Category: review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

The latest limited edition to come out of the Redbreast line, the Irish Whiskey brand that helped revive single pot still whiskey, gives the whiskey a particularly regional spin on American oak.

As a Redbreast, it’s a pot still whiskey, which means it is made from a mix of malted and unmalted barley, and perhaps with a tiny amount of other grains as well. New Midleton, the distillery that makes Redbreast, Jameson, Powers and much else, actually has three different pot still whiskey distillates, dubbed light, medium and heavy. The respective mash bills and maturation preferences for this trio remain (purposefully) vague, but knowing there are three different starting squares for Midleton single pot still whiskeys make their end products much more complicated than is generally understood. For Redbreast, these would be matured primarily in either ex-bourbon barrels or ex-Sherry casks.

This Redbreast is from the American Oak Series, which takes a batch of Redbreast and gives it a spell of secondary maturation in casks made from new white oak chosen from a particular part of the United States. The first was Kentucky Oak. Now the series uses wood harvested from the Missouri part of the Ozark Mountains and made into barrels by Kelvin Cooperage. The finishing in new American oak would undoubtedly impart a degree of bourbon-esque character to the single pot still whiskey, moreso than even the ex-bourbon barrels used in primary maturation. That effect is due to bourbon (and other American whiskeys) drawing so much of their flavor from its new oak aging. In this instance, the finish lasted for one year.

That said, I think it is worth asking if Missouri oak is different enough from Kentucky oak to merit this kind of focus. In American craft circles, it’s understood that regional differences in white oak come from markedly differing climates, and thus different growing conditions. The Ozark region of Missouri is on the same latitude as the southern belt of Kentucky. Having not tried the Kentucky edition, I’m now very curious how far apart the two actually are.

The Whiskey
Bottled at 101 proof (50.5% ABV), Redbreast Missouri Oak has a light amber appearance. The nose led with a strong current of floral fruitiness, very much like standing in a fruit orchard amid the springtime blossoms. Behind that is another sweet note in the form of some thick molasses, with the spicy notes finally arising behind this: cinnamon, ginger and that pumpernickel-like note that comes up so often with malted rye. I normally don’t see that brown rye bread note arise with pot still whiskey, so it’s an odd corner for the nose. I found the palate to be similar in almost all respects, with the notable exception of a rising note of butterscotch. Even the finish launches out of that floral and fruity character, but that fades rapidly and leaves the barest sliver of peppery, musty wood to linger on.

What makes Redbreast Missouri Oak so interesting is how it bucks my expectations of a Redbreast so thoroughly. The spiciness and Sherry influence one expects are wholly gone, although the robustness is definitely there. I can’t say whether this is what the one year of new American oak maturation put into the whiskey or if it is due to some clever blending of the single pot still stocks available or both, but the whiskey is definitely different. This Redbreast is a good pour, albeit not a great one, although fans of Redbreast should come away either intrigued or a little confused.

The Price
Expect to pay $200 a bottle.