Review: Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey Moscatel Wine Cask Edition
Redbreast’s Iberian Series — now featuring five whiskeys finished in different types of Spanish sherry casks — continues its journey with this exotic expression, finished in Moscatel wine casks.
Crafted by Master Blender David McCabe, this limited-edition honors both Redbreast’s heritage and innovation by using Moscatel Wine casks from the historic Bodegas Quitapenas to enrich the flavor profile of the famed Irish single pot still whiskey.
Inspired by Redbreast’s historic ties with fortified wines, Redbreast Moscatel Wine Cask Edition is first matured in a selection of ex-American whiskey casks and Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, followed by a final maturation period of 16 months in Málaga Moscatel casks.
Bottled at 46% ABV, Redbreast Moscatel Wine Cask Edition is rich in Mediterranean expression, bringing a noticeably elegant and more citrus forward personality to the whiskey.
Across several decades, McCabe and former Master Blender Billy Leighton have developed deep relationships with cask producers and winemakers throughout the Iberian Peninsula, inviting whiskey enthusiasts on a journey of discovery across this region. For this sun-soaked release, the team at Midleton Distillery partnered with Bodegas Quitapenas in Málaga, now led by fifth generation custodians Marta Suárez Prieto and Víctor Suárez OnrubiaI. Under their careful watch, these curated hogsheads made from European Oak were seasoned with Moscatel wine for two years before being shipped to Midleton Distillery, where they were filled with a bespoke batch of Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey.
16 months is quite a lengthy time for finishing, so let’s see what kind of an impact this wine has had on the finished product.
Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey Moscatel Wine Cask Edition Review
Moscatel can be a tricky finish that makes for a too-sweet experience, but here it proves to be quite charming. The nose has the richness of Redbreast’s single pot still distillate, all nuts and nougat, with an underpinning of cinnamon-heavy applesauce and flamed orange peel. Elements of floral incense weave in and out of the aromatic profile, though the whiskey stays far from anything I’d describe as perfumed.
The palate is quite oily, its sandalwood core layered with ample notes of almond, moderately sweetened with brown sugar. Nutmeg and dark fruits give the whiskey a holiday vibe, eventually approaching a gingerbread quality as the finish builds. Dark chocolate and caramel sauce, laced with vanilla frosting, sweeten things up further, but the whiskey, to its credit, never goes too far with it. I worried that extensive finishing time would result in an oxidized fruit bomb that was too cloying to drink, but that’s not the case at all. Instead, the fruitier overtones are deliciously integrated into a cohesive whole.
92 proof.
A- / $110 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
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