Redbreast Irish Whiskey, produced by Irish Distillers at Midleton Distillery, recently unveiled the Iberian Series, which celebrates what’s described as the brand’s long-standing connection to some of the Iberian Peninsula’s most celebrated cooperages and winemakers.
Redbreast Pedro Ximénez Edition will join the Lustau Edition in the inaugural Redbreast Iberian Series line up, which Midleton’s whiskey makers say they are putting into liquid the rich heritage and spirits of Ireland and the Iberian Peninsula.
The first limited edition release to join the series, Redbreast Pedro Ximénez Edition is a single pot still Irish whiskey, triple distilled and initially matured in ex-bourbon and oloroso sherry casks before being re-casked into Pedro Ximénez hogsheads from the southern tip of Spain (for a minimum of 12 months).
Master Blender Billy Leighton said that as it’s half the size of a standard sherry butt, the increased surface area of the hogshead intensifies the flavor contribution from the Pedro Ximénez-soaked wood. This in turn, he said, imparts notes of treacle, raisins and orange zest thanks to the sweeter grape variety used in the world renowned sherry.
Redbreast Lustau Edition, launched in 2016, remains the anchor expression in the Redbreast Iberian Series and will be joined by a new limited edition release from time to time.
“Iberia has been central to the history of Redbreast, and my colleagues and I have been visiting the peninsula since the 1980s,” Leighton explained in a prepared statement. “The close relationships fostered there over decades have led to many delightful discoveries that take the region’s influence on our whiskey to another level, while sitting comfortably within the Redbreast family.”
He said the collection will add new chapters to the Redbreast Family story with whiskeys finished in casks sourced from the sun-drenched bodegas of Spain and Portugal, imparted by “the natural warmth and sweetness of the Iberian Peninsula.”
Dave McCabe, blender at Irish Distillers, noted that the creation of Redbreast Pedro Ximénez Edition came about thanks to strong relationships and good fortune.
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“A number of years ago, our friends in Antonio Páez Lobato Cooperage in Jerez presented us with an exceptional opportunity to trial casks which had been pre-seasoned with Pedro Ximénez sherry for two years,” he said. “Finding that the wood contributed a very different flavor profile to the traditional Spanish sherry cask, we finished our Redbreast whiskey in these hogsheads for between 12 and 22 months, adding a distinctive twist to the signature Redbreast character.”
Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey Pedro Ximénez Edition is bottled at 92 proof and are available in Ireland now, soon followed by the UK, Finland and Global Travel Retail, and in the US starting in November at a suggested retail price of €80, £72, $86.
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