Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/490558
{ SOMMjournal.com } 81 fittingly, the day before St. Patrick's Day 2013). "Since then we've had Powers John's Lane 12 Year Old Single Pot Still, Powers Signature Release and Redbreast 21. We've gone from having hardly any to having a good few," says O'Donovan. The latest release hit the New York mar- ket this past February—the "impossible unicorn" of Irish pot still whiskeys, Yellow Spot, which ceased production in the mid- dle of the last century. "People were asking for it before it was officially released," says Joel Cuellar, Brandy Library's Beverage Director, who believes it is his job to steer sippers away from the standard and into the sublime. Aged in Malaga, bourbon and Sherry casks for 12 years, Yellow Spot is a rich, gorgeous spirit to be sipped neat, with notes of apricot, spice and butter cookies. There are around 1,500 cases circulating around the U.S. right now, found in spe- cialty shops like Park Avenue Liquor and on the rarefied shelves of Brandy Library. Sitting on the leather loungers, looking at the floor-to-ceiling walls of whiskeys there, O'Donovan points to the shelf holding the Irish bottles, which right now occupy about half a bookcase. "See that?" O'Donovan says, with not just a little bit of Irish pride in his generous brogue. "We want the whole wall to be Irish whiskey—with Midleton right in the middle." THE THIRD REVOLUTION created by Joel Cuellar of NYC's Brandy Library exclusively for The SOMM Journal An "impossible unicorn." Yellow Spot is a rare Irish pot still whiskey available in limited quantities at retailers including Park Avenue Liquors, where it is shown here. The Third Revolution combines Jameson Black Barrel with Floc de Gascogne and vermouth. Named for what O'Donovan calls the "third golden age" of Irish whiskey— after Jameson's international debut in the 1780s and the second occurring during the phylloxera epidemic in the 1860s. With that in mind, Cuellar was inspired by the more delicate flavors in Jameson Black Label and the soft, fruity character of Floc de Gascogne, a mistelle, or sweet fortified wine, from Armagnac, showing off the whiskey's elegant character to great effect. 1½ oz. Jameson Black Barrel ½ oz. Floc de Gascogne ½ oz. Dolin Dry Vermouth Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice and stir. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with an orange peel. Joel Cuellar, Beverage Director and Head Spirits Sommelier at New York's Brandy Library, pours his creation, The Third Revolution.