Official PCF Whisk(e)y Thread (20 Viewers)

Pinkdan said:
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That bottle got fantastic reviews. Better than the 18 year from this year.
 
I have a nice sample flight of the Spot lineup (thank you again @Saoliver!) that I think I'm going to try today.

Here's the order I was considering:

Green - 80p, NAS (7 to 10 years)
Yellow - 92p, 12 years
Red - 92p, 15 years
Gold - 102.8, 9 years
Blue - 117.4p, 7 years

Some notes & caveats. To date, I've only tried Green, and only a few times. These have been pretty scarce bottles in my area, they started popping up around a year ago and at stupid prices. They've only just recently come down closer to MSRP, and I do now have bottles of Green, Yellow and Blue that I can "refill" samples and compare in a separate tasting.

Based on the descriptions on Mitchell & Sons site, I figured grouping the Green, Yellow and Red together made sense, and then follow with Gold and then Blue at the higher proofs. I could also save the Gold & Blue for another day if I felt my palate needed a break. I usually prefer 2oz samples when drinking but also drink mostly barrel proof stuff that I feel sometimes needs that extra amount to allow the palate to fully acclimate; with the drams in this lineup, I think 1oz samples will work fine. The samples I have are all 2oz so that will afford me the opportunity to run it again down the road :)

Any thoughts or recommendations from the irish fans?
 
Highli99 said:
Leeroy Jenkins is my favorite meme, and I’ve never even played Wow. I was a huge fan of Warcraft 1 and Warcraft 2 though, also StarCraft. But they were different types of games. But I use that reference all the time. People only get it about 20%. So funny tho
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“At least I have chicken.”
 
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Spot Flight, Part I

Green Spot
Nose: lovely soft nose, apple orchard with a bit of dark red fruit from the sherry cask, with some mingling spice (barley) notes in the background.

Palate: fruity sweet green apple hits you up front, soft toasted oak and pot still spice sets in as it sits and dries. Earthy and natural but very smooth, approachable and drinkable.

Finish: subtle sweet oak, dries ever so slightly with the oak, pot still and barley notes.

Score: 90 (crazy value for $60!)

Yellow Spot
Nose: similar apple orchard initial hit, but its not quite as fresh and sweet, more of older, ripe red apple aroma. Lots of influence from the wine cask as well, very similar to the Balvenie madeira nose. I'm also getting a bit of baking spice like a nutmeg.

Palate: very similar to the nose - rich, ripe red apple and dark honey up front that quickly yeilds to the dry red wine notes. As it dries the oak and pot still notes ramp up, and the slight uptick in proof from the Green Spot is noticable (in a very good way). Full, oily mouthfeel that coats very well. "Sophisticated" - my pinky is in the air upon tasting lol

Finish: smooth medium long finish that features a balance of that dry red grape/win and oak.

Score: 94

Red Spot
Nose: lots going on here. The sweet apple orchard notes are there, but they're darker. More bourbon-esque notes, black cherry, barred charred oak, and hints of leather.

Palate: much more forcefull on the palate, again there's alot going on here. The bourbon and marsala cask influence brings lots of charred oak and dry red wine notes, the sweet apple takes more of a back seat. Black pepper and pot still spices. A little bitterness as it sits and dries.

Finish: medium to long finish, pot still and oak notes.

Score: 91

‐--------

These were all excellent. The noses especially, I honestly spent more time with my schnoz buried in the glen cairn than I did actually tasting. Of these 3, the yellow was easily my favorite, I enjoyed the slightly darker profile, it had that slight extra punch and just had so much going on. One could argue, though, that the green is the most unique, that fresh green apple flavor is like nothing I've tasted in another dram. And for $60, I will always have a bottle on hand going forward. I believe I grabbed a bottle of yellow at $115, and while it's certainly not twice as good, I will likely shoot to have a bottle of this on hand as well. At $300+ around here, the red would be a pass. I loved the black cherry notes, but beyond that there wasn't enough to justify the big uptick in price.
 
Irish said:
View attachment 1311822

Spot Flight, Part I

Green Spot
Nose: lovely soft nose, apple orchard with a bit of dark red fruit from the sherry cask, with some mingling spice (barley) notes in the background.

Palate: fruity sweet green apple hits you up front, soft toasted oak and pot still spice sets in as it sits and dries. Earthy and natural but very smooth, approachable and drinkable.

Finish: subtle sweet oak, dries ever so slightly with the oak, pot still and barley notes.

Score: 90 (crazy value for $60!)

Yellow Spot
Nose: similar apple orchard initial hit, but its not quite as fresh and sweet, more of older, ripe red apple aroma. Lots of influence from the wine cask as well, very similar to the Balvenie madeira nose. I'm also getting a bit of baking spice like a nutmeg.

Palate: very similar to the nose - rich, ripe red apple and dark honey up front that quickly yeilds to the dry red wine notes. As it dries the oak and pot still notes ramp up, and the slight uptick in proof from the Green Spot is noticable (in a very good way). Full, oily mouthfeel that coats very well. "Sophisticated" - my pinky is in the air upon tasting lol

Finish: smooth medium long finish that features a balance of that dry red grape/win and oak.

Score: 94

Red Spot
Nose: lots going on here. The sweet apple orchard notes are there, but they're darker. More bourbon-esque notes, black cherry, barred charred oak, and hints of leather.

Palate: much more forcefull on the palate, again there's alot going on here. The bourbon and marsala cask influence brings lots of charred oak and dry red wine notes, the sweet apple takes more of a back seat. Black pepper and pot still spices. A little bitterness as it sits and dries.

Finish: medium to long finish, pot still and oak notes.

Score: 91

‐--------

These were all excellent. The noses especially, I honestly spent more time with my schnoz buried in the glen cairn than I did actually tasting. Of these 3, the yellow was easily my favorite, I enjoyed the slightly darker profile, it had that slight extra punch and just had so much going on. One could argue, though, that the green is the most unique, that fresh green apple flavor is like nothing I've tasted in another dram. And for $60, I will always have a bottle on hand going forward. I believe I grabbed a bottle of yellow at $115, and while it's certainly not twice as good, I will likely shoot to have a bottle of this on hand as well. At $300+ around here, the red would be a pass. I loved the black cherry notes, but beyond that there wasn't enough to justify the big uptick in price.
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I agree. Red is good but overpriced if you can find it. Maybe it will also become easier to find like Blue Spot. Yellow is the best of the three and I can get it at Total Wine.
 
Irish said:
Hmm. This Blue Spot is absolutely fucking garbage. Don't waste your time gents, not worth your hard earned cash. Take my word on that and just don't ask any further. 100% :tup:
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Remind me not to bring any of my favorites to JiJ because we obviously have way different tastes
 
Irish said:
View attachment 1311822

Spot Flight, Part I

Green Spot
Nose: lovely soft nose, apple orchard with a bit of dark red fruit from the sherry cask, with some mingling spice (barley) notes in the background.

Palate: fruity sweet green apple hits you up front, soft toasted oak and pot still spice sets in as it sits and dries. Earthy and natural but very smooth, approachable and drinkable.

Finish: subtle sweet oak, dries ever so slightly with the oak, pot still and barley notes.

Score: 90 (crazy value for $60!)

Yellow Spot
Nose: similar apple orchard initial hit, but its not quite as fresh and sweet, more of older, ripe red apple aroma. Lots of influence from the wine cask as well, very similar to the Balvenie madeira nose. I'm also getting a bit of baking spice like a nutmeg.

Palate: very similar to the nose - rich, ripe red apple and dark honey up front that quickly yeilds to the dry red wine notes. As it dries the oak and pot still notes ramp up, and the slight uptick in proof from the Green Spot is noticable (in a very good way). Full, oily mouthfeel that coats very well. "Sophisticated" - my pinky is in the air upon tasting lol

Finish: smooth medium long finish that features a balance of that dry red grape/win and oak.

Score: 94

Red Spot
Nose: lots going on here. The sweet apple orchard notes are there, but they're darker. More bourbon-esque notes, black cherry, barred charred oak, and hints of leather.

Palate: much more forcefull on the palate, again there's alot going on here. The bourbon and marsala cask influence brings lots of charred oak and dry red wine notes, the sweet apple takes more of a back seat. Black pepper and pot still spices. A little bitterness as it sits and dries.

Finish: medium to long finish, pot still and oak notes.

Score: 91

‐--------

These were all excellent. The noses especially, I honestly spent more time with my schnoz buried in the glen cairn than I did actually tasting. Of these 3, the yellow was easily my favorite, I enjoyed the slightly darker profile, it had that slight extra punch and just had so much going on. One could argue, though, that the green is the most unique, that fresh green apple flavor is like nothing I've tasted in another dram. And for $60, I will always have a bottle on hand going forward. I believe I grabbed a bottle of yellow at $115, and while it's certainly not twice as good, I will likely shoot to have a bottle of this on hand as well. At $300+ around here, the red would be a pass. I loved the black cherry notes, but beyond that there wasn't enough to justify the big uptick in price.
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20240414_171019.jpg


Spot Flight, Part Deux

Gold Spot
Nose: very sweet and proofy. Similar green apple notes, but a bit more on the sweet and sugary side vs the "orchard" note. Background has pot still spice, french vanilla and a very light nutty note.

Palate: sweet red fruit and coupled with a black pepper spice at the front of the palate. Oak and some baking slices come to the front as it sits. Flavorful but kinda all over the place.

Finish: long finish with dry oak and pot still spices. A tad bitter.

Score: 90 - I need to revisit this one, it was good but something just seemed a hair off


Blue Spot
Nose: crazy bright vanilla and sweet green apple punch up front, with oak and baking spices quickly to follow. Maybe clove? It oddly works, and I normally don't care for clove. Actually I hate clove, but it works here. It hits hard, obviously a step up in proof, and again in a very, very good way. Pot still spice lingers in the background.

Palate: ooof this hits so good. Warm vanilla, sweet oak, dark red fruit, those warmer apple orchard notes bang hard up front, but you also get the unmistakable pot still irish notes. All encompassing mouthfeel, full and spicy without being bitter or overbearing. This gives you the freshness of the green and the complexity of the yellow, cranked up to 13. Wow.

Finish: this sits and lasts forever. Dries just a bit, but many of the sweet vanilla and dark fruit notes hang on.

Score: 97

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I'm glad I saved half the samples, because I need to run these two again, need to give the gold another shot. Something was just a bit off, but perhaps the prior samples played into that. But the Blue, OMG that was next level.

Next up (another day lol) will be a comparison between the Blue Spot and Red Breast 12 Cask Strength. Because there can be only one....

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Irish said:
View attachment 1311822

Spot Flight, Part I

Green Spot
Nose: lovely soft nose, apple orchard with a bit of dark red fruit from the sherry cask, with some mingling spice (barley) notes in the background.

Palate: fruity sweet green apple hits you up front, soft toasted oak and pot still spice sets in as it sits and dries. Earthy and natural but very smooth, approachable and drinkable.

Finish: subtle sweet oak, dries ever so slightly with the oak, pot still and barley notes.

Score: 90 (crazy value for $60!)
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Have you tried Powers John’s Lane 12yo, Matt?
 
Anyone ever tried these? This is at my local store, I’ve never seen these before.

Description:As the third and final experimental release of 2023, we continued to test the effect that barrel size had on the finished product. A typical bourbon barrel holds 200L, and in this experiment we aged bourbon barrels in two larger barrels - 250L and 500L - on the same floor for the same amount of time. The results revealed that the 500L had a lighter finish than the control barrels, altering the balances between the oak and the recipe.

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Thank you @Irish. I’ll need to get a bottle now.

The nose is sweet red fruits. Like a fruity red wine but also delicate floral notes. Palate is more red fruit but then turns a bit more sour like apricot jam with toasty notes. Finish is a little spicy oak that’s warming but subtle. This is a very good Irish pour.

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Irish said:
I haven't seen the 12 year locally but its just officially been added to the "look harder" list. :)
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Totally worth it for a fan of Single Pot Still like yourself. Sourced from Middleton like the Spots and Redbreats. It should be around or even a bit cheaper than the Green Spot but it has a 12yo age statement and has 46% abv.
 
Saoliver said:
Thank you @Irish. I’ll need to get a bottle now.

The nose is sweet red fruits. Like a fruity red wine but also delicate floral notes. Palate is more red fruit but then turns a bit more sour like apricot jam with toasty notes. Finish is a little spicy oak that’s warming but subtle. This is a very good Irish pour.

View attachment 1311948
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Right on brother. I get nice creamy vanilla notes on the finish as well, very nice.

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