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How many Spot whiskeys are there?

There are four core Spot whiskeys: Red Spot, Yellow Spot, Green Spot and Blue Spot. In addition to these, there are a number of these colours which are finished in different casks, extending the range, as well as limited editions.

For example, in addition to the standard Green Spot, there is also Green Spot Chateau Leoville Barton and Green Spot Chateau Montelena. A recent special edition release of Green Spot Quail’s Gate was released in collaboration with the renowned Canadian winemaker Quail’s Gate. With a 16-month finish in pinot noir casks this excellent limited edition release was snapped up by eager fans of the Spot range.

In 2022, the brand celebrated 135 years of whiskey bonding and released a special edition Gold Spot to mark it. All Spot whiskeys are in the category of single pot still Irish whiskey.

Spot the difference

The history of the Spot whiskey range begins in the cellars of Mitchell & Son in the late 1800s in Dublin. They were wine merchants who had a steady supply of wines arriving in casks from Europe that they would bottle and sell.

In parallel, they also became whiskey bonders and they would use these now-empty wine casks to age their whiskey. To ensure that they kept each cask separate and so that they wouldn’t forget what was inside, Mitchell’s practice was to mark each cask with different coloured paint, depending on the whiskey inside, its age and its finish. The colours they used were Blue (seven years), Green (10 years), Yellow (12 years) and Red (15 years).

The whiskey they produced was a huge success and became one of the most popular whiskeys in Ireland. The habit of marking barrels became a big selling point. As Irish whiskey fell out of fashion they reduced its capacity and eventually, by the mid-20th century, only Green Spot was left in production. Since then, however, Irish whiskey has returned to global dominance and one by one the Yellow, Blue and Red Spot whiskeys returned.

Ownership

Today, Spot whiskey is owned and produced by Irish Distillers in collaboration with Mitchell & Son in Dublin. Despite still being seen as a classic Dublin whiskey it is made at Irish Distiller’s Co Cork distillery at Midleton.

Single Pot Still

All the whiskeys in the Spot family are Single Pot Still whiskeys. The Single Pot Still category differs from Single Malt because it uses 50% malted and 50% unmalted barley. This gives it a spice and creamy mouth feel that can be absent from single malts, which use 100% malted barley. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Single Pot Still was the most popular whiskey style in the world and it was only made in Ireland.

Red Spot Whiskey

Red Spot whiskey is the premier example of a single pot still and the head of the Spot family. It is the oldest whiskey in the range, at 15 years maturation and is matured in American Bourbon casks, Spanish sherry butts and Sicilian Marsala wine casks. Bottled at cask strength, it’s an extremely complex and flavourful whiskey and rightly stands at the top table of Irish whiskies.

Yellow Spot Whiskey

Yellow Spot is a 12-year-old whiskey that has been fully matured in a combination of ex-bourbon barrels, Spanish sherry butts and Spanish Malaga casks. It’s a single pot still and bottled at 46%. It has layers of rich creamy flavour that offer red apple, black pepper, milk chocolate and honey all wrapped up in a silky smooth, triple-distilled experience.

Green Spot Whiskey

Green Spot is one of the most popular Irish whiskeys. It has been in production since the beginning of the Spot family in the late 1800s and is celebrated for its distinctive flavour and crisp and fresh aromas.

It’s a single pot still whiskey and bottled at 46%, having spent 10 years maturing in bourbon casks and sherry casks. There are two green Spot variants. The first is Green Spot Chateau Leoville Barton which is finished in French oak wine casks from Château Léoville Barton in Bordeaux. The second variant is Green Spot Chateau Montelena in the Napa Valley. It is matured in bourbon and sherry casks and then finished in Zinfandel wine casks.

Blue Spot Whiskey

Blue Spot is a seven-year-old pot still whiskey and is matured in three cask types: Ex-Bourbon, Sherry butts and Portuguese Madeira casks. It is a rich and delicious whiskey that is produced in smaller volumes than the rest of the Spot family. It is bottled at 46%. On the nose, you will find lots of black pepper and spice alongside vanilla, apples and toasted wood. On the palate, you can expect lots more fruits, a little clove and plenty of sweet spices, cinnamon and pepper. Blue Spot has a long finish with lots of oak, spice and vanilla present.

Gold Spot Whiskey

Gold Spot is labelled as a 9-year-old whiskey but, in fact, it has whiskey of a much older statement within its blend. Regulations state that a producer can only label the youngest element of the blend but Gold Spot is reported to have whiskey of a much older vintage in the blend also.

It’s matured in ex-Bourbon Barrels, Sherry Butts, Bordeaux Wine Casks and Port Pipes. Bottled at 51.4%, it is celebrated for its wonderful tropical fruit flavours that marry so well with its pot still personality. This is a very limited release and not currently a core bottle in the range.