Midleton Very Rare 2023
In-Depth Review
In the world of Irish whisky, Midleton remains the leader in almost every metric imaginable. Responsible for brands like Redbreast, Jameson, the Spots, Powers, and more, Midleton remains the largest producer of whisky in the country and finds itself firmly situated at the epicenter of Irish whisky. Created after John Jameson & Son, John Powers & Son and Cork Distilleries Company joined forces at the end of the Irish whisky crisis, New Midleton Distillery was built in 1975 and has been in production ever since.
While Midleton Distillery is responsible for some of the most iconic brands in history, they reserve some of their greatest whiskies for themselves. Bottled under the Midleton Very Rare brand, this annual release has been released every year since 1984. It represents the very best casks in their warehouses and places an emphasis on the power of blending. Today, we are going to dive into the 2023 Midleton Very Rare release, a blend of 12-33 year whiskies that have all been aged in charred ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 40%. If that 40% ABV feels low to you, you’re not alone. With an MSRP that has risen to around $350 in recent years, and a market positioning that firmly places it into the “if you know, you know” category, 40% feels like a strangely low proof. Couple that with this year’s odd emphasis on the sustainable presentation box and you’d be forgiven for wondering how good the whisky is inside. And while I was very lucky and didn’t pay MSRP (Duty Free in Japan for $175), I am still curious if this truly is the best that Midleton can produce. Let’s dive in and find out.
Age: Non-Age Stated (but a blend of 12-33 year old whiskies)
ABV: 40%
Cask: Lightly charred American ex-bourbon barrels
MSRP: $350
Distillery Name: Midleton
Review Date: 6/30/24
Color: Weathered Gold
Nose: The nose starts off with delicate notes of cedar wood, toasted coconut, graham cracker, warm treacle, and fresh cut flowers. It’s light and inviting, with only the slightest pot still funk and a touch of overripe fruits. It’s a very subtle nose and can be hard to pull from the glass.
Palate: Round, creamy, and very easy to drink, the palate is full of white chocolate, red berries, tangerine, more cedar oak, and green apple crisp. There’s a very light spice that feels like a strong black tea with milk. It’s super gentle, with almost no heat at all. This is so well-balanced it can almost disappear on my tongue.
Finish: Short to medium finish. The finish is the best part of the experience due to its warming spice and gentle grain and pot still funk. The wood spice is more pronounced here the dangerously well-balanced palate.
Final Thoughts: Can a whisky be too well-balanced? I think that 2023 Midleton Very Rare may well be the perfect case study. This is an excellent whisky that suffers from its exquisite blending. There simply isn’t enough character here to justify anywhere near its over $300 price point (even at the crazy price of $175 I got this for, I struggle). The low 40% ABV really holds it back, stripping away much of the distinctive character of the casks. It may very well be that there are very old whiskies in the blend, but the blenders have softened them so much that this whisky feels like its doing its best Houdini act on the palate. That’s not to say it’s a bad whisky by any stretch – on the contrary – its dangerously drinkable. But on paper, it has everything you need to make a magical whisky but somehow falls flat in execution. This is probably the best example of a whisky that has been blended too far past perfection.
