Mitchell & Son

Q: What does the color system in Spot Whiskeys actually mean?

In 1887, Mitchell & Son daubed a physical colored spot of paint on cask ends to indicate aging targets for inventory management. Colors were a practical warehousing tool, not a branding exercise. The modern revival preserves those original color codes as brand names, now corresponding to different ages and wine cask combinations.

Q: What is the difference between Green Spot and Yellow Spot?

Green Spot is NAS single pot still (typically 7-10 years) in new American oak and bourbon barrels — fresh, spicy, fruity. Yellow Spot 12 Year adds Malaga wine casks alongside bourbon and sherry, contributing dark dried fruit, prune, and sweetness. Yellow Spot is fuller and richer; Green Spot is brighter and more citrus and spice forward.

2 products

Sale

Product photo of Gold Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey 13 Years Generations Edition bottle from Ireland, featuring amber liquid, a white label with a prominent gold spot icon, and specifying maturation in Bourbon Sherry and Recioto della Valpolicella casks

Gold Spot 13 Year Old Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey bottle and a cut crystal glass with amber liquid sit on white plinths against a warm orange backdrop adorned with golden leaves

Mitchell & Son Gold Spot 13 Year The Generations Edition Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey 700ml

Mitchell & Son

Save 28%

Sold Out

Mitchell & Son Gold Spot 9 Year Old Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Mitchell & Son

Save 3%

Mitchell & Son began as wine merchants in Dublin in 1805 and started bonding whiskey in 1887, using a color-coded system to mark casks — giving birth to the iconic Spot Whiskey range. The lineup includes Green Spot (NAS single pot still), Yellow Spot 12 Year (bourbon, sherry, and Malaga casks), Red Spot 15 Year (bourbon, sherry, and Marsala casks), Blue Spot 7 Year (cask strength, Madeira finish), and Gold Spot 13 Year The Generations Edition (Valpolicella finish).

Browse all Irish whiskey at Wooden Cork.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the color system in Spot Whiskeys actually mean?

When Mitchell & Son began bonding whiskey in 1887, they used a physical color-coded spot of paint daubed on the end of each cask to indicate the aging target — green for a younger, lighter expression, yellow for a medium-aged expression, and so on. The colors were a practical inventory management tool for the bonded warehouse, not a branding exercise. Over time the spots became the product names as the whiskeys were bottled and sold under those identifiers. The revival of the Spot range by Irish Distillers (Midleton) and Mitchell & Son in the modern era preserves those original color codes as brand names, now corresponding to different ages and wine cask combinations rather than arbitrary warehousing marks.

What is the difference between Green Spot and Yellow Spot?

Green Spot is a no-age-statement single pot still Irish whiskey — the NAS status reflects a selection of casks at varying ages (typically 7–10 years) rather than a fixed age statement. It is matured in a combination of new American oak and bourbon-seasoned barrels, producing a fresh, spicy, and fruity profile that is considered by many the accessible benchmark for the single pot still style. Yellow Spot 12 Year adds Malaga wine casks (from the Spanish dessert wine region) alongside the bourbon and sherry casks, contributing dark dried fruit, prune, and sweetness that the Green Spot’s bourbon-dominant aging doesn’t have. Yellow Spot is fuller, richer, and more complex; Green Spot is brighter and more agave-like in its green fruit and spice character.