RedBreast Sonny Molloy’s Single Cask 16yo
The first ever partnership between Redbreast Whiskey and a bar. This 16 year old Redbreast Pot Still was selected by Sonny Molloy’s Irish Whiskey Bar of Galway. Aged in a 500 litre Spanish oak sherry cask yielding 570 bottles of which only 200 are on general release. Each bottle forms part of a gift set, featuring two specially engraved Galway Irish Crystal tumblers and a certificate of authenticity, endorsed by Master Distiller, Brian Nation. Bottled at strength of 58.7% ABV with the gift set retailing at €345.
Omar Fitzell Notes
Extremely rich sherry nose. A nice deep oak note complimenting dark chocolate and coffee with a hint of blackberries hiding in the background.
Palate:
You really have to chew through this delight. A wonderful mouth coating to this. Big front loading of pot still spicy that gives way to almonds, raisins, apricot and dare I say, a touch of peach! A wee drop of water does dial it back and makes it more nutty and fruity.
Finish:
Long linger spiciness that leaves a slight dark chocolate note all around my mouth. Salivating for more!
Overall:
An absolute belter. Did I expect anything less? No. Redbreast Single Casks are all absolutely stunning having been hand selected by Billy Leighton himself. Complex yet delicate masterpieces that allow the drinker to go on a merry dance of flavours. This is a drop I’ll be calling back for!
Al Higgins notes
Nose:
Delicate and soft with touches of fondant icing, vanilla, lemon and apricot.
Palate:
A bit more forceful. Some welcome chewy/tannic elements add some nice mouthfeel. Flavours of candyfloss, lemon, apricot, vanilla, honey and ginger.
Finish:
A little peppery and spicy with some more of those chewy oak touches. There are some nice red fruit characters towards the end.
Overall:
I don’t know how much this costs! It’s good but as a single cask bottling from Midleton there may be better ones out there. Have we reached saturation point with these bottlings?
Omar Fitzell
Omar has been lurking in the background of the Irish Whiskey Industry since 2010 when he started his journey through tasting, enjoying and collecting whiskey. In January 2018 he launched the online blog “That’s Dram Good” which, in those few short months, has become one of the most popular whiskey blogs in Ireland.
You can find him on:
• Twitter – @thatsdramgood
• Facebook – ThatsDramGood
Al Higgins
Over 20 years of experience in drinks retail and a member of the team at the Celtic Whiskey Shop since 2003. Alastair is chief tester and taster at the shop and is also coordinator for the Irish Whiskey Awards. When he is not working he is either training for ultra-marathons, parenting or drumming with his band Le Galaxie.
You can find him on:
• Twitter – @mostlydrinking