Welcome to Taste Test, where every week our critic Jonah Flicker explores the most buzzworthy and interesting whiskeys in the world. Check back each Sunday for his latest whiskey review.

We’re still a month out from St. Patrick’s Day, but that’s neither here nor there—every day is a good day to drink Redbreast, one of the very best Irish whiskey brands you can find. Over the past few years, the portfolio has expanded with some new cask-finished whiskeys inspired by the brand’s connection with Spain and Portugal and the sherry casks that are such an intrinsic part of its identity. The latest, Redbreast Moscatel Wine Cask Edition, marks a first for the brand, and is a very welcome addition.

Redbreast is a single pot still Irish whiskey. That means that it’s made in Ireland on a pot still at a single distillery—Midleton—from a mashbill of malted and unmalted barley. Midleton is also the home of other well-known Irish whiskey brands, with Jameson at the top of the list in terms of popularity, followed by names like Midleton Very Rare, Powers, and Green Spot (along with all the other Spot whiskeys). But Redbreast really stands out from the rest, with consistent quality ranging all the way from the core 12-year-old expression to some cask-strength bottlings to the elusive 27-year-old at the pinnacle of the lineup.

Then there is the Iberian Series, which as mentioned before pays tribute to the distillery’s relationship with the Spanish bodegas it sources its sherry casks from. All Redbreast is aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and sherry-seasoned oak, albeit in different proportions. But this series consists of special cask finishes, which so far has included expressions like Lustau (oloroso sherry finish) and PX (Pedro Ximenez sherry finish). The new whiskey in question is the first Redbreast to be aged in Moscatel wine casks following initial maturation in ex-American whiskey barrels and sherry casks. If you’re unfamiliar, Moscatel is a sweet dessert wine produced in Spain and Portugal, and these barrels specifically came from Bodegas Quitapenas in Málaga. The whiskey spent 16 months aging in these European oak hogsheads, which were seasoned with Moscatel for two years before heading to Midleton, and was bottled at 46 percent ABV.

The core Redbreast character is still present, which is a good thing—the point of a cask finish should never be to obscure the identity of the whiskey. But there are layers of other flavors at play here, with a strong base of sweet, ripe citrus—think blood orange and Cara Cara—as well as dried fruit and spice, buttressed by notes of vanilla, baked apple, wet oak, and maple syrup. There’s a sweetness to the whiskey, but it’s not saccharine, and overall the palate is harmonious. And, most importantly, the whiskey tastes different from others in the Iberian Series—which, after all, is the whole point of using different cask finishes.

When it comes down to it, if I could choose any Redbreast to drink, it probably won’t be this one, or any of the cask-finished expressions for that matter. They are all good, but I just really love the core lineup, particularly the 15 and 18-year-old expressions (I would never say not to the 27, of course, but I don’t come across that whiskey very often). The new Moscatel Wine Cask Edition serves its purpose well, however, offering a new take on a classic single pot still that any fan of the brand, or Irish whiskey in general, should try.

Score: 88