Good luck getting your hands on the latest exciting new release from Irish whisky brand Redbreast. Only 2,000 bottles are being released to Redbreast’s Stillhouse Internet based fan club, and if you live in the US you may have to go through additional hoops to snap up a bottle (see below). The new Redbreast Mano a Lámh Whisky, clocking in at 92 proof and pricing around $75 US, is another in a long line of award winning productions from the Midleton Distillery, which produces the Redbreast label, among others.
The name for this whisky comes from combining Spanish and Gaelic to form “hand in hand” and it represents the long established relationship between Midleton and the Spanish craftsmen who produce the sherry butts the distillery uses in its products . After the casks have been seasoned with sherry for two years in Spain, they are shipped to Ireland to be used as part of the Redbreast whisky aging process, which often also involves ex-bourbon barrels. Unlike its other spirits, however, this is Redbreast’s first whisky to be matured solely in this type of barrel.
Commenting on the new release, Billy Leighton, master blender at Midleton Distillery, said in a statement that “it was an exciting challenge as a Master Blender to work on this project; having to ensure that the right balance was achieved and the sherry contribution did not over power in the final taste. For me, Redbreast Mano a Lámh offers a distinctive, rich whiskey with intense flavours of dried fruit, which gives way to the perfection of the Spanish oak. I am really eager to learn what our Stillhouse members and Redbreast fans think of this rare expression.”
Sadly, the whisky is not available for shipment to the US at this time directly from the distillery, but if you pay careful attention to the secondary whisky auction markets, such as over at Scotch Whisky Auctions, you may be able to snag a bottle through that channel if some are passed on by private collectors.
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