Redbreast Lustau Edition

Redbreast Lustau Edition
Classification: Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
Country: Ireland
Region: County Cork (Midleton: 51.913°N 8.170°W)
Mash Bill: 100% Barley (mixture of malted and un-malted barley)
Strength: 46.0% ABV (92.0° Proof)
Color: Unknown (Internet speculation claims natural color)
Filtration: Unknown (Internet speculation claims non-chill filtered)
Maturation: No Age Statement (distillery claims 9-12 years in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry then 1 full year in first-fill Oloroso sherry from Bodegas Lustau in Jerez, Spain)
Price: $79.99 (Total Wine)

Overview

Well friends, I'm afraid I have used you as pawns. As I've mentioned a few times in various entries, I generally have four requirements when deciding to purchase a new/unknown whiskey - 1) strength greater than 43%, 2) non-chill filtered, 3) natural color, and 4) feature an age statement. While none of these are absolutely mandatory, I do try to avoid betraying these criteria as doing so in the past has yielded some disappointing duds.

But here's the rub - for the past year I've genuinely enjoyed Redbreast's 12-year cask strength whiskey. Outstanding pour after outstanding pour led me to purchase their 15-year variant which also proved to be utterly delicious (and expectedly featured a bit more oak than the 12-year). And so, totally enamored with the 12 and 15 year variants, I began to wonder about Redbreast's Lustau Edition. Technically, Redbreast's Lustau Edition only satisfies one of my four requirements (strength > 43% ABV) and so time and again I resisted the urge to purchase. Granted, very reliable and trustworthy Internet sources indicate the whiskey is indeed natural color and non-chill filtered, but since there is nothing on the label, box, or producer's website confirming this, I cannot proclaim conclusively either. 

Regardless, the striking orange box of the Lustau Edition beckoned and seduced me trip after trip to my favorite bottle shops over the previous six months. Many times I would grab a box only to return it to the shelf.

"It has no age statement"

"Why don't they say if it's non-chill filtered"

"It costs almost as much as the 12-year cask strength version, just stick with that"

Oh how i tormented myself. But then a moment of genius - what better way to honestly assess and experience a whiskey of mysterious pedigree than to send blind samples to the whiskey tasting group. And because I would be purchasing the whiskey on behalf of the group, not solely for personal consumption, those four pesky criteria can justifiably be shelved! Of course facilitating such a tasting implies I too would get to play along, but that's neither here nor there, especially when you are grasping for any remotely applicable rationale to break your self-imposed rules.

So thank you malt mates - your presence on my mental chessboard provided the check and mate in bringing home a whiskey that I have long wanted to try. Now the question is - was Redbreast Lustau Edition worth all the mental gymnastics....

Officially the youngest offering from Redbreast, the Lustau Edition begins life just as all Redbreast whiskeys do - single pot still Irish whiskey that is sent to both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry barrels for maturation. According to Redbreast's website, the Lustau Edition is created by taking 9-12 year old barrels of each ex-bourbon and ex-sherry, blending them together, then transferring the blend to first-fill ex-Oloroso sherry barrels from the Bodegas Lustau to mature for one additional year.

Tasting Impressions

https://www.redbreastwhiskey.com/en-en/the-range/redbreast-lustau-whiskey

 In Midleton’s Words: Redbreast Lustau

“The newest addition to the Redbreast family, Redbreast Sherry Finish Lustau Edition offers fans a new way to experience our signature sherry taste, thanks to an old friendship. Born of a unique collaboration between the Bodegas Lustau and the Midleton Distillery, Redbreast Sherry Finish Lustau Edition is initially matured in traditional bourbon and sherry casks for a period of 9-12 years. It is then finished for 1 additional year in first fill hand selected sherry butts that have been seasoned with the finest Oloroso sherry from the prestigious Bodegas Lustau in Jerez. We are confident Redbreast fans will enjoy this new angle on Redbreast’s beloved sherry character.”

Group Impressions

A mighty thank you to all who played along for this tasting. Each and every time, I am continually amazed and delighted by the group's impressions of all the whiskeys we have tried together. Yet again, the group zeroed in on a consensus regarding many aspects of this whiskey - alcohol prickle (to a surprising degree), wood, caramel, and two tasters even picked up on the same candy apple vibe. In addition there was nearly a complete consensus that water added to the enjoyment of this whiskey but at the cost of reducing the whiskey's vibrancy. 

Interestingly, many thought this whiskey was American - bourbon or blended. Wagering a guess, I'd suspect this was due to the large oak influence on this whiskey, typically a safe indication of American origin. Bravo to Carol Baldwin though - while she thought it might be a bourbon, she also tossed out the possibility that it was an Irish whiskey and an Irish whiskey it was indeed. 

Michael Doheny

First sample was taken straight. The pour had a bright, inviting smell and a soft amber color. The taste was reminiscent of the air at a carnival, with wisps of angry candy apples and earth rolling about the tongue. The flavor was light and airy, with a slight numbing of the tongue, triggering my mouth to water, as I finished off the sample.

The second tasting was taken with ice. The smell was sharper, with more prominent notes of honey, but more fleeting than the previous sample. There was virtually no burn at all with the introduction of the ice. The flavor was muted, but distinct.

I would guess low to medium strength well crafted Blended American Whiskey

Zeus

Appearance: Light amber. Seemed very wet on the glass, took a while for the legs to form.

Smell: BURN! Very woodsy smell. Cedar. Maple. Cinnamon? A hangover if I drank this in excess. Getting ready for a wallop on this due to the high alcohol smell.

Taste: SMOOTH! Damn it nose, you failed me again! Sweet. Not overpowering, light on taste.

Finish: No major after burn. Maple aftertaste. Stays warm in my throat so it's definitely high proof.

General Thoughts: This is really nice. I'm thinking this is a bourbon. Adding ice smoothed this out even more. Despite its apparent high proof the flavor is not overwhelming. I can drink a lot of this in a sitting and not feel the need to move on to something else.

Oh whiskey, if I find out who you are and buy a bottle I might be drinking too much of you in a night. Then again I say that to all the sexy whiskey's. My liver is such a tease.

Guess: bourbon whiskey

Apollo

This one had the look of a decent whiskey. It was somewhat dark and had long legs. Taking a sniff revealed some alcohol smell, but also a hint of fruitiness and caramel.

The taste was not bad at all. It was hard to pick out individual flavors but I thought it tasted pretty close to how it smelled. It had a little bit of a caramel taste. There was a fairly long tongue-tingle but the flavor didn't really change much during this phase. So there was not a particularly distinctive finish.

My overall feeling is that this is a pretty good whiskey that I wouldn't mind drinking regularly. I still prefer my old standby (Glenfiddich 12 year), but this was not bad at all. It didn't really make a big impression on me, but it was perfectly fine.

Jonathan Quayle Higgins

Nose

Brown sugar, vanilla, barley sugar, green grass, candy apple, hazelnuts

A sharp alcohol prickle if you smell too deeply or for too long

Water calms the alcohol prickle/punch significantly. Post-water, I start to detect red fruit, cocoa powder, vanilla syrup, almond syrup

Taste

Barley, fig, gentle clove/ginger spice, almonds. A bit of that ‘twang’ I associate with French oak influence. Occasionally I get an iodine/bandaid vibe, perhaps a bit of pencil shavings/graphite. This is not a consistent impression for me though, so I am not convinced it is an actual component of the whiskey’s experience. 

Sipped neat there is a far larger youthful ethanol punch than I’d expect. Adding water helps tame the fire but use caution here - you can easily add too much water which washes out what comes next, the finish.

Finish

Oak, mild fruit (plum/apricot) sweetness, almond, spice (clove). The finish is medium length when sipped neat, but frustratingly short when too much water is added. Neither finish, neat or with water, is drying.

Overall

Hmmmmm, I am not all that enamored with this whiskey. For me, the aroma is far and away the best part of the experience with this whiskey. It has appealing characteristics, but I feel I set the bar too high due to my unbounded enjoyment of other Redbreast offerings. 

In my opinion, this whiskey tastes a bit too young. I know Redbreast say this is 9-12 years old plus another year on top of that in the Lustau barrels, but this whiskey tastes younger, hotter, feistier than its standard 12-year counterpart. Water helps tame the prickle, but care must be taken, adding too much water diminishes the vibrancy of the flavors and also radically shortens the finish.

Through pure happenstance, I did stumble upon a weird compromise with this whiskey - splitting a pour into two parts. The first part I’d enjoy with water, the second part I’d enjoy neat. Acclimating my palate to the prickle with a slightly diluted pour really led to a far greater enjoyment of a neat second pour. Of course, the idea of splitting a nightly pour into two parts is a bit annoying. Personally, there are many nights, I just want to pour, sip, enjoy, and not worry about ratios and adjustments.

In the end though, regardless of ratios and adjustments, I just don’t enjoy the Lustau Edition of Redbreast as much as I enjoy their 12-year old version. I still have yet to try Redbreast’s 21 or 27 year old expressions, but for now, the 12-year will remain a staple on my shelf and a constant go-to whiskey.

My negatives for this whiskey:

- Punchier than expected alcohol prickle. It tastes younger than Redbreast’s 12 year offering despite purportedly being very close in terms of age.

- Nose promises a better taste and finish than what is actually delivered

- Finish could be longer

My positives for this whiskey:

- Delightful nose - barley and fruit sweetness accentuated by that classic fresh green grass smell of single pot still Irish whiskey. With time and water, cocoa, almonds/hazelnuts, and vanilla appear, what an aroma!

Carol Baldwin

Appearance: Golden honey color; thin legs quickly appeared.

Smell: Sharp, alcohol. Resin. Warm Oak. Soft butter caramel.

Taste: Sharp alcohol, very sharp. Woody and tannic. Hints of soft caramel. Numbs the tongue so that it's hard to taste the flavors after a few sips.

Finish: Lingering Alcohol finish. Tannic. Tingles on the tongue and warms the throat.

General Thoughts: Straight up the experience was very sharp, the alcohol flavor is forefront and the tannic qualities tingle and numb the tongue. The warm wood still comes through slightly however. Using a proper whiskey glass that allows you to experience the nose along with the taste is ideal for this whiskey; for some of the nuances, the soft caramel and the complexity of the woods are best experienced through the nose. Adding a splash of water did open up the scent a bit more.

Guess: leaning towards bourbon, but also could be an Irish whiskey