Yellow Spot Irish Whiskey 750ml

The Yellow Spot name was derived from the Mitchell’s practice of marking their maturing casks of whiskey with a mark or daub of coloured paint to determine the age potential of the whiskey. This is the second addition to the ‘Spot’ range of Irish whiskeys, which contains the famous Green Spot Pot Still Whiskey. The Yellow Spot is a single pot still Irish whiskey which has been matured in three types of cask: American bourbon cask, Spanish Sherry butts, and Spanish Malaga casks for a sweeter flavour.

The ‘Spot’ range is distilled at Midleton for the family-owned Mitchell & Son Wine Merchants. Set up in 1805, it wasn’t until 1887 that Robert Mitchell, a baker, confectioner, and the sort of industrious shopkeeper added whiskey bonding to the family business. The spot range of single pot still whiskeys is a throwback to this era, it is a living and highly dynamic reminder of this period in the history of Irish whiskey. Precise records are sketchy as to when the brand first hit the streets but certainly it was well in production by the 1920’s. We know this since its purveyors, the esteemed Mitchell & Sons of Kildare Street in Dublin who had been in operation since 1805, were putting aside 100 sherry hogsheads each year for filling at the John Jameson distillery. Unlike all of the Pot Stills made in Midleton today the brand used around half Oloroso sherry and other dark sherry casks and around half Fino and other light sherry casks to age their whiskey.

On the palate, Yellow spot offers honey sweetness with pot still spices. Flavours of fresh coffee, creamy milk chocolate & Crème Brûlée. Notes of red apples & toasted oak. The nose is Mown hay & cracked black pepper. Red bell peppers, nutmeg, clove oil & green tea. Sweet honey & peaches from the Malaga casks.

A bit of water really helps here, restoring a more typical Irish whisky sweetness, and taming the mouth burn and bitterness on the finish.