Yellow Spot 12 Year Single Pot Still

Yellow Spot 12 Year is a single pot still Irish whiskey from Dublin, bottled at 46% ABV. Single pot still means the mash combines malted and unmalted barley and is distilled in copper pot stills. Whiskeys made this way tend to taste different from both single malts and grain-based blends. Expect a oily, creamy texture and a spicy edge, with fruit and cereal notes running underneath. The reference material says this bottling is triple distilled and matured in a combination of ex-bourbon barrels, Spanish sherry casks and Malaga casks. The three cask types are what shape its character, so they make a useful guide to how it drinks. Bourbon barrels usually add vanilla, light toasted oak and a soft sweetness. Sherry casks tend to bring dried fruit, nuts and baking spice. Malaga wine casks are a less common choice, and in general they suggest a raisined, honeyed richness. Set against the pot still base, expect green orchard fruit and barley sweetness, a peppery lift on the mid-palate, and a long finish where spice and oak linger. The 46% strength is a little higher than the 40% standard for many bottlings, so the flavors come across with more weight and texture. For sipping, pour it neat first to see how the pot still spice and the cask fruit fit together. A few drops of room-temperature water will loosen the aromas, soften the peppery edge and bring out more of the orchard fruit and vanilla. Ice mutes the aroma and mouthfeel that pot still whiskey is prized for, so if you want it cold, use one large cube and keep the pour modest. A Glencairn glass suits the first few sips because its tapered bowl gathers the oak, fruit and spice for nosing. Once you know the whiskey, a rocks glass is a relaxed way to carry on. In cocktails, this is a bottle for drinks where the whiskey stays in front. An Old Fashioned made with it leans toward dried fruit and baking spice rather than the sharper rye or heavy caramel of bourbon. Use a light hand with sugar and a dash of aromatic bitters. A Manhattan with a quality sweet vermouth works well, since the sherry-influenced fruit pairs naturally with vermouth. In a Whiskey Sour or a tall Highball with soda and a lemon twist, it gives a gentler, fruitier result than a rye-based version, though most people will prefer to keep a bottle at this level for sipping and use a less costly Irish whiskey for mixing.