IRELAND · COUNTY CORK · SINGLE POT STILL REVIEW
Yellow Spot 12 Year Old
The Rarest Cask in Ireland.
A honeyed, stone-fruit single pot still fully matured in three casks — including the rare Spanish Malaga — at 46% for around $100.
A 12-year single pot still distilled at Midleton and matured for Dublin's Mitchell & Son — full-term matured in bourbon, sherry and rare Malaga wine casks. Honeyed stone fruit rides over pot-still pepper, and it took Whisky Advocate's Irish Whiskey of the Year.
Buy Online FROM $109 Read the full review →
Official site · spotwhiskey.com
REVIEW DECISION
The Malaga-cask Midleton treat with honeyed stone fruit.
Yellow Spot layers peach, apricot, honey and peppery pot-still spice at 46%. Buy it as a richer step-up from Green Spot; skip it if you want daily-bottle value.
BEST FOR MALAGA-CASK RICHNESS SKIP IF VALUE COMES FIRST
SCORE
91/100
Superior Whiskey rating
MARKET
FROM $109
TYPICAL SHELF $100-109 | CORE RANGE | JULY 2026
I Origin
YELLOW SPOT — STORY & ORIGIN
The lost Dublin whiskey, revived.
Yellow Spot's signature is the rare Málaga cask. Mitchell & Son, Dublin wine merchants since 1805, marked their maturing casks with dabs of coloured paint — green, yellow, red, blue — to track age, and yellow historically denoted roughly the oldest whiskey (about 12 years) of the original range.
Yellow Spot vanished in the mid-to-late 1960s and was gone for about 50 years. In 2012 Mitchell's revived it from their original ledgers — including the distinctive three-cask recipe with its rare Spanish Málaga fortified-wine cask.
Produced at Midleton in County Cork, it melds three separately full-term-matured 12-year pot still whiskeys — bourbon, sherry and Málaga — bottled together at 46%. The Málaga cask is what sets it apart from every other Spot.
HOW IT'S MADE — IN FIVE STEPS
POT-STILL MASH
Malted + unmalted barley in copper pot stills.
DISTILLED AT MIDLETON
The same Cork distillery as Redbreast.
THREE CASK TYPES
Bourbon + sherry + rare Spanish Malaga.
FULL-TERM MATURED
Each component aged 12 years, then melded.
BOTTLED AT 46%
92 proof, small batch.
YELLOW SPOT 12 SPECS · AT A GLANCE
Everything, on one label.
Verified by our editors
| COUNTRY | Ireland (Cork) |
|---|---|
| DISTILLERY | Midleton (for Mitchell & Son) |
| WHISKEY | Single Pot Still |
| NAME | Yellow Spot 12 |
| MASH BILL | Malted + unmalted barley |
| AGE | 12 years |
|---|---|
| ABV | 46% · 92 proof |
| CASK | 3 casks, full-term: bourbon + sherry + Malaga |
| FILTRATION | Not stated · assume chill-filtered |
| COLOR | Not stated |
| RELEASE | Core range · small batch |
II On the Palate
YELLOW SPOT 12 TASTING NOTES — NOSE · PALATE · FINISH
Honeyed stone fruit, at 46.
Stone fruit, honey and pot-still spice on the nose; creamy honey, crème brûlée and firm pepper on the palate; a long, sweet-then-drying, spiced finish. Richer and firmer than Green Spot.
I · NOSE
Stone fruit & honey
Fleshy peach and apricot, mown hay and honeyed Malaga sweetness over vanilla, with cracked black pepper, nutmeg and green tea.
STONE FRUIT · HONEY · POT-STILL SPICE
ON THE NOSE9.2
II · PALATE
Creamy, honey-sweet, peppery
Velvety body — honey, crème brûlée, milk chocolate and coffee giving way to firm clove and black-pepper spice. Richer and firmer than Green Spot.
CREAMY · HONEY-SWEET · PEPPERY
ON THE PALATE9.1
III · FINISH
Long, sweet then drying
Honey and stewed apple fade to toasted oak, red grape and a drying, tannic marzipan-and-spice close.
LONG · SWEET-THEN-DRYING · SPICED
ON THE FINISH9.0
EDITORIAL CONSENSUS
The sophisticated middle child: sweet, spicy and distinctive enough to justify special-occasion status.
The review treats Yellow Spot as a treat, not a utility bottle. Its strength is singular flavor rather than price-per-pour efficiency.
HOUSE
91 / 100
Our panel score
MARKET
FROM $109
Current buying context
READERS
91 / 100
Community pulse
III Is It For You?
WHO IS YELLOW SPOT 12 FOR?
Who it's for — and who it isn't.
AN HONEST READ
FOR YOU — You'll love it if…
You're a Green Spot fan wanting more age, proof and richness
You love honeyed stone fruit with a spicy backbone
You're curious about the rare Malaga cask
You want a fuller 46% body
You value a stated 12-year age
You want a premium-but-not-crazy Irish showpiece
NOT FOR YOU — Look elsewhere if…
You want cask strength (get Blue Spot or Redbreast 12 CS)
You're value-focused — Green Spot is $40 less
You dislike a clove and black-pepper bite
You prefer the lighter, fresher Green Spot
You want sherry-bomb depth (Red Spot or GlenDronach)
You want smoke or peat — there's none here
IV How to Drink It
HOW TO DRINK YELLOW SPOT 12
“Yellow Spot, neat.”
At 46% it takes a drop of water gracefully — softening the pepper and lifting honey and chocolate. Ice mutes the Malaga notes you're paying for. At ~$100 most say don't mix it — mix Green Spot instead.
NEAT FIRST
The honeyed stone fruit and Malaga sweetness are the whole point.
A DROP OF WATER
Softens the pepper and lifts the honey and chocolate.
SKIP THE ICE
It mutes the Malaga notes you're paying for.
THE SERVE
FIG. 02 — THE SERVE, NEAT
Neat first. A drop of water second.
BUYING CONTEXT
Yellow Spot 12 vs the pot-still ladder
Yellow Spot sits between everyday Midleton and luxury Midleton. Green Spot is fresher, Redbreast 12 is more classic, and Barry Crockett is the polished prestige step-up.
| BOTTLE | SCORE | MARKET | PROFILE | WHY IT MATTERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow Spot 12 | 91 | $109 | Peach, honey, spice | Malaga-cask treat |
| Green Spot | 90 | $60 | Apple, vanilla | Everyday freshness |
| Redbreast 12 | 91 | $70 | Creamy sherry spice | Benchmark pour |
| Powers John's Lane | 90 | $70 | Honey, leather, spice | Bourbon-cask depth |
| Barry Crockett Legacy | 93 | $300 | Vanilla, citrus, oak | Luxury polish |
V Where to Find It
Where to buy Yellow Spot 12 — or try a pour first.
PRICES CHECKED · JULY 2026
SHIPS TO ~40 STATES · REWARDS DISCOUNT
ReserveBar PREFERRED RETAILER
SHIPS WHERE LEGAL · ADDRESS-GATED PRICE
IN-STORE & PICKUP · STORE-DEPENDENT
Yellow Spot is a reliably-stocked core bottle — the easiest Spot to find after Green — with only a mild step-up in price; expect roughly $100–$110, store-dependent. We may earn a commission on retail-partner links.
VI Ask Forge
ASK FORGE · YOUR WHISKEY GUIDE
Not sure it's your pour?
Forge is your whiskey guide. Tell him what you usually drink — he'll say whether Yellow Spot's honeyed, Malaga-cask, 46% profile is your pour, or point you to a better fit.
Compares it to bottles you already love
Finds a similar profile at a lower price
Learns your taste as you chat
Forge
WHISKEY SPECIALIST · AI
Is Yellow Spot really worth $40 more than Green Spot?
Genuinely different, not just an older Green Spot. Yellow Spot is 12 years stated, 46%, and fully matured in three casks — including rare Malaga — so you get honeyed stone fruit and a firmer, peppery body. If you sip occasionally and want a treat, yes. For an everyday pour, keep Green Spot and save the $40.
Ask Forge about Yellow Spot 12…
VERDICT · YELLOW SPOT 12 REVIEW
The sophisticated middle child.
Malaga-cask honey and stone fruit over a firm pepper-spice backbone, full-term matured in three cask types and bottled at 46% — priced a touch proud but genuinely singular. A treat, not a daily.
HONEYED & PEPPEREDMALAGA-KISSEDA TREAT, NOT A DAILY
91/100
Buy Online $109 Our score — 91 / 100
COMMUNITY PULSE
Readers treat it like a reward bottle.
Most praise centers on fruit, texture and a more complete 46% body. Price is the one recurring hesitation.
READER AVG
91/100
Reviewed pours
NIALL C.
92 / 100
“Stone fruit and pot-still spice in balance. It feels special without becoming heavy.”
RHEA M.
90 / 100
“Beautiful pour, but too pricey for daily drinking. I save it for slower nights.”
OWEN T.
91 / 100
“The Malaga cask gives it a personality Green Spot does not have. Very polished.”
KEEP EXPLORING · IRISH POT STILL
Continue the tour.
YELLOW SPOT 12 · FAQ
Questions, answered.
Six things drinkers most often ask us about Yellow Spot 12 at the bar.
ANSWERED BY NIALL CONNOLLY · THE ATLANTIC SEAT
i. Is Yellow Spot 12 worth it?
Yes, as a treat: it carries Whisky Advocate's Irish Whiskey of the Year pedigree and a genuinely distinctive Malaga-cask character. The one caveat is price — around $100 is a touch steep for a 46% 12-year, so think of it as a showpiece rather than an everyday pour.
ii. Yellow Spot vs Green Spot — which should I get?
Yellow is older (stated 12 years), stronger (46%) and adds the rare Malaga cask, giving honeyed stone fruit and a firmer body. Green Spot is fresher, brighter and about $40 cheaper. Yellow for a treat; Green for every day.
iii. What's a Malaga cask?
A cask that held Malaga, a sweet fortified wine from southern Spain. It's rare in whiskey and lends an exotic honey, peach and raisin sweetness — the signature note that sets Yellow Spot apart.
iv. Is Yellow Spot finished or fully matured?
Fully matured, not finished. Three separate 12-year pot still whiskeys — one from bourbon casks, one from sherry, one from Malaga — are each aged full-term and then melded. The Malaga character is integrated, not a short surface finish.
v. Is Yellow Spot hard to find?
It's marketed as rare, but it's actually a core-range bottle and reliably stocked — the easiest Spot to find after Green Spot.
vi. Is Yellow Spot chill-filtered or coloured?
The distillery doesn't state it. Assume it's chill-filtered per category norms, unlike the range's explicitly non-chill-filtered Blue and Gold Spot releases — but treat it as unconfirmed.