Green Spot has a special place in the heart of whiskey aficionados. Distilled by Midleton and bottled for Mitchell & Son, who run an excellent chain of off-licences in the greater Dublin area, Green Spot is, like poor Old George the Galapagos tortoise, the last of its kind. In the early 20th century, distillers would supply whiskey by the cask to pubs and distributors like Mitchells. Some, like Mitchells, who had access to their own wine casks, would mature the whiskey themselves before selling it.
Green Spot was once one of a range of whiskeys bottled and sold by Mitchells, but its siblings Red Spot and Yellow Spot have long passed into the realm of myth and legend. Ian Buxton, in his book 101 Whiskies to Try Before you Die, described Green Spot as the coelacanth of whiskey – a throwback to the almost prehistoric days when it was commonplace for independents like Mitchells to finish and bottle their own brands.
Among whiskey drinkers worldwide, it gathered an enormous reputation, in part fuelled by the fact that it could generally only be bought in Dublin at Mitchells shops, but also because of its unique potstill character and immense flavour. In fact, it became so desirable that when Mitchells released limited edition 10 and 12 year old versions of this classic, they sold for hundreds of euro per bottle!
With the resurgence of Irish potstill whiskey in the past year, Green Spot has been rebranded and is now available more widely. The Irish Whiskey Society are delighted to welcome Peter Dunne of Mitchell & Son for a very special evening focused on one of the world's legendary whiskeys.
As usual, this tasting will take place at Brooks Hotel, Drury Street, Dublin 2. Please gather in the bar upstairs from 7.30pm, in advance of the tasting commencing at 8pm. You can book your place here.
Whiskeys
We split the usual vote for favourites into two parts: the first 4 whiskeys (official, retailed releases), then the last 3 whiskeys (cask samples). The precise number of votes for each whiskey is indicated in the tables below.
The favourite official bottling was: Green Spot 12yo.
The favourite cask sample was: 2nd fill bourbon.
1. Green Spot, pre-2011 edition
| ABV |
40% |
Age |
NAS |
| Type |
Single pot still |
Finish |
- |
| Distillery |
Midleton |
Region |
Ireland |
| Distilled |
|
Bottled |
|
| Votes |
2 |
Place |
|
| Notes |
- In theory, only the label and bottle changed in 2011. We put that to the test, comparing this older bottling with the current edition.
|
2. Green Spot, current edition
| ABV |
40% |
Age |
NAS |
| Type |
Single pot still |
Finish |
-
|
| Distillery |
Midleton |
Region |
Ireland |
| Distilled |
|
Bottled |
|
| Votes |
1 |
Place |
|
| Notes |
|
3. Green Spot 10yo
| ABV |
40% |
Age |
10 |
| Type |
Single pot still |
Finish |
-
|
| Distillery |
Midleton |
Region |
Ireland |
| Distilled |
1993 |
Bottled |
February 2005 |
| Votes |
14 |
Place |
|
| Notes |
- 1,000 bottles only
- 3 ex-bourbon casks
- Released for Mitchell and Son's 200th anniversary
|
4. Green Spot 12yo
| ABV |
58% |
Age |
12 |
| Type |
Single pot still |
Finish |
-
|
| Distillery |
Midleton |
Region |
Ireland |
| Distilled |
|
Bottled |
February 2005 |
| Votes |
24 |
Place |
|
| Notes |
- 200 bottles only
- 1 ex-bourbon cask
- Released for Mitchell and Son's 200th anniversary
|
5. 2nd fill bourbon cask sample
| ABV |
58-60% |
Age |
8 |
| Type |
Single pot still |
Finish |
-
|
| Distillery |
Midleton |
Region |
Ireland |
| Distilled |
|
Bottled |
18 Jan 2012 |
| Votes |
15 |
Place |
|
| Notes |
- One of the three components of the current Green Spot whiskey
|
6. 1st fill bourbon cask sample
| ABV |
58-60% |
Age |
8 |
| Type |
Single pot still |
Finish |
-
|
| Distillery |
Midleton |
Region |
Ireland |
| Distilled |
|
Bottled |
18 Jan 2012 |
| Votes |
13 |
Place |
|
| Notes |
- One of the three components of the current Green Spot whiskey
|
7. 1st fill sherry cask sample
| ABV |
58-60% |
Age |
8 |
| Type |
Single pot still |
Finish |
-
|
| Distillery |
Midleton |
Region |
Ireland |
| Distilled |
|
Bottled |
18 Jan 2012 |
| Votes |
5 |
Place |
|
| Notes |
- One of the three components of the current Green Spot whiskey
|
