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Green Spot Irish Whiskey

tall clear bottle of Green Spot Irish Whiskey with a green and white label with gold lettering

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GREEN SPOT IRISH WHISKEY

JOSH'S RATING:
4/5

About Green spot Irish Whiskey

After my recent experience with Redbreast 12, I was eager to try another Irish whiskey. And, I thought it would be a nice comparison to try Green Spot Irish Whiskey since it’s from the same distillery, but has a very different flavor profile.

Green Spot is a single pot stilled Irish whiskey currently distilled in the Midleton Distillery, the same distillery as Redbreast and Jameson. It’s produced in collaboration with Mitchell and Son’s, the originator of the Green Spot brand.

The Mitchell family were well know in Dublin, Ireland in the early 1800’s as tea, confectionary, and wine merchants, but expanded their business to include whiskey bonding in 1805. During this time in history, Irish whiskey distilleries didn’t sell their own spirits, but would sell casks of their product to retailers known as bonders. These bonders would then use any combination of aging, blending, and bottling before selling the whiskey to consumers.

Since Michell and Son’s already had wine barrels from their wine business, they started using them to age whiskey from the nearby Jameson distillery. To keep track of the ages, they would mark the barrels with a spot of different color paint, hence the name Green Spot. Blue, Red, and Yellow were the other colors in their line of whiskies, with Green Spot being aged 7-10 years.

Bottle Specs

❖ Spirit: Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Distillery: Midleton Distillery

ABV: 40% (80 Proof)

❖ Aged 7-10 years

❖ Moderate-High Price

Tasting Notes

My Tasting Notes 

Color: Gold

❖ Nose: First thought is it smells like an orchard, Apple, Spice, Toffee, Vanilla

Taste: Spice, Vanilla, Oak, slight apple sweetness

Finish: Long, Sweet apricot, wood

yellow gold liquid in a glencairn glass

Cocktail

gold liquid with large ice cubes in a rocks glass with a sprig of mint as a garnish

Hightower

¾ oz. fresh lemon juice

¾ oz. honey syrup

2 oz. Irish whiskey

❖ Combine all ingredients into a shaking tin and shake until chilled (10-15 seconds)

❖ Pour into a rocks glass filled with ice and garnish with a mint sprig

I like that you only need to change a few things about an existing cocktail recipe to create a meaningfully different experience. While searching the internet for some recipes using Irish whiskey, this recipe from the Imbibe caught my eye. Since I was already a big fan of the Gold Rush, I was curious how Irish whiskey and a mint garnish would change the cocktail.

This is a really well balanced cocktail, with the sweetness from the honey mixing well with the tart lemon juice. I could still get some of the spice notes from the Green Spot, and the mint adds a subtle sweetness. There’s also basically no alcohol burn, since Green Spot is a pretty mellow whiskey.

Bottom Line

RATING: 4/5

I think Irish whiskey might be my new favorite type of whiskey, and I really enjoyed Green Spot Irish Whiskey. It’s a really pleasant experience with some sweet and approachable flavors, but still enough complexity to keep you coming back. I was immediately transported to an orchard with my first smell, and the taste was a nice balance of spice, vanilla and wood.

I’m glad I tried Green Spot so close to Redbreast 12 year because they’re completely different experiences, despite being distilled using the same process in the same distillery. Redbreast was heavy with strong vanilla and nutty flavors, while Green Spot was a little bit lighter with strong fruit notes. I still generally prefer Redbreast, but will sometimes opt for the fruity and spicy notes in Green Spot.

Another reason I might choose Green Spot is the price. It’s around $50 in my area which is a little bit cheaper than Redbreast. This does mean it’s priced a little too high to be recommended as a cocktail spirit, even though I thought it worked well in the Hightower cocktail. Green Spot is an option for anyone looking for an approachable whiskey.

As always, drink responsibly.

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