Midleton Very Rare 2017

Nose: Fragrant cereal and tropical fruit lead the profile - mango, guava, and peaches with toffee in the foundation. As it rests the oak cask becomes apparent and lends a fresh aromatic incense note. That's just the overture, and it keeps unfolding as it relaxes in the glass. Pineapple, mandarin and grilled banana, red berries, rose petals, hibiscus and warm spices (nutmeg and a hint of cinnamon). This is an adorable nose. Palate: A cosy blanket of cereal flavours with just the right touch of sweetness. Easy to drink and almost absurdly soft on the palate. Dried fruit and vanilla, sweet orchard fruits and a tiny note of gentle spice (nutmeg, sweet mild cinnamon and cloves). The texture is very good with that diaphanous silken quality you get when it is perfectly poised on the cusp of creaminess, but is neither oily nor dense. Finish: Medium. It just floats away into the distance with a dash of licorice as an afterthought. The outstanding characteristics of the nose are how it combines depth and fragrance with freshness, and how it leads you deftly into the palate, and I love how the all-bourbon cask maturation has developed the nose. The palate is so soft that on first taste it will disappear and segue straight into the finish before you know it, leaving only a long cereal aftertaste to mark its passing. It's only on subsequent tastes that you really notice the development, it's that subtle, and the progression is so seamless the entry appears to merge directly into the finish. Marvelous whiskey, and worth every cent. The Very Rare is a batch release and the batches vary (more than you would think). I've had half a dozen over the years but this is one of the best I've tasted. The only thing I could criticize is that it is almost too soft and accommodating. If the profile could be kept intact but dialed-up just a notch in intensity it would be perfect. Bottling it at 43% or 46% would also be very welcome but I think sometimes it gets unwarranted criticism for the low proof. 40% does just work sometimes, and this is an example. This is, however, a fragile and gentle whiskey that is balanced at that 40% point so although I usually prefer to water my whiskey in this case I'd strongly recommend against it. Tasted from a 30ml sample. " Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Master Distiller – Brian Nation. Bottle Serial number 13407. Light whiskey full of juicy fruit flavours and spiciness on the finish. The blend, created by master distiller Brian Nation, comprises single pot still and grain whiskeys drawn from a batch of ex-Bourbon barrels with an age span of 12 to 32 years. Midleton Very Rare 2017 includes the oldest whiskeys used in the blend to date: 32-year-old grain whiskey and 26-year-old single pot still whiskey. Nose - Vibrantly fruity with aromas of apricots, pineapple, red apples, stem ginger, marzipan and fruit bread. Taste - Soft, smooth and juicy. Flavours of apricots, dried citrus peel, honey, pineapple and mango. Delicate spices lead through to the finish. (credit to published reviews - on which I built mine)

Irish whiskey. Everyone has an affinity for a spirit, usually its the first love, and this is irish whiskey to me. If you are an irish whiskey fan this is perfection in a glass. It takes the top spot as far as I'm concerned. On the nose its a more delicate Jameson, slightly more complex, and very inviting. Mouth feel is sensual, smooth, oily and lingering. Taste is liquid gold, buttercream icing, butter biscuit, and melted caramel. The finish is long and wonderful, its so smooth that I tend to hold it in my mouth for a good 30 seconds, and thats where the wood, and complexity shine. Briliant.

Very smooth Very drinkable Sweetness Fruit No doubt some older refined whiskey I enjoy notes of sherry in my scotch that seem to be missing and it is just too smooth too low proof for me personally except for a early in the day/ lunchtime drink. This would do well for me as a cask strength offering I would term this as whiskey "lite" maybe too well done, although certain this would appeal to the occasional whiskey drinker. I give it a 4 because it is flawless but cannot rate it higher because it is devoid of the complexities, the proof and lacking classic sherry notes that i enjoy

I have no idea why this very fine whiskey is rated so ridiculously low. It is the smoothest whiskey to ever touch my lips, and a blend at that. Perhaps it is the smooth creamy nature of it that leaves people desiring another kind of whiskey experience. Only 80 proof? And, of course, the asking price (how much of that is the beautiful wood box? I can just hear people saying). All well and good as it will leave more of this wonderful very rare Irish liquor for me. $220 USD in PA

I don't love grain whisky but this mix of aged grain and pot still is super refined, triple distilled and like butter. The nose is so Irish with fruit and honey, the palate is lightly spicy, semi-sweet and velvety. It is a very easy to drink dram with a mellow finish. It's a little thin and I think it would be better with a higher ABV but it's a small omission. It's like the Johnny Walker Blue of Ireland.