Review by: Raygun

Green Spot traces back to the Mitchell family in the 19th century, who purchased bulk whiskey from Jameson and matured and bottled it themselves. By the 1970s, Green Spot was one of the last remaining single pot still whiskies, mainly available in Ireland and by then made at the Midleton distillery of Irish Distillers. Green Spot was revived as a worldwide brand in 2010, Yellow Spot was reintroduced in 2012, followed by Red Spot in 2018 and Blue Spot in 2020, completing Mitchell & Son’s original Spot lineup. Gold Spot was added in 2022. The standard Green Spot is 40%, but there are a couple of these special editions finished in wine casks and bottled at 46%. I don’t think this was a limited release, but it’s hard to tell. I reviewed this once before as a sample, and now I have a more complete review based on a bottle purchase. Rested for 15 minutes.

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Distillery: Midleton  

Bottler: Irish Distillers in collaboration with Mitchell & Son 

Region/style: Irish single pot still whiskey 

ABV: 46%

Age: NAS  

Cask type: Bourbon and sherry casks, followed by a finish in French oak wine casks from Chateau Leoville Barton in Bordeaux

Color: 1.5 auburn. Natural color and non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Some musty funk, which could be from the sherry casks or the unmalted barley. Substantial oak with a spicy touch, like cinnamon toast. Cherries and mixed berries.          

Palate: More fruit character as the wine cask exerts its influence. Cherries, blueberries, and blackberries. Also some chocolate and raisiny flavor from the sherry casks. Caramel and cereal lurk in the background. It’s a sweet one. Very nice flavor and good weight to it.  

Finish: Fruity and sweet again, berry flavors leading. Medium oak, with some of the spice from French oak. As with the palate, the wine flavor is the star here, though there’s still a bit of cereal and caramel.    

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Re-review thoughts: Quite a bit of divergence in my original review from 6 years ago. Hard to say how much is my palate changing (very possible) and how much is effects of a sample versus taking notes over months from full bottle. Berries were a common note, but I found it much more wine-forward now. I’m also not quite as enthusiastic as I was then. 

Conclusion: Sweeter than I tend to prefer, but it’s well composed and it works well. The casks are doing a lot of the work here. Nicely accessible without being flabby or boring. I haven’t actually tried the other Spot whiskies. I’m particularly curious about Blue and Gold Spot, and how they present at full strength. Not curious enough to pay the going rate though.

Score: 82

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Kavalan Solist Manzanilla)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Green Spot Chateau Leoville Barton)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Amrut Peated CS)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Taketsuru Pure Malt)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Bushmills 10 Malt)
• 0-49: Blech.