DRAMFINDER VERDICT
The benchmark Irish single pot still. Sherried, spicy, oily, the bottle that proves Irish whiskey isn't all light and easy
86DRAMFINDER SCORE / 100
QUALIFIED
92+DEFINITIVE88-91RECOMMENDED84-87QUALIFIED80-83TASTE-DEPENDENT<80PASS
One number, 0 to 100. It blends independent critic ratings, community sentiment, how widely the bottle is discussed, and how consistent it has stayed across bottlings. This one lands in the QUALIFIED band. The critic average below is just one of those ingredients, not the headline.
Redbreast 12 is the flagship of the single pot still style (a uniquely Irish category, using a mash of malted and unmalted barley triple-distilled in pot stills), made at the Midleton distillery, bottled at 40% ABV, matured in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It is the bottle that demolishes the lazy assumption that Irish whiskey is all light, easy, and forgettable. Redbreast 12 is rich and spicy: dried fruit, Christmas cake, a distinctive pot-still 'pepperiness', toffee, a faint nuttiness, an oily mouth-feel. It has been a critical darling for decades and the community treats it as the Irish whiskey to own.
The 40% ABV is the main limitation (the Cask Strength version at ~57% is the obsessive's pick), but at 40% it is still full-flavoured in a way most Irish whiskey isn't. For £50 to £65 it is a genuinely distinctive whiskey, the gateway to a category Scotch drinkers often overlook.
Buy this if you want to taste what Irish whiskey can actually be, or you want a sherried, spicy, oily whiskey that isn't Scotch. Skip it if you specifically want cask strength (go for the Redbreast 12 Cask Strength). The right price is £50 to £62. Above £70 the Cask Strength version is the better buy.
TASTING NOTESDRAMFINDER EDITORIAL
Nose
Dried fruit, Christmas cake, toffee, a distinctive pot-still pepperiness, a faint walnut, a touch of orange. Rich for a 40% whiskey.
Palate
Dried fruit and toffee at the front, then the pot-still spice (pepper, ginger, a faint clove), an oily mouth-feel, a sherry-led sweetness. Fuller than most Irish whiskey.
Finish
Medium to long. Dried fruit, pot-still spice, and an oak warmth fade together. Spicier and oilier than a comparable Scotch.
PAIRINGFOOD · CIGAR · SETTING
Food: Christmas cake, dark chocolate, dried fruit and nuts, mature cheddar. Cigar: medium Habano. Setting: after dinner, a digestif, or to show a Scotch drinker that Irish whiskey can punch.
HOW IT HAS CHANGED OVER TIMEBOTTLING BY BOTTLING
Averaging 84 to 87 across 2 dated bottlings. Older bottlings tend to score higher.
WHAT REVIEWERS SAYINDEPENDENT REVIEWS
"I haven't tried the 12 since… hold on, 2010! (WF 84 back then). And hold on again, this is a 'single pot still' as well, while I remember older bottles used to display 'pure pot still'. Oh well, maybe that's the same, and maybe oat is allowed. Colour: light gold. Nose: certainly 'pure pot still' as far as its style is concerned, which I would describe as 'gently metallic, slightly cereally and delicately tropical'. In other words, mango and maracuja juice kept in a copper jar."
2021 BOTTLING
"Some kind of benchmark to start with, if you will. Colour: gold. Nose: we used to find this rather bigger than others, but by today's standards, it's become light whisky. Having said that, it's still very seductive, pretty complex, with these teas and softer waxes, butter cream, banana skins, honeys… We've tried a more recent batch just in March this year, but this very one seems to be more complex, almost assertive, and very 'pure pot still'. Mouth: rooty, especially with celeriac and chicory coffee. Not sure I've ever noticed this, OBE already? Also big notes of shredded carrot."
2018 BOTTLING
CRITIC AND COMMUNITYCONSENSUS
46%
POSITIVE · 352 MENTIONS
POSITIVE 47% · MIXED 4% · NEUTRAL 48% · NEGATIVE 1%
Solid but not standout in either dimension.
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU BUY THISLIFTING THE VEIL
WHY IT’S BOUGHT
- plusThe benchmark single pot still Irish whiskey. Proves Irish whiskey isn't all light and easy.
- plusThe distinctive pot-still 'pepperiness' and oily mouth-feel aren't found in Scotch.
- plusA critical darling for decades. The Irish whiskey to own if you own one.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- caveat40% ABV is the main limitation. Full-flavoured for Irish whiskey, but the Cask Strength version has more.
- caveatSingle pot still is an unfamiliar category to many drinkers; the spice profile takes adjustment.
- caveatPernod Ricard (owns Midleton/Redbreast) has raised the price as the brand's reputation has spread. It was a £40 to £50 bottle a decade ago.
BEHIND THE LABEL
- flagThe Irish whiskey boom has spawned many 'sourced' brands (whiskey bought from Midleton or Bushmills and rebranded). Redbreast is genuinely distilled and aged at Midleton, but the category as a whole has a transparency problem worth knowing about.
- flagPernod Ricard's expansion of the Redbreast range (15, 21, 27, Lustau, the Iberian/Pedro Ximénez editions) is partly a premiumisation play; the 12 remains the one with the longest track record.