Blue Spot Irish Whiskey Review

By Randall H. Borkus

Rating: B+

Blue Spot Single Pot Still Whiskey
(Credit: Randall H. Borkus)

Irish Distillers has once again joined forces with the Mitchell family to unveil the famed, revived Blue Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. The last sighting of Blue Spot in the U.S. dates back to 1964. This year’s unveiling ends a 56-year drought and completes the historic Spot Whiskey Family expressions.

The story of the legendary Spot Irish whiskies began in the early 1900s when celebrated wine and spirits merchants, Mitchell & Son, began maturing whiskey from the local Jameson Distillery in Bow Street in their underground cellars in Dublin City Center. Blue Spot takes its name from the blue daubs or ‘spots’ of paint that the Mitchells used to mark the barrels to signify that the whiskey in those casks were to be matured for a minimum of seven years.

Building on the foundation of bourbon and sherry casks, the reimagined Blue Spot includes whiskey aged in Madeira casks. This has been inspired by the historical inventory of Mitchell & Son and typical of the Spot style of whiskey. The Midleton masters, in collaboration with the Mitchell family, were influenced by archive documents dating back to 1935 showing Madeira wine casks imported to Ireland which, once emptied, would have been used to mature whiskey.

The team at Irish Distillers’ Midleton Distillery have been sourcing Madeira wine seasoned casks for over 20 years. These casks are carefully handcrafted in a cooperage in the north of Portugal and then sent to the island of Madeira. Once seasoned, the casks are shipped back to Midleton and filled with pot still distillate and left to develop, allowing the Madeira wine influence to impart its wonderful flavors and sweet spices. These Madeira casks, along with ex-Bourbon and ex-sherry casks are then hand-selected and married together to achieve the perfect flavor balance. Blue Spot is bottled at cask strength which results into a sumptuously rich and complex Irish whiskey.

Blue Spot is the only Spot expression bottled at cask strength.  As a single pot still whiskey, the mash is a combination of malted and unmalted barley, distilled in a pot still (and Blue Spot was triple-distilled) at a single distillery. The whiskey is 7 years old, non-chill filtered and aged in ex-Bourbon barrels, ex-sherry butts, and ex-Portuguese Madiera casks. Blue Spot is 58.7% ABV (117.4 proof) and distilled at the Midleton Distillery in County Cork.

The Whiskey
The color in my Glencairn glass is a bright copper-gold. It runs down the inside of my glass leaving medium legs that dance ever so slightly.

The nose is simply delightful filling my nasal way with hints of a freshly bitten apple and an explosion of berries. After a small sip of the whiskey and return with my nose I’m uncovering hits of pineapple and a crisp citrus essences.

The flavor is complex and enjoyable.  The front palate is zesty and leads to an oily mouthfeel.  My mid palate finds berries and almonds, and hint of dark chocolate dryness sprinkled with bits orange peel and raisin sugars. The back palate is juicy with a sweet dark dried plum flavor.

The finish is full, rich, and complex. I’m enjoying hints of fresh leather and spicy black pepper-cinnamon burst.  The whiskey is warm and comforting leaving a juicy berry after taste.

For a cask strength whiskey this is very smooth and easy drinking. Truth be told I’m on my second bottle as I have enjoyed this expression immensely. I share it with my whiskey brothers and sisters every chance I get.  I suspect I’ll seek out a third bottle eventually as this expression warrants further investigation. This is a solid Irish whiskey and adds another interesting dimension to the Spot whiskey expressions.

The Price
Blue Spot is available in the U.S. now and retails for $95 a bottle.