Whisky Producer Profile - Spot Whiskey
Aggregate Producer Rating?
0.0
(88.5 pctl)
$1.32 / pctl
Spot Whiskey
| Est. 1887
Part of the Pernod Ricard family of brands.
Overall, Spot Whiskey is known for:
Producer Overview
Green Spot is a single pot still Irish whiskey, produced specifically for Mitchell & Son of Dublin by Irish Distillers at the Midleton Distillery in Cork, Ireland. Green Spot is one of the few remaining bonded Irish whiskeys. Along with Mitchell's three older offerings, Yellow Spot, Red Spot, and Blue Spot. It is one of only four whiskeys specifically produced for and sold by an independent wine merchant in Ireland. In 1805, William Mitchell established a bakery and confectionery business on Dublin's Grafton Street. In 1887, the business expanded into the wine and spirit trade at a location on nearby Kildare Street. At the time, it was common practice in Ireland for merchants to purchase distillate in bulk from whiskey distilleries and then mature it themselves in their own casks in bonded warehouses. The merchants had ample supplies of casks due to the importation of wine and fortified wines such as port and sherry. Therefore, it was a natural progression for Mitchell & Son to enter the bonded whiskey trade. Using distillate obtained from Jameson's nearby Bow Street Distillery, Mitchell & Son matured whiskey in a mix of casks that had been used to hold both dark and light sherries in their cellars under Fitzwilliam Lane in Dublin. For the first five years of maturation, half of the whiskey was aged in casks that had previously held Oloroso and other darker sherries, with the other half aged in casks that had held lighter finos. This combination prevented the darker wines from overpowering the whiskey. After five years, whiskeys from the respective light and dark sherry casks were then vatted together and allowed to mature for an additional five years in neutral oak. Mitchell & Son sold a range of whiskeys under the "Spot" brand. The name itself originated from Mitchell's practice of marking casks of different ages with a spot of colored paint. There was a 7-year-old Blue Spot, a 12-year-old Yellow Spot, and a 15-year-old Red Spot. However, it was the 10-year-old Green Spot that emerged as the company's most popular whiskey, and it was the only Spot whiskey to remain in continuous production until the present. In 1971, Irish Distillers closed its Dublin distilleries (including Bow Street) and consolidated production in Midleton. As a result, the makeup of the whiskey was altered for the first time in known history. This change, coupled with low stocks of maturing whiskey, led Mitchell & Son to make an agreement with Irish Distillers to mature the whiskey onsite in Irish Distillers' own casks, with Mitchell & Son having sole rights to market, sell, and develop the whiskey.
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