Redbreast 15 Irish!

[ThomasH]

On my way home from breakfast and errands this morning, I stopped by my favorite liquor store and spotted 3 bottles of Redbreast 15 on the shelf. The store now has 2 on the shelf as the other followed me home!

Thomas

[cigarnv]

Tom, I heard this was being imported... would like your take compared to the 12yo....

[Gillman]

I just tried this, courtesy Randy Blank, and much enjoyed it. Basically it is a more intense version of Redbreast 12: more sherry, oils, and wood. Very Irish pot still.

Gary

[tmckenzie]

Does it have a lot of that linseed oil character? We are putting up for down the road an irish style potstill whiskey. I pulled a sample the other day that is in sherry, and it was full of that character. It must come from the unmalted barley is all I can figure.

[callmeox]

I had a taste of it at Doug's and it is the first Irish that I find palatable. It doesn't have the ether/nail polish remover nose and front palate that turns me off to the other Irish expressions. It is not over sherried and has a decent balance.

If it takes a 70.00 bottle to make Irish drinkable for me, I'll stick to bourbon. :grin:

[Gillman]

I get a goodly amount of the "linseed character", I think it must be from the raw barley.

Gary

[Josh]

I haven't had either, but FWIW Hansell did a head to head with the 12 and the 15 and he seemed to like the 12 a bit more.

[ThomasH]

I tried this tonight and Gary Gillman's description of it was dead on. Definitely a more intense version of the 12. Add to the fact that it is 92 proof vs. 80 proof for the 12 and it is well worth the extra cost!

Thomas

[ggilbertva]

Does it have a lot of that linseed oil character? We are putting up for down the road an irish style potstill whiskey. I pulled a sample the other day that is in sherry, and it was full of that character. It must come from the unmalted barley is all I can figure.

[doubleblank]

If you don't like the 12yo, then the 15yo won't change your opinion. It has all the flavor elements of the 12yo amped up a bit. I bought two bottles in Dublin when the first bottling was released in 2005. This US release is extremely similar. I don't have any of the 2005 to do a direct comparison. I think I paid about $64 in St Louis on my recent road trip.

Randy

[The Boozer]

If it takes a 70.00 bottle to make Irish drinkable for me, I'll stick to bourbon. :grin:

Such a deal!!. Its only $179.98 a bottle north of the OH border.

I'll pass.

[ThomasH]

The mighty 15 is gone from the shelves of my local store and the locals are hollering for more. The clerk told me that it all sold the same day I bought mine, and mine was the first out the door!

Thomas

[CorvallisCracker]

One Portland area store got six bottles; all were sold in a 72 hour period. Fortunately, one was to me. $77. Haven't opened it yet.

[ODaniel]

Hmm. Intriguing. I love the 12yr. I wonder if it would be worth the extra money IMO.

[BigRich]

I still have seen no trace of it in Georgia.

[The Boozer]

Well big price drop in MI. Redbrest 15 will now be $80 a bottle, a drop of $100. Appears no retailer bought any bottles. Still don't know if worth the price of admission. Will wait to hear from others on the taste / quality.

[ThomasH]

My local store got 2 more cases this past week. We''ll see how fast it sells!

Thomas

[Bambusiero]

I jumped at the Redbreast 15 when it showed up, thinking it would disappear quickly. Well, a year later, and it's still on the shelves. So, no need to rush.

Someone else said it already, and I'll 2nd it. It has the very same flavors as the 12 YO, but more intense.

Now, I thought going in, that more would be better. However, now I have to say that the 12 YO has a perfect balance that is undone in the 15 YO. Still nice, but less immediately friendly to the nose and palate. Takes more concentration to appreciate. On the other hand. fleetingly, just the right amount of water brought out an unexpected tropical fruit flavor. Hard to find it again.

Mark

[ebo]

I finally bought a bottle of the 12 year old last month. I honestly can't say that I find it that much better than Busmill's Black Bush. It is good, no doubt, but I won't be spending more money for the 15 year old.

[Bambusiero]

Well, I suppose this is one of those inexplicable individual taste things.

I have a bottle of Bushmill's Black Bush, and to me it's just OK, but not special. I find it's flavors...simpler? Concocted? I can taste the grain alcohol content, too. Not strikingly so, mind you. It's just that it doesn't have that extra bit of smoothly integrated and elusive depth that Redbreast 12 does. A good deal of what's special about Redbreast is on the nose, for me.

Mark

[ebo]

Well, I suppose this is one of those inexplicable individual taste things.

I have a bottle of Bushmill's Black Bush, and to me it's just OK, but not special. I find it's flavors...simpler? Concocted? I can taste the grain alcohol content, too. Not strikingly so, mind you. It's just that it doesn't have that extra bit of smoothly integrated and elusive depth that Redbreast 12 does. A good deal of what's special about Redbreast is on the nose, for me.

Mark

I agree about the nose being special in the Red Breast. I hope I didn't come off as not liking the Red Breast... I definitely do like it. But, I can get Black Bush for $20.00 cheaper. I just don't find the Red Breast to be appreciably "better" for the extra $20.00. I might add that I find the Black Bush to be more to my liking than Jameson 12, also. It might just be that I like Black Bush. :grin: