We started at the entry level with Redbreast 12, before slightly escalating things to their Lustau edition. While three more years are only a quarter of the age of Redbreast 12, they represent a near 100% increase in price when going from the 12 to the Redbreast 15 Year Old Irish Whiskey. Made from exclusively pot still distillate and aged in a mix of first fill and refill casks, can it justify this huge price increase?
Redbreast 15 Year Old Irish Whiskey
Sight: Burnished
Smell: The nose is somewhat subdued, with laces with spices and slight heat. The oak meets pressed apples, with tangy candied notes, and vintage leather. Nuttiness joins in with grapes, preach, touches of floral, and candied plums. The nose has a complex spicing and creaminess to it that under pins things.
Sip: The sip is soft, smooth, and almost lanolin in it’s thickness and character. A soft, ripe apple comes out with plenty of citrus oils. Stone fruits and vintage leather join in. Plum skin and toasted oak come out as well, and the whole thing wraps up with a creamy richness.
Savor: The ending has a beautiful creaminess and light tannic nature. The nuttiness and spice are the primary drivers with plum and peach skins over floral notes.
Redbreast 15 Year Old Irish Whiskey is complex and creamy. The flavors are varied, a bit hard to pin down, but all delicious. As a result, some sips feel malleable and there’s a slight feeling of inconsistency with the variety of fruits, spices, and floral elements. For all these reasons, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable sipper.
In Cocktails
In a Cameron’s Kick the bright apple and plum skin come forward off the bat, and are followed with a nice round citrus mid-palate with an almost fresh nectarine pop. The nuttiness and leather come in toward the backend. There are also good grape notes and touches of floral. It’s well rounded, but doesn’t quite get anywhere near the neat presentation of Redbreast 15 Year Old Irish Whiskey. Basically, don’t put this in a cocktail.
In Review – Redbreast 15 Year Old Irish Whiskey
Redbreast 15 Year Old Irish Whiskey is tasty on it’s own, and does fine in a cocktail. The flavors are on point, rich, and weighty. The question is if they’re twice is good? The answer is unfortunately not quite. At $130 a bottle, Redbreast 15 is more complex than the 12, but doesn’t seem to add enough power to the equation to show where that value is. That said, you might still find a reason if your really going to enjoy each dram neat. For those that want to enjoy a dram, and not over think it, I recommend sticking with the 12 for just past half the price.