What is the difference between Jameson, Powers, Redbreast, and Spot?

Written by Brian Donnelly

March 21, 2022

Overview

Irish Whiskey is incredibly popular in the United States, even outside of St. Patrick’s Day. Many of the most popular Irish Whiskey brands worldwide are all made in one place, the Midleton Distillery (old & new) in County Cork, Ireland. It can be difficult for the ordinary Irish Whiskey fan to understand the subtle differences between brands. In this post, I will explain how four popular brands from the Midleton Distillery are different. This post is not a comprehensive history of these brands, the Midleton Distillery or the Irish Whiskey category. Due to limited availability in most markets, I will not cover Jameson 18-Year-Old, Midleton Very Rare, or Midleton Barry Crockett.

First let’s cover the basics. What is Irish Whiskey?

Here’s the simple definition:

Irish Whiskey is traditional triple-distilled using pot stills and must be produced in Ireland (Republic & Northern) and barrel-aged for at least three years.

Here’s the complicated definition:

• Be distilled in Ireland from a mash of cereal grains

• Be distilled to an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% alcohol by volume (189.6 proof)

• Be distilled so that the distillate has an aroma and flavor derived from the materials used

• Contain no additives except for water and caramel coloring

• Be stored in wooden casks (not to exceed 700 liters [185 gallons] in capacity) in Ireland for no less than three years

Defining the different types of Irish Whiskey

• Irish Malt Whiskey - Produced from a mash bill of just 100% malted barley. This type of Whiskey is traditionally triple (sometimes double) distilled in pot stills to encourage complex flavors and a full, oily texture.

• Irish Grain Whiskey - Produced from a mash bill containing 30% malted barley. The remainder comprises unmalted cereal grains such as corn, wheat, or barley. This type of Whiskey is continuously distilled using column stills to achieve a lighter style, usually blended with Malt Whiskey or Pot Still Whiskey.

• Irish Pot Still Whiskey - Produced using a mash bill containing a minimum of 30% malted barley and a minimum of 30% unmalted barley. The remainder of the mash bill may be malted or unmalted barley and may include up to 5% other unmalted cereal grains (usually oats or rye). This type of Whiskey must be distilled in pot stills, traditionally triple distilled.

• Blended Irish Whiskey - Produced from a mixture of two or more different whiskey types featured above. The whiskeys that make up the blend may also be chosen from different distilleries, ages, types of cask finish, and flavor profiles to achieve the desired flavor and consistency. Blended Irish Whiskey tends to be smooth and mellow with a range of flavors and a light, silky mouthfeel. Blended Irish Whiskey is the largest and most popular category.

Single denotes a single distillery, e.g., Single Malt or Single Pot Still.

The Brand - Jameson

Jameson is the best-selling Irish Whiskey globally and the flagship brand for the Midleton Distillery in County Cork. Founded in 1780, when John Jameson established the Bow Street Distillery in Dublin, still a big tourist attraction for visitors. The brand has survived the rise, fall, and rebirth in popularity of Irish Whiskey, including the significant consolidation that moved the brand to the Midleton Distillery in 1975. The Jameson family motto “Sine Metu,” which means “Without Fear,” is featured on the front label of every bottle.

The Brand - Powers

James Powers, a Dublin innkeeper and whiskey connoisseur founded the John’s Lane Distillery in 1791. His son John Powers took over his father’s operation in 1817. He expanded the family business even further by entering into a partnership with his son James and forming John Powers & Son in 1821. The Powers brand features many historical moments, including the first individually bottled whiskey in Dublin (Gold Label), one Ireland’s first trademarks in 1877 (Diamond P logo), and used in the original Irish coffee created in 1943. Unfortunately, due to two World Wars, American Prohibition, and tariffs imposed by the UK, the brand has to merge with two other distilleries to form the Irish Distillers to save the Irish Whiskey category. The brand moved distilling operations to the Midleton Distillery in 1975, but bottling continues in Dublin.

If the Redbreast and Spot Whiskey brands are both Single Pot Still Irish Whiskeys from the same distillery, then how are they different?

The Midleton Distillery is a massive and highly technical operation, which allows Master Distiller Brian Nation to create three different styles of Pot Still Irish Whiskey, depending on the final brand in which the distillate will be used. The light distillate is herbal and crisp, the medium distillate has orchard fruit notes of apple & pear, and the robust distillate is spicy, full-body, & aromatic. The Redbreast range only uses the light and medium distillates, except for the 21 year-old and 27 year-old expressions, which use all three styles. The Spot Whiskey brand only uses the medium distillate style. The different distillate styles, barrels types, and cask-finishings allow one distillery to produce multiple brands of Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey that will all taste very different. Fun fact, there are around 1.7 million casks of aging whiskey between the two Midleton Distillery facilities.

The Brand - Redbreast

Redbreast is a Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, produced from grain to glass at the New Midleton Distillery in County Cork. The brand was created by the Dublin-based merchant Gilbeys Wine & Spirits Import, who would source distillate from local distilleries, in this case, the Jameson Distillery, then age, label, and release the whiskey themselves under their own brand. The Redbreast range boasts the complexity and distinctive qualities of an Irish Pot Still Whiskey with rich dried fruit flavor from the Sherry-cask influence. The name Redbreast comes from the “Robin Redbreast” bird that can be found on the label of each expression. The inspiration for the name came in 1903 from then Gilbeys’ chairman and avid bird watcher, who noticed that the color of the whiskey matched the color of the chest of a robin redbreast. Today, Redbreast is the largest selling Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey globally.

The Brand - Spot Whiskeys

The Mitchell family created the Spot Whiskey brand as a bonder whiskey brand in 1887. Mitchell & Sons was originally a wine merchant and importer in Dublin. They began filling their empty wine and fortified wine barrels with sourced whiskey from the local Jameson Distillery before returning these barrels to age in their cellar warehouse. The Spot name originated from the Mitchell family’s practice of marking casks with a daub of colored paint to indicate their age potential. There was a ‘Green Spot,’ ‘Yellow Spot,’ ‘Blue Spot,’ and ‘Red Spot.’

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Jameson, Powers, Redbreast, & Spot Whiskeys

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