Redbreast 12 Year Old

The reviewed bottle has been open for two years and is 1/2 full.

Nose: lots of vanilla, light citrus from tart barley, high pitched wood flavours, sweet but understated in its sweetness

Taste: all of the nose flavurs translate well onto the palate. This is sweeter on the palate than in the nose, and also more so now that the bottle has oxidised a good bit. The tart lemon-tasting unmalted "pot still" barley component gives a nice edge

Finish: rich, sharp, and rather long finish, richer still and longer still with some oxidation

Balance: this is a well put-together whiskey which is for me much admired as it is to many others. "Balance" here is mostly between sharp unmalted and sweet and rounded malted barley. This is a relatively narrow range of flavours presented here, with a lot of high and middle notes and without much bass from either wood or grain. Within that world it is very nice indeed

Now for the Cheshire Cat part: the Cat tended to appear and at other times fade away into the background. My observation here is that Redbreast 12, because of its peculiar flavours, relatively narrow range of flavours, and 40% ABV concentration, is best consumed on a very clean palate to be appreciated

I have had Redbreast 12 in the company of others whiskeys and found its flavours to sometimes nearly disappear. So my advise here to get maximum satisfaction from Redbreast 12 is to drink it alone, or first in the queue

Find where to buy Redbreast whisky