We’re very excited to shine a light on one of our newest releases: a single cask Green Spot 10 Year Old 2010 finished in a Vinsanto barrel. Both because it’s delicious, and because it’s exclusive to us.
We’re sure fans of Irish whiskey will know all about Spot range of whiskeys. Now a signature and beloved part of Irish Distiller’ portfolio, it’s a revival of a series created by Mitchell & Sons wine merchants in Dublin. They started buying spirit from John Jameson and Sons distillery on Bow Street in 1887 and would mature it in the firm’s Fitzwilliam Lane cellars.
Back then, big distillers didn’t bottle their own whiskey. Merchants all over the country would buy and age new make spirit and sell it under their own brands. Mitchell & Sons had a habit of making use of ex-wine casks, mainly sherry, Port, Malaga, Madeira, and Marsala. They would daub a barrel with a spot depending on its ageing potential, either blue, yellow, red, or green. Hence the name.
While we haven’t bought the whiskey directly from the distillery to mature in our own cellars, we did select Green Spot 10 Year Old 2010 (cask 363130) Vinsanto Single Cask (Master of Malt) ourselves, and it’s an ex-wine cask. We’re pretty proud of that choice, because this is really special.
Our very own Green Spot
Welcome our Green Spot Irish whiskey
The whiskey is part of the Green Spot Greek Wine Cask Series. It’s a range that pays tribute to Mitchell & Son’s history of sourcing wine casks from across the world. In this case, the whiskey was treated to an additional eight-month finish in a Greek ex-vinsanto wine cask from the Boutari winery on sunny Santorini.
Since its establishment in 1879 in Naoussa, Boutari is one of the leading wine companies in Greece and has been exploring winemaking opportunities in Santorini since the end of the 1980s. Vinsanto is a style of dessert wine made from white grape varieties, in this case traditional Santorini varieties Assyrtiko and Aidani. The cask was seasoned with this naturally sweet dessert wine from sun-dried grapes that has lots of complex notes of dried fruit, honey, and coffee to bring to the table.
There’s only 300 bottles of this rich and fruity dram available, which was bottled at a natural cask strength of 55.4% ABV, so it’s worth getting your hands on it while you can. I have to underline again this is truly great whisky. You could eat an actual fruit salad and have less fresh, vibrant fruitiness to enjoy. Spot whiskey has a habit of being pretty great and this one won’t let you down.
Green Spot 10 Year Old 2010 (cask 363130) Vinsanto Single Cask (Master of Malt) tasting note:
Nose: Caramelised sugar and baking spices lead the way, with oily cereal, dried prunes and raisins, and oaty apple crumble.
Palate: Sticky malt loaf, with oily cereal, vanilla custard, honey, plenty of gentle baking spices, and sweet, raisin-studded chutney.
Finish: Silky vanilla lingers alongside dark fruits and spices.
