Buy Redbreast

Buy Redbreast Whiskey

Ask any Irish person and they’ll easily agree that Redbreast is one of the most influential and popular whiskies ever released in Ireland. A champion of the single pot still style it has come to represent the ambition and personality of the modern whisky industry.

Redbreast is a family of whiskies that start with the ever-popular Redbreast 12 and journey through core vintages of 15- and 21-year-old bottles as well as a 12-year-old cask strength edition, a collaboration release between Redbreast’s makers and the Lustau bodega in Spain called the Redbreast Lustau Edition.

In addition to this range, Redbreast 27 was added to the top tier of the family in recent years, A ruby port finished pot still, this limited core release is now one of the most sought-after bottles in the range.

Redbreast cask types

The Redbreast family of whiskies is matured in ex-bourbon and oloroso sherry casks. This classic combination forms the bedrock of the brand and diversions from it only occur for very special core releases.

Redbreast 27-year-old is the most prominent example. This is the oldest whiskey in the range, matured in bourbon, sherry and ruby port casks.

A Dublin whiskey made in Cork

Redbreast originated in Dublin. The London wine importer, W&A Gilby, set up shop in the capital in the late 1800s. Importing wine by the cask gave them an ample supply of rich wine and sherry casks to finish whiskey in. At this time, it was very common for distilleries to supply bars and wine importers with distillate, allowing them to mature it in their own casks before bottling their own whiskey.

It was from this maturation approach that Redbreast was born. The name itself is said to be a nickname given by the chairman of the board who was an avid birdwatcher. Redbreast comes from the Robin Redbreast bird and appeared on sale for the first time in the early 1900s. Immediately popular, it became known as a rich and elegant whiskey that stood apart from its peers.

Like many brands, it found itself struggling in the 1960s and by the mid-1970s it had been bought by Irish Distillers who also owned the Powers and Jameson distilleries. Ten years later and the entire operation of each of these distilleries and their brands were moved to Co Cork to the Midleton Distillery where Redbreast and its peers continue to be distilled and matured today.

Single Pot Still Irish whiskey

Redbreast is a single pot still whiskey. This is a whiskey style that originated in Ireland as a response to a tax on malted barley imposed by the authorities of the time. To reduce the levels of tax paid, whiskey makers experimented with a mash bill of both malted and unmalted barley.

This unmalted barley, also known as green barley, introduced a layer of flavour and texture to the whiskey that sets it apart from a single malt.

Unmalted barley gives single pot still whiskey a creamy texture that is incredibly popular. It also adds an underlying spicy element and a range of complex flavours. In most cases, single pot still whiskey is triple distilled and always in traditional copper pot stills. It is the quintessential style in Ireland.

The Redbreast Signature flavour

Since Redbreast uses a common cask type of ex-bourbon and oloroso sherry casks in the entire range, the flavour and complexity of the whiskey is easily recognisable by whiskey fans. Even when it strays from this path, such as with the 27-year-old, the core flavour profile and personality remains.

On the nose, you can expect to find lots of dried fruits and exotic fruit aromas that punctuate the air, leaving a heavy vanilla and nutty experience in all their releases. Each variant of the range comes layered with more and more of this fruity personality, depending on its vintage. The 27-year-old, due to its additional aging in ruby port casks, offers lots more exotic fruit, for example.

The palate in each of the Redbreast bottlings is delicious. With toasted wood notes evident throughout, you’ll find lots of vanilla, sherry nuttiness and a smooth and creamy mouthfeel.

Each of the Redbreast family have a long finish that is determined by its age. The 21-yer-old in particular is an incredibly long finish with a complex arrangement of spices and black pepper punctuating the experience.