At the beginning of March The Whisky Exchange released two new exclusives. There is a single cask Mars Komagatake (more about this later) as well as this small batch Redbreast 20 Year Old. Now TWE has a long list of excellent Redbreast exclusives – I believe the last one was the Redbreast Cream Sherry Cask.
This release is quite the opposite: it comes from a selection of third fill Oloroso casks, which is rare to see on whisky labels nowadays.
Redbreast 20 yo – Small Batch (60%, OB 2026, third-fill Oloroso sherry casks)
Nose: starts on dried oranges, a hint of clove, ripe apricots and some grassy pot still notes. Bits of pineapple candy. Then poached pears with subtle rose petals and orange blossom. Subtle red fruit candy and fresh plums as well, but you can tell these weren’t first-fill casks. Also, you sense a bit of heat already.
Mouth: slightly pungent indeed, with a measured sherry influence. Orange zest aplenty, dried apples, gooseberries and a couple of raisins. Then the pot still spice takes over: cloves, a little pepper and definitely ginger (cake). Aniseed and preserved lemons too, as well as a rather rummy style of (fragrant) wood. In the end there’s a hint of dark chocolate.
Finish: long, slightly oily and earthy, with grassy hints, aniseed, a touch of bitterness and some floral echoes.
So the third-fill casks limit both the tropical fruits and the sherry notes. What’s left is a really good pot still spirit, albeit a little naked. An interesting insight into this style. Exclusively available from The Whisky Exchange.