Yellow Spot 12 Year Old

Yellow Spot 12 Year Old Irish Whiskey

We will be tasting Yellow Spot 12 Year for our third Irish Whiskey of the week.

Previously, we reviewed the Green Spot Montelena Cask Finished whiskey.  At its core, the Green Spot is a 7-10 year old expression that is aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.  The Yellow Spot has a similar core, except aged for at least 12 years, with Malaga casks added to the maturation process in addition to the ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.  What is Malaga?  Great question.  Malaga is a Spanish fortified wine that is made from Pedro Ximenez & Muscatel grapes.   I haven’t seen many whiskeys that are finished or aged in Malaga wine casks….with Port, Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso casks dominating the fortified wine cask finishing market, however, Glenmorangie did a Malaga finished 12 year old Scotch a bit ago. I think this was a one-off release so it might be hard to find, but I will try! Now back to Yellow Spot…..

Like the Green Spot releases, the Yellow Spot was made with both malted and un-malted barley. After fermentation, the whiskey is the triple distilled in copper pot stills and the end spirit is aged in the previously mentioned Bourbon, Sherry and Malaga casks.

ABV: 46%

How it smells…sweet confectioners’ sugar, biscuits, raisins, cinnamon–in short, a rugelach cookie! With a side of berries and maple syrup.

How it tastes….this was sweet from start to finish, but a variety of sweetness.  Starts with confectioners’ sugar then a creamy chocolate hazelnut Nutella-like sweetness, ending with caramel candy apples and sweet cinnamon churros on the finish.

Price..$99

Rating….🥃🥃🥃🥃

Final thoughts…..Having had a couple of the Green Spots and the Red Spot already, I was expecting great things from the Yellow Spot and I was not disappointed.  The Yellow Spot was a big bag of sweetness from start to finish, but I was impressed by the different types of sweetness that seemed to change as the tasting progressed.  I’m don’t typically have a sweet tooth, especially as it pertains to my beverages, but in this instance it worked well. The sweetness was held in check by some of that chocolate malt and nutty flavors in addition to the cinnamon spice at the finish.  The price tag might drive some people away, especially if you are thinking “that’s kind of expensive for a 12 year old”, but I wouldn’t (and you shouldn’t) think that way.  Regardless of what number is on the label, the Yellow Spot is a unique Irish Whiskey and worth the splurge.  4x 🥃 is the right rating given the taste experience and price point.  If this was down at $70 - $80, I would have given it a 5x 🥃.