Master Blender Billy Leighton comments: “Iberia has been central to the history of Redbreast, and my colleagues and I have been visiting the peninsula since the 1980s. The close relationships fostered there over decades have led to many delightful discoveries that take the region’s influence on our whiskey to another level, while sitting comfortably within the Redbreast family. It gives me great pleasure that the new Iberian Series gives us an outlet to bring our best discoveries to consumers around the world. The collection will add new and exciting chapters to the Redbreast Family story with whiskeys finished in casks sourced from the sun-drenched bodegas of Spain and Portugal, suffused with the natural warmth and sweetness of the Iberian Peninsula.”

Dave McCabe, Blender at Irish Distillers adds, “The creation of the Redbreast Pedro Ximénez Edition came about thanks to strong relationships and good fortune. A number of years ago, our friends in Antonio Páez Lobato Cooperage in Jerez presented us with an exceptional opportunity to trial casks which had been pre-seasoned with Pedro Ximénez sherry for two years. Finding that the wood contributed a very different flavour profile to the traditional Spanish sherry cask, we finished our Redbreast whiskey in these hogsheads for between 12 and 22months, adding a distinctive twist to the signature Redbreast character.

“Underpinned by the much loved Redbreast Lustau Edition, each subsequent expression in this series will represent a new chapter in exploring the casks, flavours and aromas from this region.”

Crafted to the exacting standards of Irish Distillers Master Blender Billy Leighton and Blender Dave McCabe, Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey Pedro Ximénez Edition is bottled at 46% ABV and without chill-filtration. It will be available in Ireland from 27th September, in the UK, Finland and Global Travel Retail from late September, and in the US from November at RRP of€80, £72, $86.