Bottled at 48% ABV and non-chill filtered for a depth of taste and texture.

Green Spot is a pure pot still Irish whiskey, produced specifically for Mitchell & Son of Dublin, by Irish Distillers at the Midleton Distillery, Cork, Ireland. It is the one of the only remaining bonded Irish whiskeys, and is currently the only brand specifically produced for and sold by an independent wine merchant in Ireland.

History

Mitchell & Son wine merchants, were established in 1805; however, it is uncertain exactly when Green Spot was first produced. It is known though, that by the 1920s Jameson’s Bow Street Distillery was supplying Mitchell & Son with at least 100 sherry hogheads of pure pot still whiskey per annum.

Half of the casks used had previously held oloroso and other darker sherries, while the other half had held lighter finos. This was to prevent the wine from overpowering the whiskey. The whiskey was allowed to mature in the casks for five years, before being vatted and allowed to blend and mature for a further five years. It was then bottled and sold as a ten-year-old.

The blend was originally known as “Pat whiskey”, and the labels carried the logo of a man on a green background. This soon lead to the name “Green spot”.

When Jameson moved production from Bow St. to Midleton, the make up of the whiskey altered for the first time in living memory. This coupled with low stocks of maturing whiskey led Mitchell & Son into an agreement with Irish Distillers, whereby the whiskey would be matured by the distillery in their own casks, with Mitchell & Sons having sole rights to market, sell and develop the whiskey.

Current Day Production

The current Green spot is slightly younger than the original. It is a blend of seven and eight year old pot still whiskey, 25% of which has matured in sherry casks.

Only 500 cases, (approximately 6000 bottles) are produced each year, most of this is sold through Mitchell and Son’s shop in Dublin. As a result, it is difficult to obtain outside of Ireland, except in specialist retailers.

Nose: The first thing to strike you is the density of the nose; nothing light and flowery here. The pot still appears older than its eight years thanks to a pleasant dustiness (something similar to old Redbreast), and the influence of the sherry. All this is mixed with a curious menthol sub-stratum. Some evidence of bourbon wood around too, but rather overshadowed by this highly unusual cough-sweet, malty effect.

Taste: Sweet, rich and full bodied from the very start. It quickly fills the mouth with a glorious spiciness. All the time it somehow remains soft, though the tastebuds are constantly tweaked by a harder pot still maltiness. Wonderfully complex and busy.

Finish: Very long, dry and malty to start then sweetens and some late spice adds to all the fun. The very last, dying rays are rather cool on the throat, as if the menthol on the nose has returned.

Comments: This is a tremendous whiskey, sometimes giving a sweet-honey feel more associated with Perthshire malts from Scotland. But the pot still is confident enough to confirm this as Irish with a maturity greater than the age of the whiskey used. If you see it, grab it. It’s too much of a high class one-off to ignore.

Tasting Notes by Jim Murray (reproduced from the Mitchell & Son Website)

Irish whiskey distinguishes itself in many ways from Scotch whisky, which is double distilled, and from American whiskey, single distillation, by being triple distilled, and unlike Scotch whisky does not use peat to dry the hops, and thus has no smoky elements. However, Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey further distinguishes itself by being one of the few single malt Irish whiskeys, as most whiskeys in Ireland are made from a blend.

The whiskey is named after the Mark Edwin Andrews family castle in Ireland. Triple distilled in 1995 in small batches in copper pot stills, aged in bourbon casks without any color added, and bottled in 2007, the 1995 Knappoque Castle Irish Whiskey, 40% ABV, which bears the signature of Mark Andrews.

This bottle is only available through the travel retail market, such as airports and ferries.

Small casks, Swedish oak and storage in Bodås mine
Much of the whisky in The 1st Edition has been stored in 100-litre casks, which produces an exciting, powerful ageing process. We have also used newly manufactured Swedish oak casks, made using oak that was planted on the island of Visingsö 160 years ago and intended for use in building warships for the Swedish navy. The base is our Elegant recipe, stored in bourbon casks of first fill quality. All stored in the Bodås mine, 50 metres down inside the primary rock.

Citrus, caramel and honey
The colour is light yellow, with hints of amber. The nose is fruity with citrus, pear, apple, honey, light oak with hints of lightly toasted bread and fresh, buttery caramel. The flavour is fruity and subtle, with citrus, caramel and honey. A light hint of oak can be noted at the end. The aftertaste is well-adjusted and balanced, with hints of dark chocolate. For optimal flavour, the alcohol strength has been adjusted to 46.1% using naturally purified water from the Valbo Ridge.

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Medium golden, clear and bright.
Nose: Soft, mature, mellow oak and apple fruitiness.
Palate: Rich, full oak and fruit, very long, rich finish.

Nose
Very clean nose: the oak is minimal with honeyed-grassy malt. Beguiling.

Palate
A fabulous, honey-sweet infusion of tender malty notes do take on a waxy middle.

Finish
Bitter-sweet and still waxy with mounting vanilla and even a late hint of cocoa.

Comment
By no means the most complex whisky on the market, but unquestionably one of the most elegant and charming.

Jim Murray