Yellow Spot 12yo Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
Official Bottling| 46% ABV
Best In The Spot Range But Expensive
I felt it was only necessary and essential to you, the Dramface reader, to continue the series on the Spot range, by Mitchell & Son, with the Yellow Spot. Aged for 12 years, it brings us a maturation mix of Bourbon, sherry, and that little bit extra… Malaga casks.
I often think of the Spot range from Mitchell & Son as a set of Lego building blocks. Before the 7-year-old cask strength came around, you had the Green, Yellow and Red within the spot range. The staple maturation see’s a vatting of bourbon and sherry casks, with the rest of the range incorporating either a red wine finish or fortified wine.
For Yellow Spot, we see some extra maturation in the mix here, from a Malaga wine cask. Unfortunately Dramfacers, I can’t provide my own view on how this fortified wine tastes to uniquely identify it in this expression. What I can tell you is that it is a sweet, fortified wine originating from the Spanish city Málaga. Here’s a bit more info:
There are two main grapes used in the production of Malaga wine, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel. Aging of Malaga wine is done in a Solera (like it is in Sherry), which are categorised according to the ageing they have undergone. The youngest is Málaga Pálido (Pale Malaga), having been aged for up to 6 months; Next, we have a classification simply called “Málaga”, having been aged for between 6 months and 2 years; Wine aged between 2 and 3 years is labelled “Málaga Noble” (Noble Malaga), between 3 and 5 years is “Málaga Añejo” (Old Malaga) and over 5 years is “Málaga Trasañejo” (Very old Malaga).
Upon doing some digging, how Malaga tastes varies on the type and producer. However, the prevalent recurring notes are a bright sweetness which wouldn’t be described as ‘cloying’ (which port can often be described as), followed by a woody, smoky aftertaste. Málaga’s sweet white wines bear comparison to sherry and port, but the flavours are often described as a little bit more nuanced with added richness.
Depending on the grain mix and still settings, the Midleton distillery (producers of pot still whiskey for Mitchell & Son) will produce three different types of pot still distillate: 'Light Pot Still', 'Medium Modified' (known as 'Midleton Mod Pot' and 'Heavy Pot Still'. The folk at Midleton refer to each of these Pot Still distillates by codes: 'LMP1' is a light-pot distillate made by cutting from spirit to feints earlier in the run, so not allowing as much feinty flavours into the final distillate. 'MMP' is a medium or 'Mod Pot' distillate, with variations such as 'MMP1' being a distillate with a particular cut of spirit to feints, allowing some feinty flavours within the spirit. 'MMP4' is a heavier type of distillate. I wasn’t aware of such a variation within Midelton for their whiskey production, until I was chatting with fellow Dramface reviewer Archibald. With his extensive knowledge and far-reaching contacts in the Irish whiskey industry, he was able to tell me that ‘Midleton Mod Pot’ is used within the Spot Range. That rule may change slightly across the spot range, but primarily it’s the medium modified style that is produced to go into Spot whiskies. Great to know how Midelton can contain a vast difference with their product as they bottle the liquid under various brands and labels.
We must applaud the presentation here at this core range Irish Single Pot Still. Ramping the ABV up to 46%, Mitchell & Son could have kept this alongside the Green Spot at 40%. But here we are with an age statement, non-chill filtered and a bit more whiskey in the bottle. The same goes for a lot of the core range releases that fall under the Pernod Ricard umbrella here in their Irish Whiskey catalogue. Redbreast starts at 40% but then ramps up to 46% with the 15-year-old and 21-year-old. All Method & Madness bottlings, while being no age statement expression, offer a 46% ABV experience with a variety of different wood finishes. Additional variability within Jameson and Powers too provides a range of experience in the Single Pot Still whiskey selection from the French company.
The same can’t really be said for the range Pernod Ricard has within its arsenal for Scotch whiskies. Their presentation in the scotch whisky realm isn’t much to shout about. We can look at some of their brands, and the available core range they produce to see how ‘bland’ and ‘vanilla’ these whiskies are… but more frustrating how better they could easily be. While this isn’t a bad thing for a lot of people, but it’s a pain point for the enthusiasts and those chasing for added value. I’ll provide some examples:
The Aberlour core range all come in at 40%. Pretty similar in colour if not identical when looking at the 12, 16 and 18 year olds. Yes, the A’bunadh is cask strength, but the price for that will set you north of £80. But it’s an example of a little extra ABV for their core range that can give it that grip it really needs.
Allt-a-bhainne is a peated Speyside for the supermarket buyers. Looking at Benromach we can see how good a peated Speyside can be.
Glenlivet. How underwhelming their core range is. The abysmal Founders Reserve was described by Roy of Aqvavitae as ‘by far, one of the best cooking whiskies I have ever used’. This replaced the 12-year-old expression for a good while in U.K supermarkets and wasn’t overly cheap either. I think these are some good examples (I don’t want to bore you with the 12 or so brands they do own), but they could easily do a lot better in giving us that little bit extra - just my take on their ownership.
Ready to pour
Review
Non chill filtered, 46% ABV
£68-£75 widely available
Nose
You’re met with fresh fruit on arrival. It reminds me of a tin of fruit cocktail swimming in a sugar syrup. The fruit develops into more of a stone fruit, and maybe some raspberry jam. Quite a clean nose with a nice blast of spice. It feels thick and dense to me, added density with wood in the background and some raisins. Some green apples, soft vanilla, and warm honey.
Palate
It’s deliciously layered, and the texture is a great experience. It grips you instantly. Mouthfeel is oily and velvet on the tongue. The spice from the nose develops slowly followed by the wood. The spice is cinnamon and a little clove. There’s a citrus element to the whiskey, and it evolves into an orange rind. Sweeter again reminding me of some lemon sherbet. As it slowly softens, you’re getting a little tropical with the sweetness I described but more of a candied sweetness rather than some fruit.
The Dregs
My Green Spot score comes into play here, in which I stick by the 6/10 for that bottling. Green spot is good stuff and needs to be brought into the conversation when you talk of its older sibling here. Yellow spot in comparison is very good stuff. To me, it’s above the average for what a typical single pot still Irish brings in today’s whisky climate, and for the price. Some may argue about the scores for the spot range so far on Dramface, given the cost for the expressions. But that’s sadly where the Irish whiskey market finds itself today. Those peer bottlings of the Spot range are in fact priced around the same bracket.
The debate will flow in such a manner where those who recommend Green Spot, will have to mention the Redbreast 12 which is in the same price range. But, if you mention the 12, you must add in the Yellow Spot… which at the same age brings extra ABV with a maturation in those Malaga casks. Aha, but don’t be so quick. There’s a Lane of John’s brought to us by Powers which does trump all the expressions (and it’s mad to think they’re all created at the same distillery!). So, take this whiskey for what it is. A wonderful 12-year-old Single Pot Still Irish, which is unrivalled in its unique style if you wish to move away from the delectable malts of today. Added ABV, with extra maturation. This whiskey is clawing, velvety and one you could sit and have a conversation with.
The expressions I’ve mentioned in the dregs can form a really fun flight of samples in that order. You’d delve into the style with such an evolution that by the end you can appreciate each dram individually, but pick out one that you’d happily purchase again and again.
A quick note on price: I think the price range Yellow Spot finds itself in is typical for a decent Irish whiskey. Single Malt or Single Pot still. You’ll find a few that are a touch cheaper (Powers 12-year-old John’s Lane is around £55-60, Dingle Single Malt ~£60 – I’d highly recommend both bottles), but that’s where Irish whiskey finds itself right now (writing this in 2022). Prices across the entire whisky industry have been on the climb in recent years, and more of us are hunting down the value bottles as a result. There’s so much choice out there, that we can always find something to fill that void, when the whiskies we love just go beyond what’s reasonable and affordable. Archibald mentioned Old Comber in the Green Spot review. Liquid that Dunville’s can proudly call their own and a distillery that’s turning 10 years old this year. It won’t be long before they could potentially release an age statement for the Old Comber that would compete directly with the giants coming from Midleton. Or those bottles that are simply extortionately priced.
Score: 7/10
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