The Return of Red Spot

(Credit: Irish Distillers)

By the end of the 60s, Red Spot couldn’t be found in the shelves. Fifty years later, Mitchell & Son and Irish Distillers, have decided that it was about time for a comeback. Thus, the original Red Spot has been reimagined and recreated in this new single pot still whiskey.

Not so long ago, “The Spots” occupied the status of “cult” whiskies. They were produced by John Jameson & Sons in the Midleton distillery and matured by Mitchell & Son, a wine merchant firm, in their own casks. To easily identify the casks, Mitchell & Son started using paint spots, depending on the potential age of the whisky. “The Spots” were born from those daubs of paint: blue, green, yellow and red. 

After some complicated years, the line shrank down to just Green Spot. In 2012, Yellow Spot was reintroduced. Now it is time for their older brother to come back, to regain the top spot among the best Irish whiskeys.

The “New” Red Spot 15 Year Old
The Red Spot comeback was one of those public secrets, but making it happen has not come easy. The team at Irish Distillers and Mitchell & Son have been able to do it with the help of Carol Quinn, Irish Distillers archivist. She is been in charge of managing all the old documentation. so as to understand the features of defunct whiskeys.

Jonathan Mitchell, Managing Director at Mitchell & Son, explained: “It has been fascinating to work with Kevin O’Gorman and the craftsmen at Midleton Distillery to recreate Red Spot and a real journey into the rich history of our family and its role in Dublin’s whiskey bonding era. Pouring over old recipe books, ledgers and archive material has provided us with the tools to tell the story of Red Spot in a new, yet authentic way – and at almost one hundred years since it was crafted for the first time, by my great-grandfather Robert Mitchell, this is a whiskey homecoming for the ages. Indeed, everyone at Mitchell & Son is thrilled to see the red daub adorning a bottle once more.”

With the old recipe, the craftsmen at Irish Distillers were able to reimagine the whiskey and create the new Red Spot. It is a Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey that has been triple distilled, of course. It has also been aged for at least 15 years in a combination of bourbon, Oloroso and marsala wine-seasoned casks.

To do so, fortified marsala wine barrels were imported from Sicily in the early 2000s. In 2004, those barrels were filled with Midleton pot still whiskey that had been already aged for five years in bourbon barrels. Eventually, the casks content was blended with bourbon and Oloroso matured whiskies.

Kevin O’Gorman, Master of Maturation at Midleton Distillery, commented: “It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with the Mitchell family on the reimagination of Red Spot and bring a piece of Dublin’s rich whiskey history back to life. It has been 50 years since the world last saw Red Spot and whiskey enthusiasts have long awaited its return. This is a bold whiskey that packs a punch, has incredibly rich flavors and an extra-long infusion of fruits and spices on the finish that provides a truly unique and colorful ending.”

The new Red Spot 15 years old has been bottled at 46% ABV without chill filtration. It is already available in Ireland, retailing at 115€. It will also be available in the USA, UK, France and Global Travel Retail starting this month.