Redbreast’s Iberian Series has been one of the quirkier collections to come out of the Irish whiskey market in the last decade, and for 2026, they’ve continued to nail those experiments with their fifth release: Redbreast Moscatel Wine Cask Edition.
Redbreast whiskeys are typically aged in a combination of sherry and bourbon casks, but the Iberian collection adds an additional layer to explore what can come of unique flavor combinations. For this release, Redbreast used Málaga Moscatel hogsheads made from European oak for an additional 16 months of finishing. Casks are seasoned with Moscatel for two years before they’re shipped to Middleton Distillery.
According to the distillery, the final whiskey features brighter and more citrusy flavors overall. Notes from the distillery describe citrus flavors and herbal tea notes with spicier hints of nutmeg and cedar. They also detect vanilla, floral honey, “and sugar-glazed fruits, while the pot still spices add subtle notes of black peppercorn and clove in the background,” and that’s what I found to be the case when tasting it. Redbreast is a revered brand among whiskey aficionados. One of their most popular regular releases is their 15-year-old Irish whiskey, which finds a nice balance of fresh and rich, bright and deep flavors. Moscatel Wine Cask really just shifts that flavor profile slightly toward those lighter notes — an undertone of vanilla buttercream rather than notes of toffee, for instance.
Moscatel Cask is deeply creamy, with cereal notes and a bright lemon icing note over dry oak spices. You’ll pick up hints of tea and baking spices that call to mind a hot toddy, and aromas of honey and pear here and there. It’s a well-rounded whiskey, and an impressive achievement to have bottled something so balanced from an experiment with a less-than-common wine cask in the whiskey world. While distilleries all over the world have been experimenting with new cask types over the last decade, white wines (and wine casks in general) have presented challenges (and some mediocre releases) even for the most respected brands on the market.
Redbreast Moscatel Cask manages to be a lot of things — fruity, soft, structured, spicy, bright here and there, at some points fudgy and rich, at other points light and citrusy. It’s a great example of a pot still whiskey. Irish whiskey has always struggled to get the respect it deserves among the bourbon and scotch drinkers of the world, so whether you’re already in on the Irish whiskey world or just looking for the right bottle to convince you, you should keep an eye out for this one. At $110, Redbreast Moscatel Wine Cask Finish isn’t a bank breaker or a risky investment — it’s just a very good bottle with an approachable price point. Hopefully, this won’t be the last time we see this release from Redbreast, but for no,w it’s a one-time-only offering, so if you’re intrigued, make sure to get it while you can.
G. Clay Whittaker is a Maxim contributor covering lifestyle, whiskey, cannabis and travel. His work has also appeared in Bon Appetit, Men’s Journal, Cigar Aficionado, Playboy and Esquire. Subscribe to his newsletter Drinks & Stuff for whiskey reviews and trends, perspectives on drinks, and stuff.
