Review #122 Blue Spot 7yr Cask Strength: Irish

Score: 9.5 / 10

Distillery: Jameson Distillery

Type: Single Pot Still Whiskey

I've always been a big fan of The Spots from Mitchell & Son (Midleton Distillery). Get ready bust out the old fashioned Pot still history talk to impress your party friends.

Blue spot 7yr is probably the expression that I am most excited about this year. All of them have been so good and this should slot right in the lineup very well. This release comes as a combination of bourbon, sherry and Madeira casks all finished at the prefect cask strength potency

Whiskey Review:

Nose: Loaded with ripe fruit and fresh carpenter's saw dust. Pineapple (transports me back to the plantation in Costa Rica where I was one machete swing away from the best pineapple of my life), meets red apple with a subtle pipe tobacco that lingers beneath. Agitating the glass slightly yields a deep brown sugar cinnamon. A sweet and inviting vanilla can be found between other salient notes.

Palate: Oily rich vanilla thoroughly coats the palate before turning leathery and bringing forth waves of black pepper and cloves. Plum, raisin and apple highlight the fruity notes during the first part of the drinking experience before transforming into a crackling, but balanced, effervescent spice on the back-end. Light but very enjoyable anise hides in the background.

Finish: Mildly tannic and impossibly long lasting with a nice ember of heat that simmers on the palate and invites you to enjoy more. Dark chocolate, cacao, cherry and a light astringent oak smother the palate. After a considerable amount of time, faint notes of anise remain.

Score: 9.5

Scale:

S+ Sensational - The Pinnacle (9.5+)

A - AXEceptional (astounding) (9-9.5)

B - bravo (step aBove average) (8-8.9)

C - competent (7-7.9)

D - disappointing (6-6.9)

F - flush it down the toilet (fail) (5.9 below)

Availability? Rare. This is newly back on the market at cask strength. Clearly if you are reading this review and looking at the rating I shouldn't have to tell you to buy it. You seem smart.