REDBREAST 12 YEAR
Bottled December 18, 2018MASH BILL – unknown proportions of malted and un-malted barley
PROOF – 80
AGE – 12 years
DISTILLERY – Midleton Distillery
PRICE – $48
WORTH BUYING? – Sure. It’s Redbreast!
As I write this, 2018 wasn’t that long ago. Just eight quick years. So this bottle hardly qualifies as a “dusty,” despite its slightly faded label and the literal dust shawling its shoulders when I found it recently—perched high on the shelf of a corner store deep in San Francisco’s Mission District.
But 2018 is notable as the last year Redbreast was released under the longstanding label you see in the photos above. A new label doesn’t mean a new taste profile, of course. But any such change tends to prompt fans of a brand to fret regardless. (Whiskey fans are known for their palates, not their logic. 😉)
On a rainy candlelit evening in late February, I came across an old documentary online about Irish pubs. With no Guinness on tap in the house 🤷🏼♂️, I was moved to crack open this bottle of Redbreast 12. The familiar waves of vanilla, melon, and mango hit me at once. But to my surprise, not as much of the subtle plastic note I so often get from Midleton whiskies. I attribute that note to Midleton’s habitual use of artificial color. And of course in 2018 they were no doubt using artificial color as liberally as ever. In any event, I was delighted by its lack here. Would it emerge later as the bottle aired out?
Here we are, eleven days after uncorking and four pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using both an Irish crystal tumbler and traditional Glencairn.
COLOR – brassy, buttery, and golden
NOSE – sweet baking sugars and spices, lemon zest, marmalade, fresh melon, vanilla, a light creamy caramel, oak and oak tannin
TASTE – a thin yet creamy texture, ushering in a nice whole cream note to wash the spice, citrus, and candy sweetness; far less tannic influence here
FINISH – cream, marmalade, just a hint of the oak and oak tannins, a sparkly quality from the lingering ABV warmth
OVERALL – surprisingly solid and complex for an 80 proof whiskey
I’m delightedly surprised. I’ve always quite loved the Redbreast 12 year Cask Strength. (In fact the last batch of that I had was also from 2018. 🤔) I just assumed this lower-proofed version would utterly pale by comparison. It’s certainly less forceful, with notably less copper pot spice to it. But even with its thin mouthfeel it offers a creaminess in both texture and taste that’s perfectly enjoyable.
Those creamy qualities create a kind of foundation on which the brighter citrus and spice elements dance. Interestingly, everything comes across a bit livelier in the more open crystal tumbler than the intentionally focused Glencairn. This seems in keeping with my longtime sense of Irish whiskey as the great party whiskey. Like a good music and dance jam in a packed Irish pub, this Redbreast 12 Year does not wish to be restrained!
That this 2018 batch lacks that nagging Midleton plastic note is a great plus. And the lower proof—as low as possible to still qualify as whiskey—gives it an approachable, easygoing quality. Cask Strength Redbreast can be a bit more raucous by comparison. But I’m perfectly happy with this bottle.
I don’t feel compelled to pay the current price for a 2026 bottle to weigh the present against the past—current price in the US being ~$60 on average. I paid $48 for this 2018 bottle, likely the price tag applied to it back then judging from the dusty faded label. For the tasting experience on offer, $48 is plenty. The cask strength version runs around ~$100 these days. I’d almost rather pay that than $60 for the 80-proofer. But to be frank, enjoyable as both renditions are, neither are so incredible that I need to go out of my way for them, nor devote more $$ than I already have done. But I’ll thoroughly enjoy what I have while I have it.
And I’ll certainly keep my eye out for these older bottles sitting around corner store shelves at older prices. They’re totally worth the wait!
Sláinte!
The Right Spirit 