The Pinnacle of Irish Whiskey – a statement claimed unopposed by Midleton Very Rare. Produced by the Midleton Distillery in County Cork, it is considered one of the flagship offerings from Irish Distillers which includes powerhouse brands like Jameson, Powers, Redbreast, and the Spot range.

Midleton Very Rare was introduced in 1984 by Barry Crockett, the then-Master Distiller at Midleton Distillery, to showcase the best and rarest Irish whiskey from their inventory. The annual vintages, which now has a count of 39 (41 if you count the 3 types of packaging 2017 releases had), has captivated Irish whiskey consumers and beyond. This practice of selecting the best casks and setting them aside is not atypical in the industry. Famously, the sought after and similarly very rare Pappy Van Winkle range is not produced separately. They are selected by Julian Van Winkle III, along with the master distiller, from the Buffalo Trace distillery’s stock. These casks, deemed as honey barrels for the flavour they impart on the whiskey and not actual honey, are set aside to mature further, being closely monitored to be bottled in the future as part of the Van Winkle range. Midleton Very Rare is made using a blend of single pot still and single grain whiskeys from select casks. The grains used in the production are typically corn and barley. They are then aged in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks.

The name suggests that these bottlings are of a limited and “very rare” production which makes it highly desirable. There are also other reasons why someone will buy this whiskey. The year on the label makes it a commemorative purchase for the buyer trying to mark the specific year. For the collector or someone treating this as an investment, it has consistently gone up in value with the 1988 bottling fetching over €20,000 at auctions. With a price tag of €180 per bottle 3 years ago and now retailing at €240, it’s definitely not a whiskey for everyone but there’s enough customers out there to keep the frenzy going. Is it really limited? That’s subjective. For a craft distiller who produces less than 10 barrels a week, 50,000 bottles a year is probably a dream but for a scaled production like Midleton, who has the biggest pot stills in the world and sold 10.7 million cases of Jameson, 50,000 bottles are definitely on the limited end of the scale.

The whiskey is presented in an elegant and distinctive packaging. Previously, it came in a wooden box with a leather lining which was a really premium look and feel commensurate with the price. Starting from the 2023 vintage, Irish Distillers have gone for a cardboard box that’s lined outside with a quality paper similar to wallpaper. It has a very intricate design and although the box operates the same to the wooden ones from more recent years, the wood element has been totally eclipsed by materials deemed more sustainable and environmentally-friendly according to their press release.

Like all other vintages, the 2023 comes with a “Certificate of Authenticity”. This certificate comes with a printed signature of master distiller Kevin O’Gorman. This certificate is inserted The bottles also contain a serial number which pundits have used to determine production size for a given year. Overall, despite the change in packaging, it’s still a premium-looking whiskey.

So how does it taste? Is it worth the price? Is it the pinnacle?

Nose: It doesn’t offend. Macerated apples, lemon, and oranges, freshly cut grass, wood polish, brown bread. No harshness detected which is a nice welcome change from nosing cask strength whiskeys.

Palate: Mango, dried apricots, digestive biscuits, bitterness of jasmine tea that turns into toasted oak, ginger spice and ground pepper at the back making way for some vanilla and honey sweetness to cap it off.

Finish: Medium but satisfying. Medley of fruits, wood, and sweet syrup.

Score: 4/10

Conclusion: Don’t get me wrong. This is a nice whiskey. However, I had to give it the most representative score based on The Water of Life Scoring Guide. It’s definitely more than a 3 which states it’s drinkable and I could’t give it a 5 because I’m not sure I would buy a bottle of this to drink having tasted it now. There’s definitely a lot of other options out there at the €240 mark. In taking a step back, I tried to remember the other vintages I’ve tried (2015 onwards) None of them really wowed me but I found all of them balanced and quite layered. It’s a whiskey that doesn’t scream. It’s composed and it knows what it is. It gives you a bit of everything at just the right amount that if you look for it, you’ll find it: sweetness, spice, fruits, wood. Is it worth the money? Again, I think that’s subjective. I bought and opened this whiskey as I wanted to mark and celebrate the year. 2023 is a special year for me and I thought it was fitting to open, drink, and finish a bottle of MVR before the year ends.

I guess that is where the value in these types of whiskeys come from, they generally transcend just the whiskey itself. They mean more than just the notes we write and we enjoy them not because they are the best whiskey we’ve ever drank or they offer great value for money. It’s more than that… It has to be.