Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition

REDBREAST SHOWDOWN Redbreast 12-Year Redbreast 15-Year Redbreast Lustau Edition Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition Redbreast 12 was one of a small handful of whiskies that I cut my teeth on over two decades ago. Back then I used to travel to Dublin on business occasionally, and an Irish friend of mine here in the states would always ask me to bring him back a bottle or two of Redbreast 12, which was unavailable in the U.S. at the time. That would give me an excuse to bring one back for myself as well. I recall liking it, but not loving it as my friend did; and after a brief romance, I put aside the Redbreast in the name of additional whiskey exploration. But lovebirds always find a way of coming back together—so here we are. Redbreast 12-Year Clear amber color (Pantone 143). Lots of vanilla on the nose, as well as some honey-lemon notes, similar to those that I experienced with the Nikka Coffey Malt Whisky (reviewed 9/21/23), though not as pronounced, along with papaya, hot candied peanuts, some light clove, and toast. The palate reengages the hot candied peanuts, or pralines, followed by a tickle of spice and light vanilla on the finish. Tasting the Redbreast 12 following the other three, I find that it comes across a little thin. It’s a shame that such a classic Irish Whiskey—with a 12-year age statement, no less—is bottled at a paltry 80 proof. I’ll go a step further and call it appalling. This is not mass-market, base-level Jameson or Bushmills: it’s $70 whiskey. Would I buy it again? I want to say yes. R12 is foundational in an Irish Whiskey collection. However, it’s a poor value on a relative basis. It’s a nice whiskey, and I’ll happily drink it, and enjoy it as well. 3.5 on the Distiller scale. 40% ABV. 12-year age statement. Redbreast 15-Year Deep, robust amber, nearly the burnt orange of the Lustau (still Pantone 144). There’s a sweet cotton-candyish note on first nosing—not cloying, but intriguing. That note slips into raspberry chocolate truffles, buttered Irish scones, Concord grape juice, sandalwood, applesauce, caffè latte, orange oil, and Christmas cake. Apricot as well, after tasting the Tawny Port Edition. The palate shows a light viscosity, and the olfactory and flavor profile pivots from fruity to more woody and spicy, finishing with papaya, vanilla, and baking spices. The Redbreast 15 is very, very good. Its complexity and sophistication hint at what the 12 could be with a little higher proof. The 15-year can be found for around $140. Would I buy it again? Yes. 4.5 on the Distiller scale. 46% ABV. 15-year age statement. Redbreast Lustau Edition Burnt orange color and like the 15, darker than the 12-year, as would be expected from the sherry cask finish (Pantone 144). Unmistakable sherry influence: dried figs, mulled cider, prunes, clove, molasses, a little vanilla. These aspects show as more savory on the palate, with a little salinity as well, and a light oiliness. Dates, brown sugar, and some chili spice on the finish. Redbreast Lustau Edition tastes like dapper Macallan’s country cousin: a little rougher around the edges, but exhibiting familial characteristics (I’ll have to do a separate Showdown to confirm that hypothesis). It can be found for around $75. Would I buy it again? Absolutely. 4.25 on the Distiller scale. 46% ABV. NAS. Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition (To clarify: The “Tawny Port Cask Edition” here is not cask strength). Similar deep amber Pantone 144 color. The nose is not as forthcoming as the Lustau, and initially shows a kind of dusty funk which then manifests as hazelnutty tawny port itself, before shifting to brown sugar, French toast with cinnamon, cut grass, chive, and cool spearmint. It’s a little vegetal; there’s even a green pepper undernote. The mouthfeel is lightly viscous, and is sharply focused with brown sugar and walnut notes. The alcohol is less integrated than the Lustau on the palate, and the finish shows a little sorghum syrup and a touch of woody tannic bitterness. The Tawny Port Edition, like the other Redbreast expressions, is packaged in an attractive box. But this one is a mauve pink, which is suggestive of a ruby rather than a tawny port. Were I the head of the marketing department, I would have opted for something in the tan spectrum. But I digress. I tasted each of these together over the course of three days, and my experience with the Tawny Port Edition declined somewhat. This Redbreast expression currently retails for $99. Would I buy it again? Maybe. 3.75 on the Distiller scale. 46% ABV. NAS. With this Showdown, I’ve been digging into the Redbreast offerings to become more familiar with the brand (which is part of the Pernod Ricard portfolio). Their website has some polished, if misguided, branding. There’s even a QR code on the 12-year box that provides a “virtual experience” whereby you can see the Redbreast robin superimposed on the camera on your phone: meaning you can point your phone in any direction, looking through it, and the robin appears, along with a separate birdhouse, and cues to point the camera in different directions. I was unable to click on either, or get any interaction (and I’m a tech guy). So essentially you look through your phone and see the robin mascot and a birdhouse superimposed on whatever you’re pointing your camera at. Why? The website has a menu called “Drinks” which showcases various high-end cocktails. What Madison Avenue ad wizard concocted this? Redbreast’s base offering is the 12-year, which retails for $70. Who is going to use a 12-year-old, $70 whiskey in a cocktail? Certainly there are those who can afford it, and I’m a believer in using quality ingredients for hand-crafted cocktails. But are they seriously trying to position age-statemented whiskey as premium or super-premium mixers? This is not mass-market whiskey; nor is not vodka (that’s another story). Redbreast’s website appears to be focused on age statements (12-, 15-, 21-, and 27-year bottlings), which are historically aimed at whiskey enthusiasts. From a business inventory perspective, distillers cannot afford to have massive stockpiles of old whiskey; as the ages get older, the stocks decline exponentially. Pernod Ricard wants to have inventory sit for 12 years and then dilute it to 40% ABV and suggest cocktails? From a business perspective: make an NAS offering and position that as your cocktail whiskey. The vast majority of cocktail drinkers won’t care, and Pernod Ricard will make more money by not having all the age-statemented whiskies (or at least the 12-year) sitting in inventory before it can be monetized. I’ve spent my entire career in finance, and I just don’t get the business model. There’s a huge disconnect between the marketing side and the business side. I could go on, but I’ll get off my soapbox for now. Back to the whiskey: the clear winner here is the 15-year, followed by the Lustau, the Tawny Port, and the 12-year. I’m sure the 12 would be much better at the 46% ABV that the others share (Redbreast does produce a cask-strength version of the 12-year—thankfully!—that I’ve not come across in the wild, but would love to try). I admire Redbreast’s forays into these different finishing casks, and would love to see the Lustau as part of its permanent portfolio. These are pricier whiskies. The Lustau is easily the best value here—and in terms of whiskies generally—and the 15-year is very good. N.B.: All spirits tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.

Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition does not have an age statement and it is bottled at 46% ABV. After an initial maturation in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks, the combination is then finished in seasoned tawny port hogsheads for 14-25 months. This is the 2023 edition. It sells for around $100-140. This is a serviceable whisky that suffers from a few problems that are not intrinsic to the liquid in the bottle but come to light when compared to other whiskies from the brand. One: this is a strictly inferior whisky compared to the cask strength 27-year-old ruby port. This whisky reminds me of the 27-year-old, which I picked up a few years back for ~$550, and now has climbed to around ~$700. This is still a pretty good deal for a 27-year-old cask strength release from a brand as reputable as Redbreast. And, if you can afford one bottle of the 27-year-old and want some delicious port influenced Irish single pot still whisky, I recommend buying one bottle of the 27-year-old instead of using that same money to buy 4 bottles of this Tawny Port. Alcohol is poison, and if you choose to poison yourself, make it the best tasting poison that you can afford. Or, if you can’t afford the Ruby Port, you can use the Tawny Port to see if it can inspire you to make more money, to try a thematically similar whisky that is better in every way. (I am joking. Buying more expensive bottles of whisky is a terrible reason to be inspired to make more money) Two: Redbreast should just put an age statement on this whisky. Now, I doubt they are slimy enough to put something younger than 12 years into this bottle and then charge almost twice as much as their basic 12-year-old, which is a foundational Irish whisky that I highly recommend if you have not tried it already, but this whisky feels more immature than the 12-year-old. With whisky, like with people, age does not always translate to maturity. My guess is that this is the 12-year-old Redbreast finished in seasoned tawny port casks, and these seasoned casks somehow made the final product more immature. Whereas the Redbreast 12-year-old is a mellow and relaxing experience, there is an additional dimension of overeager oakiness and spiciness to this whisky that makes it feel like it could be only 10 years old. Because I don’t consider this as good as the original 12-year-old, without an age statement, there is some paranoia that this is also cheaper to produce than the original 12-year-old, and this is a cynical consumer rip-off. Three: The Redbreast PX Edition (my next review) is a better whisky in the same price range. Redbreast should be more sherry influenced; it just goes well with the Spirit. Redbreast has never made a bad whisky, to my knowledge, because it always invokes that feeling of a freshly baked cookie with brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, walnuts, and butter. But the raisins and dark chocolate are what this recipe needs, and they are not provided by this tawny port finish. You get an extra hit of oranges and wood, but I don’t think that’s helping. If this Redbreast Tawny Port was the first Redbreast that I have tried, I would probably have thought that this was a flawed but promising expression, and I would have been open to trying more Redbreasts in the future. But, because I have tried other Redbreasts, I must make the following alternative suggestions: - Core range age expressions (12-year, 15-year, 21-year): All are great. The 21 year (~$400 now) is still the best Redbreast that I’ve tried so far. The 12-year can still be found on shelves for less than $70, and it is immaculate. - 12-year cask strength (~$100): Probably the best value for money Redbreast, if you’re into that kind of thing. - Redbreast PX Edition (~$150): Much better cask to finish a Redbreast with. - Redbreast Ruby Port 27-year-old (~$700): Like this Tawny Port, but infinitely better, but not as good as the 21-year-old, so I would just buy another bottle of the 21-year-old instead, if I was itching to purchase this again.

The Redbreast PX was a sensational way to start off the Iberian Series. Next up we’ve got the tawny port. As I recall, this first Irish I’ve had that was aged in port casks. Redbreast has yet to let me down with these limited releases, so this is an exciting one for me. Nose: Blackberry, plum, and raisin. Shortbread cookie. Toffee, malt, and vanilla. Molasses and brown sugar. Macadamia, walnut, and almond. Orange citrus and honeydew. Palate: Heavy shortbread cookie, followed up by the blackberry, plum, and raisin notes. Big time walnut, almond, and macadamia. Butterscotch, vanilla, toffee, malt, milk chocolate, and caramel. Black licorice. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, white pepper, and oak. Orange and tangerine. A nice hit of vanilla frosting. Gala apple and green grape. Honeydew. Cranberry. Cinnamon, white pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Macadamia, walnut, and almond. Blackberry, plum, and raisin. Red grape. Toffee, caramel, vanilla, and milk chocolate. Cinnamon, white pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Moderate length. I really like this one. Port casks complement the Redbreast profile nicely. The palate is the highlight; the vibrant, dark fruit notes are most pronounced on the tongue. Overall, I’m giving the nod to the PX, but this isn’t too far behind. The former is definitely the more complete whiskey and boasts a more compelling profile, but this is a solid addition to the series in its own right. At $150, I regrettably overpaid. I guess my store was charging more than most, because of I’ve seen this as cheap as $100. Forgetting the fact that I overpaid, I’d say this wasn’t a regrettable purchase, although it’s barely worth the cost. I scale my score to the cost to determine VFM, and this one was about as close as you can get to not hitting that mark. But it did. And I’m glad to have made the purchase. Looking forward to the next one. As for this, well-earned 4.25/5.

Cracked recently in our small society for higher end bottles, as this is a $200 bottle in my neck of the woods. But, its Redbreast, and I'm never disappointed by Redbreast...right? Pours just a bit darker than expected, and definitely has some hints of the aging on the nose as it isn't as light and airy as 'standard' Redbreast (speaking to the 12 year). Its definitely still sweet...laden with honey, but also plenty of light, tropical fruits, and there is some of the port character. Flavor is more robust than 'standard' Redbreast, but there isn't necessarily more character in this sip...yes, there's some evidence of the aging, but, as much as it pains me, I'm not sure it makes it a better pour, as some of the wispy character on the palate is lost with a more syrupy, heavier sip. There's still plenty of honey and general sweetness up front, but it gets a bit full with even hints of spice on the backend. The palate feels heavy, but not cumbersome...bits of dry oak on the finish. So, is this a good pour. Yes. But I would argue Redbreast 12 is a better pour...and the Redbreast PX feels worlds beyond this pour in terms of intrigue and depth. Let's be fair, this is a mild disappointment, but maybe that's because all (and I mean all) local places (Chicagoland) carrying this bottle are at the $195-$215 price point...and at that sticker, its just not worth it.

Nose is full of dried fruit; raisin, date, black cherry, fig, nougat, caramel, and the softest of oak. Ethanol presence is very low. Palate opens with fig promised in the nose along with sherry, orange zest, peach, vanilla, hazelnut, and shortbread cookie. Flavors are on the lighter side, but very well integrated. Finish is full of grape jam, barley malt, toasty oak, clove, mint, and a milk chocolate note after everything else fades. Truly delightful. Mouthfeel is light, airy, and velvety, suiting the flavor profile perfectly. Man, I love the Iberian series from Redbreast. Far from cheap but the series offers quality and complexity and this is no exception. Maybe not as good as the PX edition, but better than the Kentucky Oak. At $99 I paid, I regret nothing and can justify a rebuy.

Good nose and initial palate with light dark fruit notes and slightly buttery. The finish trails off with a dryer and slightly bitter almond type flavors. Definitely a dram of two halves. The base whiskey tastes young. Not too heavy handed with the port which in this case didn’t do it much favors.