Redbreast stands as the standard-bearer of Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, a category defined by the use of both malted and unmalted barley and by triple distillation in copper pot stills. Few expressions convey the character of the Irish tradition more completely.
A History of the Distillery
The Redbreast name was bestowed by the London wine merchants W. A. Gilbey Ltd during their long partnership with the Jameson family. Gilbey's chairman was said to be an enthusiastic ornithologist, and the name is a tribute to the robin — Ireland's unofficial national bird. Production originally drew on stocks laid down at Jameson's Bow Street distillery in Dublin, itself established in 1780. Following the closure of Bow Street the brand was allowed to lapse in the 1980s before being revived in 1991 by Irish Distillers, with production now centred at the Midleton Distillery in County Cork, founded in 1975.
Traditional Production Methods
A mash of malted and unmalted barley is triple distilled in traditional copper pot stills at Midleton and matured for a minimum of twelve years in a carefully judged combination of ex-bourbon American oak barrels and Oloroso sherry butts from Spain. The interplay of the two cask types produces the signature Christmas-cake character for which the whiskey is admired.
To drink Single Pot Still whiskey is to taste an unbroken line back through the great Dublin distilleries of the Victorian age.
Historical Importance
Single Pot Still whiskey is a distinctly Irish style, developed in the nineteenth century partly in response to British taxation on malted barley. Redbreast is widely credited with preserving and reviving the tradition through a period when the entire category came close to extinction.
Historical Curiosities
The robin that appears on every label is a lasting tribute to the Gilbey family's fondness for the bird. The whiskey remained a bonded expression sold chiefly through independent Irish merchants for much of the twentieth century, giving it a devoted if quiet following long before its modern renaissance.
International Recognition
Redbreast 12 has been repeatedly named one of the finest Irish whiskeys in international competition and is regarded by many writers as the definitive contemporary expression of the Single Pot Still style.
