I did not sample many Irish whiskeys, but I had a bottle of Yellow spot a year ago. Splendid stuff, delicate, flowery with sweet notes and summer warmth!! Cheers!
Hello Sir, Thank you, you have always had a role in my whiskey journey. I need to point out though, that the Irish Spot range is not essentially an independent Jameson. Yes the same distillery, but by being "Irish Single Por Still" it is defined and regulated and not an Irish blend. Thank you again for all your wise insights
I once found a single bottle of Red Spot in a duty free in Schipol airport. The single best Irish whiskey I’ve ever had; up there with the top shelf Teeling using the old barrels from Cooley distillery. It’s pricey but *well* worth it for anyone looking for top tier Irish whiskey. (Also, that vintage Green Spot looks incredible!).
Just watched your review Ralfy. Thank you so much. I bought a bottle after your review. And I took my first sip having only experienced the grocery store version of Jamesons. My eyes opened wide in surprise and appreciation of what was going on in my mouth! God bless you! About to try some redbreast single pot cask strength as well. Cheers to you mate, I can’t think of another person who’s opinion means more to me regarding whisk(e)y. Thanks again.
It's good to diversify, if even just a little. Personally, I don't keep to one sub section of whisk(e)y as my palate seems to desire something different every day
Thanks for the video. My favourite malternative so far has been Three Ships 10-year-old. I haven't delved into Irish Whiskies yet, but definitely will soon. Looking forward to your next extras video!
Just picked up two bottles of this one on limited release here in Canada. Great stuff. I'm excited to get into a bottle of Blue Spot when it comes available in Canada March 2021.
Much good malts coming from Ireland at the moment! A couple of years ago (not 16 though!) I tasted the Green Spot as my first Irish. After that came Teeling, Redbreast and Powers John's Lane. All wonderful pot stills with their own character. Dingle came out with their first port finished batch, but it was too sharp / young at the time and tbh I haven't tasted another Dingle since. Another thing: @ralfydotcom - you said when you were at Glenallachie distillery that you were going to buy several bottles of the 15yo and be reviewing it. I'm patiently waiting for that review!
Hi Ralfy. Im asking a few you tubers if they can turn on the captions. My Dad is 91 and stone deaf but a life-long Malty. He will love your channel with the captions/sub-titles. Cheers mate.
When Ralfy mentioned that it’s not a sweet whiskey, in spite of the fruit heavy flavour and smell profile, I’d completely agree and extend that to Green Spot. I get a really interesting saltiness from Green Spot in spite of the baked banana and fresh fruit flavors and smells that are contained in it
Hey Ralf .. a blind man can easily tell how much content is remaining in the bottle just by the sound of the cork being pulled so in respect for our blind whisky malt mates always give a few beautiful twisty squeaks and a good pop to enhance the moment! :-) Slāngè fra Montreal
I love Green spot. Favorite Irish so far. Very complex, and flavourful, especially considering the strength and how friendly it is. Totally a great beginner whiskey, but also great for advanced drinkers. Sweet (not savory), but not supersweet, nice mouthfeel. The notes (both on the nose and flavour) I find in it are rather similar than my favorite dry white wine. Stonefruit, green apple, pear, floral, melon, even a coconutty dry-ness. Besides the ever present buttery, vanilla, cereal, light caramel notes. I would consider myself a Scotch whisky lover. But I'm probably most defensive about Green Spot. And I find the bottle empties quicker than some of my others.
@@thewhiskybothy Hi Ralfy, thanks again for the Malt Mention in 852 :-) The 'Maldivian' was as in the country Maldives and the 'Marilyn' was as in Monroe. Here's a Malt Mention I'd love to hear - 'Hello you Malty McMaltfaced Maltbots'.
Ralfy, can you tell if there are whiskies that are like at highest 16 years old but still can compete with way older whiskies like 20+ years. I just don't wanna pay 100+ Euro for a bottle, stand alone, like 300 or above prices. And i love it that you are no snob, and mostly review whiskies that are payable.
This looks very interesting. I've never tried Irish whiskey, but this seems like it matches my flavour preferences quite well. Only thing is the price! More than £70 for a 12 yr old is getting up there. I don't think I've paid that for any top 12 yr old single malts!
I only gave Irish a try recently too, Red Breast's 12 is a lot more affordable age-wise than Spot's offerings. Powers 12 was on sale on Amazon over black friday, so is worth keeping an eye on as time goes by. Don't forget the basic Bushmills 10, though. It may be a generic blend, but as an introduction to Irish, or a companion to other things you're trying, it's inexpensive - especially on sales - and well worth a shot.
I recently bought the latest Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength for around the £75 mark. I usually don't go above 60, however in some cases when you taste the likes of Lagavulin or older Glenfarclas it makes it worth it.
As always: entertaining educational and some our your (non-chill-filtered) opinion ! Unfortunately I'm out of Irish Whiskey at the moment. BTW really enjoyed your book.
What about Connemara? Until recently the only peated irish.. Hope to see more irish whisky reviews since there's very good stuff coming from there this days.
@@aatt2895 I'm all over scottish peat - I love it! I did not had yet the opportunity to try the yellow, only the green (and the blue is an unicorn were I'm at). Cheers!
@@davidelourenco2537 I do like my Scottish peat, the Yellow Spot is a different animal, as good a crisp golden Irish Whiskey as you can lay hand on. I am Irish.
@@aatt2895 I have friends living there in Waterford and I visited Irlanda twice (still have a lot to see once this times are over). I'm chasing that green spot already and also the Glendaloch 10 Mizunara finish. Have you had the chance to tast it already? Cheers from Portugal!
@@p3r1h4ck3r Blue Spot is quite new and not available in many places. US malt mates should look for it on the shelves in March 2020. It won't be cheap at somewhere near $90.
Hi Ralphy, are you sure that single pot still comes from "one run of one copper pot" at 6:36?? It's a run but via three different copper pot stills, and just like single malt, can be "blended" with other runs of the same kind. The pot still type comes from the mash bill of >30% malted + >30% unmalted barley + no more than 5% other grains. Teeling does 50/50 for example: run through 3 stills, I saw it.
Seeing I've recently invested in a Bushmills 16 for around the similar kind of money, I'm hoping one day to be able to source a Yellow or Red Spot if they ever release another batch of the latter.
I just tasted through a mini sampler of Redbreast 12, Lustau and 15. I don't see the reason for excitement and certainly not for the high prices. Easy, smooth sipping? Sure. Nothing offensive... And nothing interesting, not engaging. It was certainly educational, I could taste how this style is the granddaddy of bourbon but in my opinion bourbon is the more interesting spirit (due to new charred barrels). And single malt is my favorite, whether Scottish or Irish. I'll have to taste again (never judge a whiskey by one tasting) but I don't see myself buying Yellow Spot for $110 US. And yes, I like all kinds of malternatives, rum, rye, cognac, you name it. Single pot still might just not be my thing. Incidentally, the 3-pack sample of Redbreast is priced locally $14.99, which makes it literally ~9% cheaper to buy a bunch of them than to buy full size bottles, which rarely ever happens, typically mini bottles are a ripoff in terms of price per unit. So for me this was a great way to go to try without spending on full bottles).
I upvoted Ralfy's video, of course. I don't have to like or afford what he's reviewing to benefit from the information. It was a bit amusing as I was at a store hours before the review came out and a lady asked for advice on what to get her husband. She told me what he likes and what he tried and I showed her a few suggestions from bourbon, Scotch and Irish and she picked Yellow Spot. Then I come home and see this review :) I hope the gentleman likes it and finds this video.
Just tried green spot for the first time last week. Give it props for being different but it wasn't hitting my fancy. I'll go back to it in a couple weeks I'm not giving up on it yet Malt mates 💯🥃
I've had a few bottles, and enjoy them. I get a linseed oil flavor and the Malaga wine flavor is different. It is expensive for a 12yo, $99.00 in New Jersey.
Hello Ralfy, would love to hear your opinion on glenallachie 10 years old cask strength, for some was the best CS of 2020, plus i just bought a bottle 😄
I think he’s referring to finished whiskey that is one dimensional and relies solely on cask for flavor not so much the malt! If that’s helps lol cheers 🥃
I just tried Green Spot and have been really enjoying it, although I’m a scotch drinker for sure. Guess it’s time to lay down the green for a little Yellow...Spot. Now I get it: S(ingle) pot(still) = Spot.
It's great stuff, but the price has to come down. As an irishman I'd love to support the distilleries here, but turns my stomach coughing over 90 euros for a 12 year old.
Agreed. Over pricing Irish whiskey is going to destroy it. People that know their whiskey will have too high an expectation and be underwhelmed. Redbreast range is the best but Ralfy's right we need more distilleries in Irelsnd doing good single pot still versions.
@@alanrobinson375 I just sampled Redbreast 12, Lustau and 15. Color me underwhelmed. And not planning to buy Yellow Spot. I just bought a gift box of Loch Lomond 12 46% with 50ml bottles of Inchmurrin 12 and Inchmoan 12 peated for half price of Redbreast 12. Glendronach 12, Aberlour, Old Pulteney, Deanston, and many others are cheaper.
Yeah, sadly overpriced here in Boston which should be a haven for Irish whiskey! (Of course the shelves are groaning with handles of Jameson if that's what you want.) Somebody over there, please hear our call for more affordable choices!
Great stuff as always Ralfy. But question for you or the community. You said you’d rate it quite well, in which you delivered an 89 (out of 100 correct?). That is a B+ where I come from and not even in the A range. Have you ever given a whiskey rating of over 97 (I’ve never seen one) and is their a central repository where we can view all your ratings in a spreadsheet? Thanks so much!
When red spot came out it was 115 for me and now its 130, although yellow is 80 I can find it for 70 and once 60. I'd get chateau leoville barton out of all of them as its the best for flavour and price to me blue spot would take its place if it wasn't sold out
The spot whiskies don't fit in to the Scotch whisky definition system. The nearest you could get would be " single blend ". All of the spot whiskies are distilled by Jameson at Midleton Ireland and all are a blend of malted barley, unmalted barley and corn. Irish law limits the corn content to a maximum of 5%.
I don't think that "single pot still" can legally be a blend. It's distilled from a mash (like a proto-bourbon that it is). They might be able to blend casks and ages but only from that distillery and still, as I understand. I'd love to see a clarification if I got it wrong.
@@alexk3088 If Yellow Spot was being distilled in Scotland then it would have to be labelled as a blend. " single blend " is not a product description recognised by Scottish law. I just made it up as an approximation.
@@sav7568 actually, "single pot still" whiskey like Spot under Scottish whisky law would be a "single grain". "Single" means from one distillery and "grain" means from a mash of any grains. They don't have to be (and cannot be) from one grain. You can't ferment a mash of grain without at least adding some malt (unless you add enzymes). In fact, "bourbon" would be "single grain" under Scottish law. Sure, it's traditional to use column-distilled grain whisky in Scotland, but I don't think the law proscribes pot still grain, not as I read it.
@@alexk3088 If you want to use the exact Scotch whisky jargon then the spot whiskies would be called " Blended Scotch Whisky ". Single Grain Scotch Whisky cannot contain any single malt, see Regulation (3)(2)(a) but can include any grain that isn't malted barley.
@@sav7568 spot whiskeys are "single pot still". They do not contain any single malt, but they contain malted barley as part of the mash bill (like bourbon). That is exactly what "single grain Scotch whisky" is, just a bit more specific that it's pot stilled. Legally it would still qualify for that category. There's no blending of separate grain and malt spirits.
A lovely whiskey, no doubt. I’ve enjoyed it. But at a price point at least one third higher than the Redbreast 12 y.o. cask strength (here in Los Angeles)? Redbreast 12 c.s. hard to beat.
I like my scotch and japanese whisky but as for Irish I go with Redbreast and yellow spot. I agree with your score, l might give it a 90 though. Ralfy pls review Yamazaki 12.
Hi Ralfy, by blended of pot stills do you mean Scotch whisky single malt are a blend of pot stills due to the practice of using beer stills + whisky stills in one distillery? So far, only Loch Lomond has different models of pot stills for variety.
At Scotch single malt distilleries there are only pot stills. But they can be very different in shape. Just look up Glenfiddich still room as example. And it's the same for Irish single malt. Scotch is twice distilled (mostly), Irish is triple distilled. But big Irish distilleries like Middleton are not like single malt distilleries of Scotland. They make single malt, single pot still and column distilled grain for blends.
@@johngo3715 not Scotch. A "beer still" in the US is a column still (common in bourbon production), not allowed for Scotch single malt as far as I know. But they use a pot still for the first distillation of "low wines" and the mash is basically a beer, so the first still might be called a beer still, the second - a spirit still. Loch Lomond also produces grain whisky and blends, that's why they have Coffey stills. That makes them somewhat like Middleton. But I don't think anything but pot stills are allowed for single malt production in Scotland or Ireland.
@@alexk3088 beer still or low wines still. Different names but the same application. That's just like saying American whisky prefer to use the term single barrel while Scotch likes to use single cask. The point is, single malt Scotch distilleries mostly use 2 types of pot still for their single malt.
@@alexk3088 also, yes, Loch Lomond has one or two traditional column stills which can't be used to make single malt Scotch. But I bet would make good whisky
I just got a bottle of Green Spot and tasted it for the first time last night and was amazed by how damn good it was. If you told me it was a scotch instead of an Irish whiskey, I wouldn't have argued that!
@@martinbeen Most decent 12 year old single malts are in the $50-$70 range by me. I'm not sure why this Yellow Spot is at such a premium. I can get the Redbreast 12 cask strength for around $75.
@@xiamengbaby I buy my whiskies online here in Nederland. i always look for te ones that are on sale. Most i paid for a 12 year old is 37,50 Euro for a 12 year old, and that was a GlenAlachie 12 years. My mother bought for a birthday gift for my brother a Mortlach 12 years in the local shop there for 60 Euro, but on the site i shop it was 40 Euro.
$110 for me. There are several "integrity" malts I'd rather get 2 bottles of for this amount. You can even get some 18yo malts at this price point. Ouch.
Yes, sadly, they are rushing to catch up with the scottish - more sadly: at times, worse quality is even more expensive than Scotch. I guess that will normalize over time. On the other hand, I think Irish Whiskey overall deserves to be on par with Scotch! For my personal taste, it is a much better malternative than Bourbon. But that is really personal taste! I know the green spot - the yellow is on my “buy soon” list! blue and red … well … not easily available where I live, and freakishly expensive! By the way: The spot Whiskeys are branding wise stupidly named: If you want to buy them online, you find them not under “S” for “Spot” but under “G” for Green, “B” for blue, “Y” for Yellow and “R” for Red. Only very sophisticated shop systems give you all “SPOT” together. I find this to be a disadvantage. and finally a Malt Mention: Misty-eyed musers over malt-mashed mouthfulls
