Midleton Very Rare Bottled 1985

Midleton Writer's Tears

The amount of malted and unmalted barley in this blend of pure pot still whiskey and single malt whisky is a well-kept secret. It is triple distilled, as is Irish custom, and matured on bourbon casks. The names is explained, I was told, by the fact that this was the favorite whiskey of many 18th Century Irish writers. Today it is produced at...

Score 85/100

Midleton Very Rare

Smooth and easy to drink doesn't begin to describe this gem. Has a couple drams at a recent whisky tasting and this one knocked my socks off. So smooth, so clean, almost feminine, but oh so delicious. I say this is dangerous because I think this might be the most approachable, delicious, yet refined dram of whiskey I've ever had. A great way to...

Score 97/100

Midleton Clontarf Classic Blend

Clontarf Classic Blend is aged in bourbon barrels. There is no age statement on the bottle. Jim Murray reports that Clontarf Classic Blend was originally distilled at Cooley Distillery, but is more recently distilled at Midleton Distillery Nose: slightly sweet, some malt, citrus, honey Taste: very pleasant malt with some strong lemon and...

Score 85/100

Midleton Very Rare

So yesterday we looked at three Irish single malts - two were 10 years old, two (and maybe all three) were from Cooley. Today we'll look at two new bottlings from Midleton. Well, this one isn't really new - it's simply the 2016 edition of Midleton Very Rare. I buy a bottle every year, and enjoy comparing to previous bottles. Although it is always...

Score 88/100