Spot On
By reputation, Green Spot is considered to be among the best, classic, pure pot still Irish whiskeys. It is produced by Mitchell & Sons, a Dublin wine merchant which also touts Green Spot as the longest running continuously available pot still whiskey. The first and last time I tried Green Spot was during a hit-and-run stop at Neary's in Dublin in 2008. I remember it fondly though I can't say that I really had a chance to enjoy it fully.
Sadly, Green Spot is generally not available in the U.S. or in most places outside of Ireland. The closest place I could find was the Provincial government's LCBO liquor chain in Ontario, Canada (about a four-hour drive). By happy coincidence my oldest brother lives in Montreal and 45 minutes from the nearest LCBO outlet. A call to the store to set some aside and a previously scheduled visit from my brother resulted in a bottle arriving at my house.
Here just a month and only a third of the bottle remains. Something must be done...
Hey, This Is Good!
From the moment you bring the glass to your nose and mouth you quickly discover that Green Spot's reputation is well-earned. The nose is rich, or "dense" as Jim Murray describes it. The taste is full and your first thought about the edgy spiciness that jumps out is a cautionary "uh-oh." But it immediately softens quite nicely while retaining a pot still assertiveness -- the distinctive "flintiness" as it's often called -- and a long and complex finish. You find yourself thinking about, even admiring, this whiskey while you're drinking it. It's a wonderful whiskey that's a mere 8-years-old. Wise beyond its years, in a manner of speaking.
If you compare Green Spot to Red Breast, a 12-year-old pure pot still commonly available in the States, you can taste the 4 additional years that Red Breast spent in the cask with a fuller nose and softer finish. And yet it's the very and surprisingly agreeable edge and lasting finish of Green Spot that quickly made it a new favorite of mine and of my sibs.
Mitchell & Sons' website states that only 500 cases are made each year, mostly for the Irish market and with most sold through the company's 21 Kildare Street shop in Dublin. In addition to the "standard" they also offer limited runs of 10- and 12-year Green Spot from 2004, though both are likely hard to find even in Ireland.
Northbound Again
A combined personal and business trip north of the border in a few weeks presents another opportunity to fetch a couple of bottles of Green Spot (about C$95 a bottle). It would be nice to be able to enjoy it a little more freely instead of carefully rationing it as I usually do with whiskeys which I am unable to procure without a trans-Atlantic trip.
Let me know if you've found some in the U.S. And if you've had a chance to try it, let me know what you think.
Sadly, Green Spot is generally not available in the U.S. or in most places outside of Ireland. The closest place I could find was the Provincial government's LCBO liquor chain in Ontario, Canada (about a four-hour drive). By happy coincidence my oldest brother lives in Montreal and 45 minutes from the nearest LCBO outlet. A call to the store to set some aside and a previously scheduled visit from my brother resulted in a bottle arriving at my house.
Hey, This Is Good!
From the moment you bring the glass to your nose and mouth you quickly discover that Green Spot's reputation is well-earned. The nose is rich, or "dense" as Jim Murray describes it. The taste is full and your first thought about the edgy spiciness that jumps out is a cautionary "uh-oh." But it immediately softens quite nicely while retaining a pot still assertiveness -- the distinctive "flintiness" as it's often called -- and a long and complex finish. You find yourself thinking about, even admiring, this whiskey while you're drinking it. It's a wonderful whiskey that's a mere 8-years-old. Wise beyond its years, in a manner of speaking.
If you compare Green Spot to Red Breast, a 12-year-old pure pot still commonly available in the States, you can taste the 4 additional years that Red Breast spent in the cask with a fuller nose and softer finish. And yet it's the very and surprisingly agreeable edge and lasting finish of Green Spot that quickly made it a new favorite of mine and of my sibs.
Mitchell & Sons' website states that only 500 cases are made each year, mostly for the Irish market and with most sold through the company's 21 Kildare Street shop in Dublin. In addition to the "standard" they also offer limited runs of 10- and 12-year Green Spot from 2004, though both are likely hard to find even in Ireland.
Northbound Again
A combined personal and business trip north of the border in a few weeks presents another opportunity to fetch a couple of bottles of Green Spot (about C$95 a bottle). It would be nice to be able to enjoy it a little more freely instead of carefully rationing it as I usually do with whiskeys which I am unable to procure without a trans-Atlantic trip.
Let me know if you've found some in the U.S. And if you've had a chance to try it, let me know what you think.
Posted by Richard Nagle at 6/2/2009 11:58 AM 
Categories: Red Breast, Green Spot
Tags: Green Spot Irish Whiskey pure pot still
Categories: Red Breast, Green Spot
Tags: Green Spot Irish Whiskey pure pot still
Just to let ye know guys ... we fanatics over here in the land of Saints and Scholars
Keep up the good fight Whiskey brothers
Cheers
Adrian (aka IWC)
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Okay I have followed up on this and I've had confirmation that Greenspot is still a 100% Pure Pot Still. We can all breath a sigh of relief and rejoice.
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Adrian: May God save you and pour blessings (and a dram or four of good whiskey) on your name for your dogged determination in tracking this down and settling our troubled minds over suspicions of malingering by IDI concerning our Green Spot. Or, as we might say in these parts (or pahts in Boston), Feckin' A, bubba, you da man. I wonder why they dropped the wording from the label.
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We discussed the lack of PPS on the label too. And came up with this guestimation
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I didn't know it was available in Canada. If I ever find myself in the Great White North, I'll definitely try to get some. Maybe we should have a resource of places in Canada that have Green Spot.
Tangentially related: do they sell Paddy's in Canada?
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The LCBOs in Ontario carry 23 brands of Irish whiskey, including Green Spot and several others which I cannot or only rarely find in the States. They have a good search feature on their website (www.lcbo.ca) where you can view the Irish whiskeys they have and check the quantities of each available in each store. If a specific brand is not in stock at the store that you plan to visit you can call and ask them to have the ones you want transferred to them (allow a week, though it could be quicker). That way you can reserve the bottles you want at the store closest (using "close" in a relative way here) to you. They've been very good about that. Be aware that you may be required to pay a 3 percent duty on more than one bottle of liquor when you return to the States.
I have not yet found Paddy in Canada though it may be available at Duty Free at the larger airports. Oddly enough, it IS sold in the U.S., technically speaking, but it's just not available here. Here's the deal: it's sold at some U.S. airports at the outbound Duty Free shop. So, I guess it's possible to fly through a U.S. airport en route to Canada or elsewhere, buy some Paddy at Duty Free, then bring it back into the U.S. (again, with the caveat about paying Duty). Complicated, but doable depending on your travel arrangements. (ah, the things we do for love...)
I've also had reports of Paddy sold at Australian Duty Free shops. However, the label states that while it's distilled in Cork (Midleton), it's bottled in OZ. Also, there appears to be a "premium" Paddy (yeah, sounds funny, I know.) available in a special bottle at a higher price. But I think that's merely a repackaging similar to what Tullamore Dew does with the green and white crock they sell.
I plan on visiting the LCBOs again soon to continue to expand the collection.
Slàinte Mhaith!
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