Irish Distillers has already released two 90+ pot still whiskeys this year, but this is the knockout blow, an immense take on the wonderful Redbreast. The nose gives little away, all damp autumn leaves and fermenting forest fruit, but on the palate it's a fireworks display, a colorful mix of apple and pear, berries, vine fruits, chocolate liqueur, and oily pureed fruit. It's coming to the States soon, and rumor has it there's more to follow. But this will do. I can't think if I've ever tasted a better Irish whiskey. €75

Reviewed by: Dominic Roskrow (Winter 2011)

Wow! After the wonderful 12 year old cask strength, Redbreast does it again. This is a different beast altogether, but it is a stunner. This is Roger Waters doing The Wall: over the top, unsubtle, and totally entertaining. There’s lots going on: fermenting apples, juicy oils, spice, and dark cherry and berry fruits zip and fizz over the palate, the wood influence is sublime. I'm comfortably numb.

Reviewed by: Dominic Roskrow (Winter 2013)

Celebrating the 60^th anniversary of a Parisian retailer, this represents the most mature Redbreast of the modern era. Rich dark prunes, papaya, and the aroma of polished antique furniture. Treacle, oily and weighty, baked apple, Black Forest gateaux, char, and sizzling spices, with new flavors appearing minute by minute. Water encourages cherry to the nose and pomegranate to the taste buds. The faithful will respond to the call. (540 bottles, La Maison du Whisky only) €490

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Spring 2017)

Very elegant, complex, and stylish. Honeyed and silky in texture, with toffee, toasted marshmallow, nougat, maple syrup, banana bread, and a hint of toasted coconut. Bright fruit and golden raisin blend in nicely with the layers of sweetness. Impeccable balance and very approachable. Classic Irish whiskey! (Value Pick)

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2010)

The latest release pits plum, damson, fruitcake, and rosehip against wild, untamed pot still spices straining at the leash. Clove vociferously trumps raisin as the mouth-drawing power is realized; spices deflect off the tongue’s surface like sparks off an anvil. As its grip slackens, the fruit ripens, bruising slightly, yet sweetening deliciously, and vanilla pod, toasted stave, and cinnamon bark emerge. I swear you feel more Irish with every sip. Editors’ Choice

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

Following one of 2018’s most collectible releases, this vatting of four mature pot still whiskeys finished in a PX butt is quite a departure for Redbreast. The nose has incredible depth, with dark, sticky, concentrated black cherry, candied peel, coriander leaf, vanilla, allspice, clove, and whole almond. This heavy, unctuous, mouth-coating whiskey resonates with rich fruits, clove, licorice, and juicy blackberry, ending with pot still spice and bitter notes. (924 bottles) €380

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2019)

Golden sultana, fragrant spice, dried orange slices, star anise, baked apricot, and hints of flaked chocolate bar. Spices leap from a butterscotch and red berry base, vociferously showing clove, star anise, and ginger root, which part to welcome flavors of milk chocolate, vanilla pod, oak, and juicy nectarine. The cask strength is rarely less than spectacular, but this batch is singularly distinctive. Editor's Choice

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2021)

Prominent red apple, tropical fruits, pot still spices, and oloroso sherry notes; this shows great balance. The spices are powerful, with a roasted aroma like a crooked burnt match. The palate is gripped by the high alcohol as pepper and clove break open over the tongue into a bed of red apple, baked citrus, and caramel. Unquenchable layers of flavor usher in a likable, bubble gum finish. (252 bottles)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Spring 2020)

The Irish-American whiskey trend works both ways. This golden dram serves up oak spices and lashings of creamy vanilla at 101 proof, with aromas of butter biscuits, sliced almond, and creamed coconut. Brown sugar, red fruits, and cherry lozenges on first sip, then cinder toffee, Milky Way, forest honey, and warm apple pie, ratcheting up lush vanilla, oakiness, and sweet concentrated fruitiness to finish. Water adds extra creaminess, if that’s possible.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2022)

This first limited release in the Iberian Series deploys a 12 to 22 month PX finish to great effect. Deeply fruity with red cherry, damson, dried vine fruits, soft licorice, nutmeg, cooking chocolate, and golden fleshed plums on the nose. An exceptional Redbreast with more finesse than Redbreast Lustau: beautiful oily pot still texture with succulent raspberry, red currant, plum, cherry, and black tea flavors, with control shifting later to the spices.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2021)

Cranberry, red apple, candied peel, glacé cherry, red licorice, and black pepper, with heather honey, florals, and festive spices on the nose. A fruity concoction of cherry lip balm, cranberry sauce, caramel, peppercorn, and a hint of apple, the fruit sails through as the spice and sugar fade. Water softens the impact, but widens the flavor spectrum to embrace plum, orange, walnut, and cranberry. Price per 500 ml. (912 bottles) €490

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2020)

Honey, vanilla, peppercorn, Golden Delicious apples, macadamia nut, green banana, and clove-spiked orange. The flavors are bright with green apple, banana, vanilla, and citrus, developing a delicious creaminess to support the pot still spices. The creaminess really crowns this older whiskey as something special, with the bourbon wood playing a greater role than in younger, jammier Redbreasts. The finish is wonderfully long and warming, with spice, tangy orange, and oak.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2020)

This new permanent addition to the Redbreast range is partially matured in ruby port casks, which have helped the vitality and the complexity of the finished whiskey while still delivering a remarkable intensity of red berry fruit. Orange peel, pine cone, vanilla, and walnut on the nose. Raspberry, cherry, plums, and active spices like a wildfire across the tongue, with pepper and chile heightened by the strength and menthol late on the finish.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2020)

The 120 year old sherry house Lustau originally operated as an almacenista, but now produces a broad portfolio of wine styles in Jerez. The nose is intensely fragrant, bursting with fat dates and squidgy prunes, red apple and Battenburg cake. It’s fruity, yet bone dry, with oak, walnut, and spices. This is full-bodied yet refined Redbreast: the Spanish oak sherry butts shaping the red berry fruits, apples, marzipan, and creamy yet oily consistency. Clean, sweet oloroso finish. Qué delicioso!

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2016)

A bold and expressive single pot still with a nose of fudge, vanilla, plummy sherry notes, bramble, aromatic spices, and dried orange peel. Sweet sherry, nutty, with a slow build-up of spice to a concentrated peak of clove and peppercorns; then there’s red apple, caramel, and vanilla as the spices keep going into the dry finish. This one has a lot to say. (252 bottles)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Spring 2020)

This batch heightens the fruitiness of apple, orange peel, dried strawberry, and peach over potent spices on the nose. Strawberry and raspberry flavors revel in the oily richness, then crescendo to a pot still spice storm that rages in the mouth like a swarm of bees. Long, spicy finish with vestiges of fruit and toasted oak. Thrill-seekers’ whiskey, if you dare.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2019)

An easy-drinking cask-strength whiskey, the nose has an equal balance between fruit and spice, as red apple and bright cherry meet Chinese five spice, savory undertones, and salted nuts. This has big, chewy sherry notes; it’s quite nutty, and the spice starts building early on. Hold out till the end for black cherry, toffee, and burnt fruitcake, with a finish of autumnal fruits, menthol, and aniseed.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2020)

A wave of pot still spice and high alcohol carries aromas of blueberry muffin, Victoria plum, ground ginger, nutmeg, and lush sherry. In time, greater complexity develops scents of juicy raspberry, black olive, and rose and violet creams. Dense sherry-wood flavors with chocolate-covered Brazil nuts and nippy, peppery spices encircle the tip of the tongue, then it finishes with blueberry gum and flashes of candied peel.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2021)