Yellow Spot 12 Year Old Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey 46%

Description

Yellow Spot 12 Year Old Irish Whiskey is inspired by Mitchell & Son’s Yellow Spot whiskey of the 1950s. Both this and Green Spot Whiskey are available to buy now at Fareham Wine Cellar.

History of Mitchell & Son and the Spot Whiskey Tradition

Mitchell & Son was established in 1805 at 10 Grafton Street, Dublin and began their life as a confectionery, wine, and fortified wine business. The company, founded by the Mitchell family, expanded into the Irish whiskey trade, which was growing fast in Dublin in the 19th century. Their approach to whiskey ageing led to the creation of the iconic “Spot” whiskey range, a tradition that continues to this day. The family developed the “spot” system for tracking the ageing of their whiskey casks in their cellars at Grafton Street, where they would mark the casks with different coloured paint spots to indicate the intended maturation period:

• Blue Spot: 8 years old
• Green Spot: 10 years old 
• Yellow Spot: 12 years old
• Red Spot: 15 years old

1960s Version

The 1960s version of Yellow spot was 12 Year Old Irish Whiskey, which had a slightly sweet finish as part of the blend was single pot still whiskey aged in old Spanish Malaga casks. The wines of Malaga are similar to those of Jerez (Sherry), and there are some fantastic, sweet, treaclely, raisin-y dessert wines similar to Pedro Ximenez Sherries.

Yellow Spot 12-Year-Old Irish Whiskey

Each batch of Yellow Spot 12 Year Old Irish Whiskey is made from a mash of malted and unmalted barley, which is then triple distilled in traditional copper pot stills. Pot Still whiskies are characterised by full, complex flavours and a wonderful, creamy mouthfeel.

The whiskey is then aged for a minimum of 12 years in a combination of American bourbon barrels, Spanish sherry butts and Spanish Malaga casks which lend an exotic, spicy note the blend. Bottled at 46% ABV.

While Green Spot is often described as tasting like green apples, Yellow Spot is more in character with juicy red apples. Sophisticated and complex, the inclusion of full-term matured whiskey from ex-Malaga casks contributes exotic characteristics to the whiskey.

Today, the whiskies are made by Irish Distillers at the Midleton Distillery in Cork.