Pairing Red Breast 12 Year with War Chest

The Whiskey: Red Breast 12 Year

If you know anything about Irish whiskey, you know the name Red Breast. Distilled by Middleton, Red Breast has become a brand synonymous with the Emerald Isle. There are a range of offerings under the Red Breast stamp, from the base 12 year all the way up to the 27 year, the most premium offering. This month, I’m taking a look at the 12 year, their entry-level offering.

On the nose, I’m immediately struck by the essence of spiced pear. This is a note I’ve found on Red Breast for years, and it hasn’t changed yet. I also find cinnamon apple, bringing to mind an apple pastry, and a strong vanilla note. There’s a citrus note in there as well – between the spices and fruit, this nose strongly evokes Christmas for me. After some swirling, the nose turns even sweeter, bringing up confectionary sugar and toffee. Being an 80-proofer, there’s little alcohol to be found.

On the palate, the pour continues to be fruit-forward, with the spiced pear and apple bobbing to the surface. I also taste a little oak, which is a nice counter to the sweetness of the fruit. I find a little dark chocolate in there, alongside a chocolate note that makes me think more of a fudge brownie.

On the back end, the fudge brownie note continues, and it stays with you for awhile. I really think that spiced pear note is the defining note of this pour though. That distinct pear note is with you from beginning to end and really gives the pour its character. It continues past the fudge and really leaves you craving more of it.

If I had one minor criticism for this pour, it would be that the proof is too low. I think the flavors could really be enhanced if this was 100 proof or more compared to the 80 it’s released at. Of course, if they did that there’d be little need for the Red Breast Cask Strength at 111.6 proof. But even as it is, it’s quite good.

The Game: War Chest

War Chest is an abstract tactical game which takes much inspiration from chess. However, unlike chess, there’s a bit more variability involved. The units change game-to-game, and there’s probability involved in what actions are available to you and your opponent.

In a game of War Chest, your goal is to control 6 points before your opponent does. As soon as a player places their sixth control point, they win the game. The game is made up of rounds in which each players takes three turns. At the beginning of the round, the players draw coins from a bag that dictate what actions will be available to them. This may feel like luck, but players have control over what coins enter their bag, and so controlling probability is a huge part of the strategy. You can also deduce what’s available to your opponent based on the coins in front of them and what’s on the board. Ultimately, this is an abstract game of maneuvering units across a board, but it plays with so much more depth than that.

 In the beginning of the game, each players takes turns drafting units. There are more units total than there will be used in the game, so the units used will be different each time. Additionally, each unit can only be used by one player, so each player has a team of units completely different than the other player. The fantastic thing about this is each unit plays completely differently, so depending on what you draft, your  strategy will shift drastically. I love the way this game recreates the feeling of chess while introducing variability into it – it’s very well done.