| Type | Irish whiskey |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Irish Distillers (Pernod Ricard) |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Introduced | Circa 1920: Bonded Merchant |
| Discontinued | Blue Spot, Yellow Spot, Red Spot |
| Proof | 80 |
| Related products | Redbreast Pot Still |
Green Spot is a pot still distilled Irish whiskey, produced specifically for Mitchell & Son of Dublin, by Irish Distillers at the Midleton Distillery, Cork, Ireland. It is one of the only remaining bonded Irish whiskeys, and is currently the only brand specifically produced for and sold by an independent wine merchant in Ireland.
Green Spot was described by whiskey writer Jim Murray as "unquestionably one of the world's great whiskeys."[1]
Contents |
Mitchell & Son wine merchants, were established in 1805; however, it is uncertain exactly when Green Spot was first produced. It is known though, that by the 1920s Jameson's Bow Street Distillery was supplying Mitchell & Son with at least 100 sherry hogheads of pot still distilled whiskey per annum.
Half of the casks used had previously held oloroso and other darker sherries, while the other half had held lighter finos. This was to prevent the wine from overpowering the whiskey. The whiskey was allowed to mature in the casks for five years, before being vatted and allowed to blend and mature for a further five years. It was then bottled and sold as a ten-year-old.
The blend was originally known as "Pat whiskey", and the labels carried the logo of a man on a green background. This soon lead to the name "Green spot".
When Jameson moved production from Bow St. to Midleton, the make up of the whiskey altered for the first time in living memory. This coupled with low stocks of maturing whiskey led Mitchell & Son into an agreement with Irish Distillers, whereby the whiskey would be matured by the distillery in their own casks, with Mitchell & Sons having sole rights to market, sell and develop the whiskey.
The current Green spot is slightly younger than the original. It is a blend of seven and eight year old pot still whiskey, 25% of which has matured in sherry casks.
Only 200 cases, (approximately 1200 bottles) are produced each year, most of this is sold through Mitchell and Son's shop in Dublin. As a result, it is difficult to obtain outside of Ireland, except in specialist retailers.
Green spot is one of the few pure pot still whiskey brands produced today (along with Redbreast whiskey). Note that all single malts are also purely from a pot still, but are generally distilled twice, whereas the whiskeys used for pure pot still whiskeys are generally distilled three times. Pure pot still whiskeys use partially unmalted barley so they can not be technically called a single malt.