Mitchell & Son Red Spot 15 Year Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

VITALS:
- $150

- 92 Proof

- 15 Years

- Ireland

My Irish whiskey purchases are few and far between. I'm apparently too busy spending all my money on bourbons and ryes (not that I'm apologizing for it). However, when Red Spot was released in the United States, I remember hearing Mark Gillespie review this bottle on WhiskeyCast podcast. While it's been some time, I'm pretty sure he gave it a rating of 96 (I'm sure I could verify this . . . but nah).  Considering that's the highest score I've ever heard him give, I kept it on my radar to look out for a bottle if I ever got the chance. 

Then, when it finally hit the United States, I had read that the majority of the bottles were allocated to Eastern states, with a limited amount to actually hit Illinois. So when I saw it in my local store's case, I immediately grabbed one for myself. This is a 15 year Irish whiskey, the older brother of the popular Green Spot and Yellow Spot whiskeys, and this one was triple cask finished, having been finished in a combination of bourbon casks, Spanish sherry butts and Marsala wine casks. There was a lot going on here and I was excited to pop the cork as soon as I got home.

The nose is, without question, very fruity. I immediately got hit with aromas of raspberry and pears. I also got sweet honey notes, as well as some delicate floral notes.  To balance all of this out, it had a nice black pepper spice on the nose as well. It had a lot going on, but it all worked really well together.

Much like the nose, the palate on this one was very fruit forward. It was a bit sweeter, though, like bright red raspberry along with a vanilla cream. It at times seemed to have a fruit punch note to it. Even some citrus notes seemed to come through from time to time, specifically bright orange notes.

There was also a yeasty, bread-like flavor to it, and it reminded me of fresh bakery bread. Like a nice, fresh loaf of French bread, but with a touch of honey. There was also a bit of a woody note to it that added a bit of a dry, bitter quality.

The mouthfeel was nice and oily, and with the sweet fruit notes and the slight bit of honey, provided for a lip-smacking finish. It seemed all the sweet notes were what stuck around, with raspberry and honey absolutely coating my mouth and not wanting to go away.

This was one of those bottles that I didn't want to finish. When I got to about four inches left in the bottle, it sat on my shelf for quite some time before I went back to it, because I knew I'd miss it once it was gone. This was an absolutely delicious bottle of whiskey, and even at the price, I think I wouldn't hesitate to grab another bottle if afforded the opportunity.

Grade: A