By Emma Briones
Rating: A
Redbreast’s 2021 Dream Cask is a 29 year old single pot still whiskey aged in three different cask types, not just an Oloroso Sherry butt.
(Credit: Pernod Ricard)
What makes a whisky a dream dram? For me, it’s an unforgettable experience. A dream dram is a whiskey that will get stuck in the corner of your mind, one that you’ll remember in the years to come. At Redbreast, they try to create this experience with their Dream Cask collection. An annual release that goes now for its 4th edition and is usually launched around World Whisky Day.
Master Blender Billy Leighton selects each year the casks for the new Redbreast Dream Cask Edition. For 2021, it’s a 29-year-old single pot still Irish whiskey, aged in an Oloroso Sherry cask and bottled at 51.2% ABV.
This year, though, Leighton has worked with Blender Dave McCabe to try something new for the Redbreast Dream Cask. The 2021 edition is a vatting of four whiskeys aged in ex-bourbon, sherry- and ruby port-seasoned casks:
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Cask 1: a single pot still Irish whiskey distilled in 1989, matured in an ex-bourbon barrel and re-casked into a ruby port cask in 1995.
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Cask 2: a single pot still Irish whiskey distilled in 1991, matured in a second-fill ex-bourbon barrel.
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Cask 3: a single pot still Irish whiskey distilled in 1991, matured in a second-fill ex-bourbon barrel.
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Cask :- a single pot still Irish whiskey distilled in 1991, matured in an ex-bourbon barrel and re-casked into a sherry butt in 2011.
The whiskeys have been married in a single Oloroso sherry butt (hence the title), where they have further matured for 15 months. This longer finish is supposed to provide a wide spectrum of mellow fruit flavors and pot still spices.
The Whiskey
Redbreast Dream Cask Oloroso Sherry Edition is burnt umber in the glass. On the nose, starts with dark fruit notes, raisins, dried peaches. A souvenir of banana and orange peel. Feels velvety, with soft vanilla notes and a touch of oak notes. Toasted cinnamon and nutmeg, with a bit of powdered sugar.
At first, Redbreast Dream Cask Oloroso Sherry Edition behaves on the palate as you should expect from a classic Redbreast: nice full body, a bit oily. Evolves into a chocolatey feeling with notes of dark coffee and a bit of spice. And then changes completely to fruity notes of purple grapes, raisins, licorice, candy blackberries. There is anise spice, that comes along with cinnamon and nutmeg, always present in the back. and some brown sugar. soft anise spice
The finish lingers on the palate, with black pepper and licorice notes.
I fell in love with Redbreast’s first Dream Cask. It was an unforgettable dram that still sits on my top-5 all-time whisky favorites. This Oloroso Sherry Edition might not have struck me as the first one did, but oh boy, it has surprised me. Complex and rounded, has all the things that make me love Redbreast. And a twist. An unexpected twist that makes you want to pour a bit more.
As you read this, it has probably been sold out even at a retail price that is not available for all budgets. But if, somewhere, somehow, you can get your hands on a dram, or even a bottle, don’t even think about it. They call it a dream cask for a reason.
The Price
Only 924 bottles of Redbreast Dream Cask Oloroso Sherry Edition will be available exclusively through an online ballot via Redbreast’s private members’ club, The Birdhouse (excepting resale). It is retailed at €520.
