Mitchell & Son has just announced Blue Spot, a new of its Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. Joining the Red Spot, Green Spot and Yellow Spot expressions, it reunites the historic Spot whiskey family for the first time in over 56 years.
Blue Spot is a mix of Midleton whiskeys of 7 Years (up to 20 Years) matured in bourbon, sherry and madeira casks. They use a medium bodied spirit, which works best with speciality casks. Contrary to the other expressions this is bottled at cask strength – the ABV will vary annually.
The Madeira casks are the unique flavour element of this Blue Spot expression. They are coopered in Jerez and sent to Henriques & Henriques for a 3 year seasoning period with sweet Tinta Negra wine (around 80-90 grams of sugar).
Blue Spot Whiskey 7 yo Cask Strength (58,7%, Mitchell & Son 2020)
Nose: lots of cooked red apples, ripe Cantaloupe melons and bananas flambéed, mixed with caramel and toasted hazelnuts (probably from the Madeira). Quite a fragrant profile. A hint of roasted pineapple as well. Oak spice like clove and nutmeg. Subtle hints of sawdust.
Mouth: quite smooth despite the high strength. There’s punchy spice though, mainly freshly crushed black peppercorns. Milk chocolate with cinnamon and clove. The stewed fruits are a little in the background now. Hints of vanilla and toasted oak. Candied orange peel. Caramelized almonds and hazelnuts.
Finish: good length, taking further the spicy wood with a hint of sweet coffee.
This is already one of my favourites in the Spot range. Blue Spot is a rich dessert-style whiskey with dried fruits and sweet spice. Available later this month for around € 80 in Ireland, UK, France, Canada and travel retail. It will also arrive in the USA from February 2021. Check mitchellandson.com for instance. You can also check lochfynewhiskies.com or thewhiskyshop.com