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Red Breast 12 Year Old Reviews
- Distillery
- Red Breast
- Style
- Blended
- Release
- Unspecified
- Age
- 12 Years
- Alcohol
- 40% abv.
- Region
- Ireland
- Bottled For
- Distillery
The only aged Pure Pot still whiskey on sale today. Matured for a minimum of 12 years in Oloroso Sherry and Bourbon casks.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Anonymous
- Color
- Medium amber
- Nose
- Honey, light floral, pine, vanilla
- Body
- Medium
- Palate
- Bitter sweet with an odd pine resin undertone.
- Finish
- Short
This has a saccharin sweetness which I find unpleasant. Barely above a standard Irish like Jameson. I like scotch which double distillation provides bite and depth.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Mr Darcy
- Color
- Young Sauternes
- Nose
- Marshmallow,Vanilla cream,Citrus,Ginger spice,Wood dust,Tannins
- Body
- Light
- Palate
- Barley,Grainy,Fruity,Minty,Honey,Black pepper.
- Finish
- Warm creamy spiced arival developes into a dried fruit sweet short finish.
The Bosom of Ireland
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Anonymous
Since I try Red Breast for me there are two kind of whiskey-Red Breast and the others.Drinking it is a must at least once in a lifetime.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Anonymous
- Color
- straw, pale
- Nose
- turpentine, rubbing alcholm oranges, toffee, lilac, coffee rinds
- Body
- oily
- Palate
- sweet, candy, vanilla, watery
- Finish
- dry, hot, tingle
I read a lot about this whisky before I bought it. When I oringally opened it, the sensation of 'green' (spring, fresh cut grass, resin weeping pine) was overbearing. Notes of vanilla were strong. The sweetness in this doesn't taste natural, it's more artificial and pinches at the tongue and quickly disappears.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Anonymous
- Color
- Pale
- Nose
- Fruity and sweet, hint of vanilla
- Body
- Feuity and smooth, not for peat lovers!
- Palate
- Fruity and sweet
- Finish
- Exceptionally smooth and very drinkable
You have to have it
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by AdmTom
- Color
- Straw, very bright
- Nose
- Sweet like candy, a slight floral aspect.
- Body
- Light, flows easily, doesn't really coat the mouth but rolls smoothly around the tounge.
- Palate
- Matching the nose, sweet as candy. The first bottle I had of this I wasn't really fond of -- couldn't get the experience others had. I'm glad I gave this one a 2nd chance, because now I get it full force. As long as you don't drink too fast, each sip is like you took a standard Irish whisky and put a few sugar cubes in it. Very pleasant drink to relax with.
- Finish
- Easy finish, the floral notes from the nose return. The sweetness fades fast.
I was unimpressed at first, but I'm glad I stuck with it. This is definitely the sweetest whisky I've tried so far. I think of it as what the classic Jamison would be with a little more maturity. The Jamison 12yo is, to me, a completely different animal and almost inappropriate to compare to the Redbreast, with more of a floral aspect than sweet. The Redbreast is a great whisky to just enjoy being at home with after a day of work.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Anonymous
- Color
- golden wheat grass
- Nose
- hollow hazelnut
- Body
- full smooth and buttery
- Palate
- hazelnutty
- Finish
- a feather slowly tickling the tongue and throat
a sweet, smooth, buttery, hazelnut taste that rolls off the tongue with tiny electric shocks
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Anonymous
- Color
- Maplewood
- Nose
- Chocolaty and spicy, with a faint hint of banana.
- Body
- Slightly oily. It will leave a thin film on your palate.
- Palate
- Spicy, nutty, and woody.
- Finish
- Warm finish which pleasantly mellows into a nutty aftertaste.
This is fantastic whiskey, and the best value in the $50 USD or less range. I like to drink it in a brandy snifter myself. If you are thinking of trying this one, please do, you will not regret it.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Papa Whisky
- Color
- Solid Gold
- Nose
- Oak Wood, vanilla, Ovaltine, perfume
- Body
- Medium, Smooth
- Palate
- Fruity, naked Whoopers(no chocolate), vanilla, hints of salt, a lingering taste that I can't seem to pin point
- Finish
- sweet perfume, again the mystery taste, salt.
My malt mate "sideburns" gave me a flask full of this whisky to sample (thanks buddy). With his live reviews as he drank it for the first time and then reading how wonderful this whisky is, my curiosty was definitely peaked. In fear of feeling like the odd man out, I venture to say that this whisky, although easy to drink, did very little to excite my palate. Sort of like all dressed up and nowhere to go. For blended whisky I'll stick with JW black label.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Sideburns
- Color
- Medium amber.
- Nose
- Fresh apples with vanilla. Alcohol smell.
- Body
- Medium bodied. Smooth and sweet but not like a bourbon with that evident cloying alcohol taste.
- Palate
- No offending taste. Fruity, vanilla, light maple. A little smoke/oak. No peat. Malty sweet at the end.
- Finish
- Short finish. No burn going down. Friendly.
It's like a friendly bloke who is up for anything. But poor conversation. Too simple. Easy. I like it. I come to it when I need a break from my beloved Islay.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by JoeE
- Color
- Pure gold
- Nose
- Blissfully free of the acetone stench that I've come to associate with cheap Irish whiskey. Almost a Bourbon/Irish hybrid - charred oak, vanilla. Brown sugar, grass, just a bit of smoke.
- Body
- Medium to thick. Smooth, velvety, oily.
- Palate
- Pleasantly warm. Sweet malt, more oak. Earthy.
- Finish
- Long but not eternal. Subtle, floral. A touch of peppermint. Kind of hard to pin down.
I'd like a little more complexity but this is a fine Irish whiskey. Perfect for Bourbon drinkers or those who favor sweeter scotches. Incredibly smooth and drinkable.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Zap
- Color
- Copper-Gold Alloy, more Yellow than Red
- Nose
- You pick up: 1. The Oak (which smells like Vanilla) 2. The sweet Sherry and Malt mixing (which smells syrupy-sweet, like maple or honey, as opposed to sugary-sweet) 3. The fermented grain (which smells like rotting fruit, which some call earthiness, and those from the country will recognize as a sort of rotting wet hay or grain smell) 4. A refreshing or "zesty" sour note (which can be compared to citrus, and probably comes from the unmalted grain) 5. I agree that there is a faint note of salt. Overall, all four senses are represented - sweet, bitter, sour and salt. It's quite like how I would imagine a leprechaun would smell.
- Body
- Definitely on the thick end (synonyms include oily, creamy, full or syrupy; and the opposite being thin or watery).
- Palate
- Everything the nose promised. The oaky vanilla comes across strong, as does the sherry-malty sweet mixture, which is a thick or muted kind of sweetness (like brown sugar) rather than cloying. Not harsh in the least, certainly as smooth as any 12-year I have tried and matching many older spirits in this regard.
- Finish
- A long finish, which is very nice, you can still taste it for the better part of a minute after you swallow. It is a warm, sherry-sweet sort of finish.
Overall I get the impression that the pot still enhances the aging somehow. This is a remarkably smooth, oaky and sherry-oaky whiskey; as Nabokov might say it is "very mature for a twelve-year-old." I also found myself surprised at how much I enjoyed it, when I consider myself such a peat-smoke man. But of course, if I wanted that, why would I add an Irish selection to my bar? This is precisely for those days when I want something different. When you combine it with the fact that the pot-still method was practically invented by St. Patrick, I see no reason to buy any other widely available Irish dram.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Brass14
- Color
- amber
- Nose
- Light oak, freshly bailed hay, pears, smoke at the end
- Body
- Full, slightly oily, smooth
- Palate
- Sweet, caramelized brown sugar with banana, there's a really nice earthyness that I can't put my finger on here, citrus at the end and a soft burn
- Finish
- Perfect finish, doesn't wear out its welcome, warming, no harsh burn really smooth
I tried this whiskey because of the high reviews, I was definitely not disappointed, its perfectly balanced and well rounded smooth and easy to drink, what a treat.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Anonymous
- Color
- pale amber
- Nose
- earth
- Body
- thick
- Palate
- the peat bogs of Ireland
- Finish
- warm and zesty
best I ever had
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by ColoradoDram
- Color
- Full gold with orange.
- Nose
- Wet red clay, cooked vanilla pudding, orange/tangerine peel.
- Body
- Oily, medium bodied.
- Palate
- Bread pudding with cinnamon and milk.
- Finish
- Medium warm, so smooth and mellow for a 12 year, dry at the tail end, lasts quite long.
Dessert in a bottle! Wow...I'm serving this after a Christmas dinner of spiced ham with cloves to celebrate Irish catholics the world over. I've had three different Bushmills expressions, and I'd choose this one in a second over any of them. A better dessert whiskey than most Scottish 12 years...
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Frombeyond
- Color
- light straw
- Nose
- smells like ahot girl's dorm room with gorgeous malty smell and perfumes.
- Body
- full and oily
- Palate
- unique flavor. Big and very polished
- Finish
- nice long finish
Good whiskey! It tasted like if someone from europe came over to America and made a single malt (barley) whiskey.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Misterbork
- Color
- Amber lager
- Nose
- Ethanol, vanilla, maple sugar
- Body
- Mildly syrupy
- Palate
- Scotch followed by a wonderful praline, vanilla, maple syrup, gingerbread cookies
- Finish
- Sweet, maple syrup, vanilla, bug spray
This is my favorite Irish whiskey. It has a Scotch-like complexity followed by a wonderful maple syrup-like sweetness. Not cloying like a bourbon, but sweet like a gingerbread cookie. A great dessert whiskey. Highly Recommended!
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Anonymous
- Color
- Gold
- Nose
- Full and fruity
- Body
- Warm and intense
- Finish
- Hot
Excellent
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Saul
- Nose
- Oak, Alcohol, Some salt, Chocolate
- Body
- Wet and Oily
- Palate
- Mild, Tingy bite that diminishes quickly, Caramel flavours.
- Finish
- Cool and clean. Not terribly fascinating.
It's a nice whisky. I'm not in a real hurry to try it agian though.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Colin
- Color
- Pure gold
- Nose
- Smooth sherry notes, Vanilla, Refreshing
- Body
- Full bodied, Wet, Smooth and easy
- Palate
- An immediate explosion of complexity. Sweets, Spice, Vanilla Fudge, Smooth balance
- Finish
- A smooth and rapid fade to a clean cool finish with a hint of vanilla and some sherry left in the end.
A perfect balance of sherry and vanilla. This is a very good whiskey.
Red Breast 12 Year Old
Review by Eddie
- Color
- Amber
- Nose
- Tobacco,Honey,Vanilla, Sherry
- Body
- Full, Oily
- Palate
- Sherry, Toffee, a little Spice, Vanilla and a Lot More.
- Finish
- licorice, Long, Spicy,
This Whiskey was very good, As a matter of fact it's been an hour since I drank some and I think I'am going back for more. As far as Irish Whiskey is Concerned I believe this to be the BEST.