Green Spot Irish Whiskey Impressions

What is it? 

Distillery: Middleton Distillery, Co.

Name: Green Spot

Make: Single Pot Still Irish whiskey

Extra Info: Green Spot whiskey was originally sold as an independent bottling of Dublin-based family merchants, Mitchell & Son, who began purchasing distilled spirit from nearby Jameson’s Distillery to age in their own casks in the late 1800s. The site of the original Mitchell & Son store in Grafton Street, Dublin, is now home to a McDonalds. The name ‘Green Spot’ comes from the practice of marking casks of different ages with spots of coloured paint; green paint was used to mark 10 year old whiskey, which proved to be the most popular of the four varieties, Blue, Green, Yellow and Red Spot. Now, only Green Spot and the 12 year old Yellow Spot are sold, which are among the few Single Pot Still Irish whiskeys currently available.

Why did I buy it?

In my opinion, Single Pot Still is the quintessential Irish whiskey so I am keen to try what little of it is available. Having tried Redbreast, Green Spot was a natural followup and I will no doubt track down a bottle of Yellow Spot in the not too distant future.

What did I think of it?

Presentation: Bottled in a simple clear bottle, Green Spot has a great looking label with a blot of paint that mimics the green spot that historically marked the whiskey casks. It is clean, iconic, meaningful and immediately recognisable. Bottled at 40% ABV.

Appearance: Bright gold in colour and considering the low ABV, more than likely contains some caramel colouring and has been chill filtered to standardise the final product. This practice is not uncommon and there is nothing on the label to indicate otherwise.

Aroma: Fruity notes up front, malty cereal sweetness, stewed apple with a hint of banana and a citrus zing.

Flavour: Full bodied, oily mouthfeel. Very spicy with some menthol freshness, similar to a rye whisky.

Finish: Fading spice that tingles inside the mouth with a slightly bitter yet fresh aftertaste that lingers.

Would I buy it again?

Yes, Green Spot is one of the more affordable Single Pot Still Irish whiskeys and is a great place to start if you have never tried this variety of whiskey before. It is not as moreish as Redbreast but it is still a great whiskey and worthy of your time and money. I would definitely shell out a little more for Green Spot rather than settle for one of the cheaper, unremarkable and perhaps more well known Irish whiskeys on the market.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to have the nose and palate of a Master Sommelier, however, I am working to train my senses to better identify whisky aromas and flavours. Consider all my whisky 'Impressions' to be a work in progress and I hope to come back to each of them in the future to see if I notice anything different. Most importantly, I'm not just throwing around random aromas, flavours and adjectives for the hell of it; I am trying really hard to critically describe each whisky I taste - WhiskyDad.

Single Pot Still, The Most Irish of Irish Whiskeys

Irish whiskey (spelt with the 'e') comes in many forms but the only thing that makes a whiskey Irish, legally speaking, is that it comes from Ireland. Sure, it has the same base rules as any whiskey regarding ingredients and minimum age etc. but it doesn't need to be produced in any special way to be considered Irish whisky. It does not need to be triple distilled, plenty of Scotch is triple distilled and plenty of Irish whiskey is double distilled. So if the only difference between Irish whiskey and Scotch is the country of origin, is there really any difference?

Amongst all the Irish whiskey there is one variety produced under very few labels that in my opinion, is quintessentially Irish and is so, for an equally Irish reason - sticking it to the English. Let's start with a quick history lesson. The Irish are commonly recognised to have invented whiskey some time in the 15th century, but it soon crossed the North Channel to Scotland. By the turn of the 20th century, the Irish whiskey industry dominated Scotch sales until the Irish War of Independence cut off exports to Commonwealth countries and the rise of the temperance movement in the US, one of the biggest export markets for Irish whiskey, led to the introduction of prohibition. These events and further unrest in Ireland, crippled the once great Irish whisky industry in a matter of decades. The Scotts, on the other hand, lacked the affinity to the temperance movement that many Irish had and pounced on the opportunity to break into the now illicit North American market and never looked back. Ironically, the Scotts ramped up production through the use of an Irish invention, the Coffey Still, allowing them to produce large quantities of 'blended' whisky that better suited US tastes.

Now while the Irish may be credited with the invention of whiskey and the Scotts with its commercialisation, the English, are credited with the taxation of whiskey. In the 18th century, Scotland was home to hundreds, perhaps thousands of unregulated 'backyard' stills as farmers used whisky to convert bulky barley supplies into far more profitable, less likely to spoil and transportable whisky. The exact number of stills was unknown and that was precisely the problem as far as the tax man in London was concerned. You see, in 1785 it was ordered that whisky was to be taxed as it was a far too lucrative commodity for the Crown not to get a cut. The Scotts did not take well to this news and kept producing from illicit stills hidden away in the highlands for decades but the Irish took tax evasion to a whole new level.

Malted and Unmalted Barley

When producing whisky, barley needs to be malted (made to sprout or germinate) in order to release essential plant enzymes. These enzymes are what convert hard starches within the barley into soft starches that are able to be converted to sugars when mixed with hot water inside the Mash Tun. The sugars provide a source of food for the yeast during fermentation. The English knew that malted barely was essential to whisky production but not for traditional farming, so naturally, they taxed it. Now, this is what makes Single Pot Still whiskey so wonderfully Irish. The Irish were not stupid, they also knew a thing or two about whiskey (they did invent it after all) specifically, they knew that only around 30% of the total barely used had to be malted in order to produce enough of the essential plant emzymes. Since only malted barely was taxed, they tried making whiskey with just 30% malted barley, slashing their tax bills by seventy percent! Well played Irish whiskey makers, well played.

The term Single Pot Still (it used to be called 'Pure Pot Still') is confusing because it means one thing literally and another in the context of Irish whiskey. A pot still is a copper vessel that is heated and used for distilling whisky wash into a clear spirit. Many whiskies are made with just one or a 'single' pot still but they are not Single Pot Still whiskey. Single Pot Still whiskey, in the Irish whiskey context, is whiskey made with a combination of malted and unmalted barely and in my opinion, is the only true Irish whiskey.

Single Pot Still Irish Whiskeys

Sadly, there are very few Single Pot Still Irish whiskeys on the market today, in fact, you can count them on one hand; Redbreast, Green Spot and Yellow Spot, Powers and Middleton are about the only labels readily available. They are characterised by their unique flavour profile and this uniqueness is why I consider Single Pot Still whiskey to be the quintessential Irish whiskey. The mixture of malted and unmalted barley (and sometimes other grains) produces a full body (think red wine mouthfeel) and a spicy character. Single Pot Still whiskeys are fruity on the nose and fresh smelling. I find them very easy to drink neat and quite moreish, it is always difficult to settle for only a single dram. So if you feel like an Irish whiskey next St Patrick's Day (or any day for that matter) try a Single Pot Still Irish whiskey, the most Irish of Irish whiskeys.

What Is Independently Bottled Whisky?

The Internet is a wonderful tool for the whisky enthusiast. Discovering and acquiring whisky has never been easier, with a dizzying choice of both old and new whiskies just a few mouse clicks away. I often browse my favourite websites checking prices and availability, reading tasting notes and writing wish lists of my next whisky purchases. For example, I am currently holding out for the latest Springbank 12 Year Old Cask Strength and Laphroaig 10 Year Old Cask Strength expressions. Historically, both tend to arrive in Australia in very limited quantities and sell out quickly.

During these online browsing sessions, especially when I was first getting serious about whisky, I kept stumbling across odd whisky labels. These whiskies were not produced by a particular distillery, but rather were sourced from a variety of distilleries and bottled under a different branding such as Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory, Rest & Be Thankful and Heartwood. This process, I would eventually learn, was called independent bottling and it was a practice that had been going on for almost as long as whisky had been produced.

So what is independent bottling exactly?

To understand independent bottling, you must first understand the fundamentals of whisky production. Whisky is an alcoholic spirit made from distilling a fermented cereal and aging it in wooden barrels or casks (the terms ‘barrel’ and ‘cask’ are interchangeable). When the fermented cereal (usually malt, in the case of Scotch whisky) is first distilled, it is a clear liquid distillate referred to as new make. This new make is not whisky in a legal sense, although it will become whisky once it has been aged in wooden barrels for a minimum legal period or longer. During this aging process, the new make and wood undergo a variety of marvellous chemical reactions and tannins from the wood leach into the liquid imparting a more familiar whisky colour. Many factors affect the interaction between distillate and wood; such as how long it remains in the barrel, the type of wood used in the barrel, what the barrel held if anything prior to being filled, the thickness of the barrel staves, the amount of char inside the barrel, the size of the barrel and the average temperature, temperature variations and barometric pressure within the storehouse etc. That is a lot of very influential factors that occur after distillation.

The decisions about how to use these factors are the tools of the independent bottler. An independent bottler will source and provide their own barrel or barrels to a distillery, to be filled with a new make (or very young) spirit. This spirit may be the same used to make the distillery’s signature expressions, but that is where the similarities end. Whatever whisky is produced from that independent bottler’s cask will be unlike anything else the distillery makes and will quite often be unique to that particular cask or casks.

So now that you know independent bottling is more than just filling a barrel with someone else’s whisky, here’s an interview with ‘Caskologist’ George Koutsakis of Whisky Foundation, a new e-commerce venture specialising in independently bottled whiskies.

WD: Welcome George, what is a ‘Caskologist’ and what is your involvement with Whisky Foundation?

GK: We are a small, yet passionate, team here at Whisky Foundation and we all take on a variety of different roles. The term ‘Caskologist’ is an invented term which best describes the part I play in the organisation.

My job is basically to manage and stay on top of anything to do with the Whisky Foundation website. Working closely with our sales team, I add, research, and sample new products and observe the statistics to find which bottles are of greatest interest to our customers.

With my past expertise in whisky tasting and events, and my experience writing, I also manage the Whisky Foundation blog, and try to create the most educational and captivating content to keep our readers entertained. In order to do so I closely follow industry news and new releases.

WD: What do you look for when selecting a cask and do you already have a potential new make spirit fill in mind?

GK: This is a question better answered by the independent bottlers themselves. The wonderful Italian independent bottler Wilson & Morgan, who select the finest Scottish casks to join their collections, have produced a few exclusive bottles for Whisky Foundation. Their brand ambassador Luca Chichizola, who is co-responsible for selecting casks alongside chairman Fabio Rossi, had this to say:

It must be exciting to us. We have tasted more than 3000 malts in our lives so far. So it must be ‘different’, it must shine. It must not induce a yawn or an ‘OK, more of the same’ thought. Even if it's still immature and rough, it must have personality. About new make... not very interesting to us, if I may say so. We always buy whisky that is already 3 years old, so that it has lost its most undesirable traits of immaturity and it's easier to see where it will go. With rum on the other hand (Wilson & Morgan has a sister company called Rum Nation) we definitely buy new make either for bottling white rum or for maturation.

WD: Mass produced whisky is commonly chill-filtered and even non-chill filtered, non-cask strength whisky is usually allowed to rest to separate the less soluble particulate matter or ‘floc’ before bottling. What are your thoughts on whisky filtration and how does this affect Whisky Foundation bottlings?

GK: When it comes to whisky filtration, I am a firm believer in sampling the whisky in its most natural form. I find non-chill filtered whiskies provide a ‘fuller’ and ‘richer’ mouthfeel, due to the presence of fatty acids and proteins, which are removed throughout the process of chill-filtration.

Non-chill filtration gives drinkers a more natural and organic experience. That cloudiness should be welcomed. Most of the independent bottlings we have at Whisky Foundation come just like that, at cask-strength and non-chill filtered, giving the raw, intense, unique flavour I love most in my whisky.

WD: What are some of the things that independent bottlers could do that would not be possible or perhaps financially viable in a large distillery?

GK: A large distillery needs to focus on consistency. Several flagship releases take up most of the distillery’s production capabilities, which, sadly, can restrict distillers and make it hard for them to create unique, one-off releases.

Independent bottlers, however, only create unique, one-off releases, which means their sole purpose is to experiment, observe, and release whiskies that have matured for the right amount of time, providing balance above all else.

The fact that these organizations hold so many different casks from different distilleries means that they can choose exactly how they treat the whisky. They can create unique blends, and use unique methods to age and bottle a whisky. Two casks of the same Scotch can be aged in different kinds of oak, for a different duration, and at different temperatures. Experimentation takes the front seat when it comes to independent bottling.

WD: A lot of whisky drinkers enjoy the familiarity and availability of a large distillery’s flagship whisky. How do you convince these people to buy an independently bottled whisky that is often much more expensive and likely to never be repeated?

GK: Firstly, people’s preconceptions need to be challenged. I look at large distilleries and independent bottlers as two completely different entities, in the same way I might look at a hotel and a villa. We need both, and both provide us with an amazing, yet very different service.

A large distillery will give you your favourite dram over and over again, whenever you need it for years, even decades. An independent bottler will give you something different every single time, challenging you to explore, learn, and delve deeper into the world of whisky.

It all comes down to education. Whisky tastings, promotions, and a whole lot of information can make all the difference. Step by step, we simply need to introduce people to independent bottling and show them what makes the experience so special and satisfying.

With a little knowledge about independent bottling and a willingness to explore, it’s possible to find a wealth of under-recognised whisky gems.

WD: Thanks for your time, George, and for sharing your thoughts on independently bottled whisky.

GK: Thank you for having me, it’s been a pleasure.

If you consider yourself a whisky enthusiast, you shouldn’t ignore independently bottled whisky. Independently bottled whisky present an opportunity to try unique expressions sourced from your favourite distilleries. A lot of thought goes into the cask selection process yet even with years of experience the results can be anything but predictable. This dramatic and often unpredictable effect that ageing whisky in wood has, is one of the things I love about whisky. It is comforting to know that no matter where the whisky was distilled, I can always be surprised.