The 9th and final taster of our Irish Whiskey evening with Joe Duffy, this one came straight from the private collection of our President, Tamara Maurer. Sometimes in life, we like to save the best for last, and in this case, it held true. The Redbreast 27 Ruby Port Casks was an amazing dram. Bottled at cask strength, you immediately nosed the spicy alcohol with rich hints of peach, nectarine, and red fruits. The flavour continued that profile with sweet fruity notes of candied berries, peach, liquorice and to me a bit of wine gum candy. Being a cask strength whiskey you would think the alcohol would overpower you, but it was completely mellow allowing a sweet smooth finish and a warming belly feel. A perfect way to wrap up our Irish Whiskey tour and carry on into the late evening shenanigans.
Many thanks to Joe Duffy for the great guided tasting and for sharing some of the rich history of Redbreast and Jameson Whiskies with us. It truly made the evening an unforgettable experience!
Another late add-on to our Irish Whiskey tasting brought us our 8th taster of the evening. Thank god we weren’t overindulging all the way along, because we would have been three sheets to the wind by now. The 8th taster was the Redbreast PX, a whiskey initially casked in Bourbon and Oloroso Sherry casks, before being finished in Pedro Ximenez Hogsheads. The nose was sweet with stonefruit, blackberry and plum. The taste was very sherry forward, super dry, with touches of sweet hay, grass, spiced wood and a bit of charcoal smoke. A very smooth dry finish followed. Another easy sipper from the Redbreast family.
Just when we thought our guided tasting was finishing up, out came our 7th taster, the Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition. Released as part of the same series as the Lustau the Tawny Port Cask Edition hit the nose with smoke, cranberry, grape, and a hint of shortbread. The flavour brought forward salted caramel, berry sweetness, and honey and flavours reminiscent of a wine casked whiskey. It had a quick, sweet finish and was another solid non age statement offering from Redbreast.
Moving onto the 6th and supposed final taster of the Irish evening brought us to the Redbreast 18. The nose revealed stone fruit and oak wood. The whiskey seemed really oily and coated the sides of the glass, leaving long legs. Flavours of chocolate, orange zest, cherries and creamed sherry swirled on the tongue. The whiskey provided a velvety mouth feel that was sweet and spicy going down with a wonderful lingering finish. An excellent Irish whiskey and one that I would love to have in my collection.
The 5th taster in our Irish Whiskey evening, the Jameson 18 did not disappoint. The triple distilled whiskey, aged a minimum of 18 years in hand selected American and European oak casks smelled of fresh hay, green apple, honey and caramel. The woody smooth flavour of the whiskey was exceptional, hitting with toffee, brown sugar, and a touch of nutty spice. It all gave way to a smooth, easy finish. Top marks were given all around by the membership, as this dram was enjoyed by all.
The 4th taster in our evening of fine Irish whiskey brought us to the Redbreast 15. The nose came through with orchard fruit, caramel and nutty undertones. The flavour starts slowly but builds to include fresh tree fruits, toasted oak, and a touch of spice. It is a well rounded, easy drinker that lingered on the tongue. An overall easy drinker and a fine expression of Irish Whiskey.
The 3rd taster in our Irish evening was the Redbreast Lustau Edition, which is a sherry cask finished whiskey. The nose has sherry tones, cranberry and red fruit. With the first sip, the sherry washes over you with ripe fruity freshness followed by some nice spiciness. The fruit and spice play nice while the velvety whiskey washes over your tongue. The finish was kind of quick, a tad dry but still very smooth. This taster received rave reviews from most of our club membership. If you can get your hands on a bottle of this, it comes highly recommended.
This was our 2nd taster of the guided tasting with Joe Duffy. The Redbreast 12 is one of their core offerings and is usually available at most LCBO’s. It is a solid dram at a decent price point for Irish Whiskey. One the nose you get lots of red fruit, plum and cherries came to my mind, along with hints of apple, raisins, wood and nuts. Upon tasting it comes across as a very sherry forward taste, with hints of sweet fruit and dark chocolate. The finish is super smooth, not much length to it, and finishes quickly. The Redbreast 12 is an easy drinker, best enjoyed amongst friends.
The first taster in our evening with Joe Duffy brought us Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. The nose was very sweet with hints of green apple, bourbon and honey. It had great texture and mouthfeel with flavours of toffee, floral notes, and apples. A robust feel on the tongue, with a warm smooth finish that lasted a bit, but not too long. A great way to start what became an amazing evening of whiskey, learning and sharing with friends.
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