Side by side : Spot

Spot is one of the most iconic Irish Pot Still whiskey brands, it's owned by Mitchell & Son and distilled by Irish Distillers in Midleton.

In this blog I'm trying 3 of the core range - Green, Yellow and Red Spot

First a little history:

William Mitchell established a bakery and confectionery business in 1815 in Dublin, by 1887 he was selling wine and spirits with his son. Using new make from nearby Jameson's Bow Street Distillery, Mitchell & Son matured whiskey in a mix of casks that had been used to hold both dark ex-Oloroso and light ex-Fino sherries. These were married together is virgin oak casks and sold as Pat Whisky with a logo showing a man on a green background. In 1933, it was rebranded as "John Jameson & Son 10 Year Old Green Seal" and later became known simply as Green Spot.

The name itself originated from Mitchell's practice of marking casks of different ages with a spot of coloured paint:

Blue Spot	7yo
Green Spot	10yo
Yellow Spot	12yo
Red Spot	15yo

In 1971 when Irish Distillers, a merger of  John Power & Son, John Jameson & Son and Cork Distilleries Company, moved production to Midleton the makeup of the whiskey was altered, Mitchell & Son make an agreement with Irish Distillers to mature the whiskey onsite in Irish Distillers' own casks, but kept the sole rights to market, sell, and develop the whiskey.

Let's find out what the whiskies are like:

Dram	Green Spot	Yellow Spot 12yo	Red Spot 15yo
Characteristics	40% ABV E150a is used to ensure consistency of colouring, non-chill filtered.	46% ABV E150a is used to ensure consistency of colouring, non-chill filtered.	46% ABV E150a is used to ensure consistency of colouring, non-chill filtered.
Bottler notes	Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey is matured in a selection of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, this produces a perfectly balanced Single Pot Still expression Nose: Fresh aromatic oils and spices with orchard fruits and barley on a background of toasted wood. Taste: Full spicy body. A hint of cloves along with the fruity sweetness of green apples, rounded off with toasted oak. Finish: Lingering flavours of spices and barley.	The Yellow Spot 12 year old Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey contains single pot still components aged in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and ex-malaga wine casks. This maturation gives an added layer of complexity compared with its younger sibling Green Spot, but delves into the more complex aspects of the Single Pot Still Spirit Nose: Aromas of mown hay, cracked black pepper, nutmeg, clove oil and green tea. Sweet honey and peaches from the Malaga casks. Taste: Pot still spices, honey and red apple combine with flavours of creme brulee, fresh coffee and toasted oak all evident throughout. Finish: Sophisticated and complex with a distinctive honeyed character and a mix of red grape and dry barley.	This Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey has matured for over 15 years in a combination of American Bourbon casks, Spanish sherry butts and Sicilian Marsala wine casks, all contributing rich and complex flavours, making it the top spot in the range. Nose: Pot Still spices with rich cooked fruit, baked apple, mango and black cherry. Hazelnut and a touch of new leather fuse with toasted American oak. Taste: A mix of ripe fruit sweetness from the Marsala seasoned wine casks. While the fruit remains, sweet red pepper and cracked black pepper and some spiciness, finished by notes of American oak and barley. Finish: An extra long infusion of fruit and spices.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Lovely mid gold in the glass, swirls cling and fall as slow thin legs.	The same gold colour (coloured?), swirls cling and fall as slow thick legs.	The same gold colour (coloured?), swirls cling and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	Orange oil, strawberry jam and herbal notes. There's some cereal here too. A little stewed pear and a hint of tropical fruit rounds things off.	Similar orange and strawberry notes to the Yellow but smells a lot 'thicker'. The tropical notes are a little more pronounced along with some brown sugar sweetness.	Musty book shop notes alongside honey and orchard fruit. Dates, figs and black cherries offer some syrupy sweet notes. A little time in the glass offers some strawberry jam, nut and spice notes.
Palate	Super smooth arrival, a little honey sweetness and some parma violet notes - huge drying in the mouth. Nutmeg and clove notes offer a little gentle spice. A few more sips offers vanilla ice-cream and biscuity shortbread notes. There's some tropical fruit here too - pineapple, apricot and mango.	Again super smooth but much thicker in the mouth. Toffee apple and cinnamon spice. There's a note of Green Tea which reminded me a lot of the Mackmyra Gront Te I tried a few months ago. A little time in the glass and a few more sips offers cereal notes and again a slightly drying edge.	Again super smooth but not as thick as the Yellow - somewhere in between the previous two. This has a lot more spice - ginger warming the mouth and biting at the tongue. The strawberry jam and walnut notes from the nose are back. A few more sips offers red berry wine notes, a little tropical fruit and a slightly sour citrus note as the liquid disappears.
Finish	Medium length vanilla, apple and cinnamon spice, quite drying.	Lingering sweet honey, a little icing sugar dryness.	Lingering vanilla and apple - a little strawberry and again icing sugar dryness.
Overall	These are all examples of triple distilled, traditional Irish Pot Still whiskey using a combination of malted and unmalted barley and giving a tell tale super smooth arrival in the mouth. The Green wasn't lacking in it's 40%, a surprise, equally as good as it's two stronger older brothers. They all shared orchard fruit / tropical fruit notes - getting stronger as the age increased as did the spice. The dryness seemed to decrease as the age increased. For me the Yellow hit the spot (!) as the best of the three.

Many thanks to @GeoffGilmore1 and @whiskeychap for the samples!

You can read my review of the Green Spot Wine Cask finishes here!

There is a rumour that the Blue Spot may see a return soon in the form of a 7yo Cask Strength release....

And it did in November 2020!