Brand: Yellow Spot
Type: Single Pot Still Whiskey
Age: 12 Years
Alcohol: 46%
Date: 13/04/2014
Colour: Amber
Nose: The typical Clean, Fruity and Creamy Nose of a Triple-Distilled Spirit. The Ex-Bourbon Casks mark their presence with Vanilla, Creme Brulee, Cinnamon and lightly Charred Oak. I also find Dried Fruit like Raisins and Apricots, Toffee, Caramel, Malt, Yeast, Butter, Toast, Banana, Apple Pie, Peach and Lemon. It's not quite as Fruity as the Redbreast 12 years and the Oak influence is stronger, particularly the Ex-Bourbon casks. Still, a very fine Nose and the best part of this Whiskey! The Alcohol is better integrated than in its sister, the NAS Green Spot.
Taste: Slightly disappointing after the Wonderful Nose. Much more Spice and Oak than the Nose would want you to believe. I find Cinnamon, Pepper, Ginger and Nutmeg, alongside Malt, Vanilla, light Honey, Lemon, Charred Wood, Milk and Butterscotch.
Finish: Middle-Long, Sweet and Spicy with a slight Alcohol Burn. I find Sweet Barley, Almond, Apple-Pie, Marzipan, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Pepper and Nutmeg. Slight Metallic After-Taste.
I added a couple of drops of Water and you get more Fruit and Apple-Pie on the Nose. But Oak and Spices become even more dominant on the Palate and in the Finish. Still, the Yellow Spot 12 years allows you to play with a couple of drops.
Rating: 86
Nose: 22.5 – Taste: 21 – Finish: 21 – Overall: 21.5
Pot Still at Lagavulin (2002 Finlay McWalter)
General Remarks: This older brother/sister of Green Spot is produced at the Pernod-Ricard owned New Middleton Distillery, Cork for Mitchell & Sons of Dublin. It’s the only Irish Brand that is thus distributed by an independent spirit merchant. The Yellow Spot matures in a combination of American Oak Ex-Bourbon Barrels, Spanish Oak Ex-Sherry Butts and Spanish Malaga Casks. It’s triple-distilled using both Malted and Unmalted Barley. The Yellow Spot is not Chill-filtered. It's not cheap but prices vary significantly, depending where you are. Anywhere between 50 and a 100 US Dollars. It is difficult to find this dram outside Ireland. But the new parent company Pernod-Ricard will most likely increase production as demand is steadily growing!
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion: Certainly at par with the Redbreast 12 Years, my favourite Irish Whiskey so far. The Redbreast presents more Fruit while the Yellow Spot has a more Oaky feel to it. I'm not a convinced fan of Triple Distilled Irish Whiskey in general but both the Redbreast and the Yellow Spot are the exceptions to the rule. If you put a gun to my head I'll go with the Redbreast because of its fantastic Nose. But there's little in it really!
Jan van den Ende April 2014
Mitchell & Sons, Dublin