be wondering what the heck is a "Glen Flagler". It was a single malt distilled from 1965 to 1985 by Inver House in a set of pot stills next to the Garnheath grain whisky distillery in the Moffat facility in the Lowlands. That same facility also produced Killyloch and Islebrae single malts, though for an even shorter period of time. Though Glen Flagler was primarily dumped into Inver House's blended whiskies (Pinwhinnie!), it did escape intact in these All-Malt bottlings as well as about a dozen independent releases.

Distillery: Glen Flagler
Ownership: Inver House Distillers

Region: Lowlands
Age: ???

Maturation: ???

Alcohol by Volume: 40%
Chillfiltered? ???
Colorant added? probably not
(sample from a paid LASC event)

NOTES
The nose starts off light and fruity with a slight industrial edge, like a dusty Irish blend. There are yellow peaches, dried apricots, honey and limes. It picks up an OBE metallic edge with time in the glass. The palate has a minty creme note, followed by a lemon creme note. Touches of vanilla extract and brown sugar. More citrus notes with time, tilting towards freshly baked lemon bars. It also has a bit of the nose's industrial note that makes it read faintly smoky. The surprisingly long finish is moderately sweet and tart, think lemons and clementines. A hint of bitterness lends it some complexity.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
With its silky mouthfeel and generous finish, this Glen Flagler pulls all it can out of its 40%abv. It's a very pleasant and gentle whisky that probably would have found some success two decades after the distillery closed. The Lowlands could use a good whisky like this particular bottling which is considerably better than most (or all) official things coming out of Glenkinchie and Auchentoshan. I can't promise all Glen Flagler is this good, but I hope folks will open, enjoy and share the remaining bottles out there.

Availability - ???
Pricing - ???
Rating - 86

Croftengea 12 year old 2006 The Daily Dram Poisonous Frog Series

Yes, this one of those confusing independent bottlings that does not have a drawing of naked woman on the label. I know, you're asking yourself, "How am I supposed to know it's indie scotch without there being boobies on the bottle?"

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Maybe you can jerk it to the Poisonous Dart Frog instead.

source

I don't really know what these amphibians have to do with single malt whisky either, but if any whisky would be secreted by a poisonous frog it would be Loch Lomond. ❦❦❦❦❦  I love me some Croftengea, Loch Lomond's heavily-peated single malt, and this will be the oldest one I've had yet.

Distillery: Loch Lomond
Brand: Croftengea
Owner: Loch Lomond Distillery Company
Region: Highlands (Western)
Independent bottler: The Daily Dram
Range: Poisonous Frogs

Age: 12 years (2006 - 2018)

Maturation: bourbon cask

Alcohol by Volume: 51.6%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT
It noses like nothing else thanks to its dose of Loch Lomond Grimy Weird™. There's some manure and flowers (they have to grow somewhere). Lemons, grilled pineapple and citronella candles. It picks up hints of honeydew and vanilla bean with 30+ minutes in the glass. The palate's peat is very salty, as if it had been soaked in the ocean for decades. There's plenty of malt. A bit of whole wheat toast and burnt pie crust. Tapioca pudding and peanut butter(!). It finishes with a salty, mellow peat smoke, a good bitterness and tart citrus. Toasted barley and burnt pie crust.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or ¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose gets toastier. Campfire, honey on biscuits, barley and moss. The palate picks up more herbal bitterness and Thai chiles. A little bit of vanilla frosting, but not too sweet. Some earth and metal in the background. It finishes with wood smoke, pepper, salt, sugar, earth and herbs.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Since Ledaig had to go and get itself cleaned up two decades ago, Croftengea has become King of Crust Punk scotch (with no apologies to Finlaggan). The characteristics in this particular single cask probably shouldn't work together, but they do. In fact, it's a strange dirty delight. Water does calm it down a bit, polishing it up to something more commercially viable. If Loch Lomond doesn't become the next hip thing, then I look forward to Croftengea at ages 15-20. Meanwhile 8-12yrs will do just fine.

Availability - Some Continental Europe retailers
Pricing - €75-€85ish
Rating - 87