|
|
|
Wine
of the week today is in fact whiskey of the week. Midleton Very Rare 20th
anniversary limited edition was launched last Tuesday along with the 2004 edition of the regular
Midleton, so Martin will be discussing
Irish whiskey on the Moncrieff show on Newstalk 106FM on Friday 20th November at
3.40pm. Middleton
Very Rare was first released in 1984 to give the Middleton distillery it’s own
signature product. It’s now 20 years old so a limited special release cask
strength blend has been created which contains some whiskey from casks used in
the original blend! Only 400 bottles have been created and they will be priced
at about €2000. Now for your money you get not just your bottle (at 53% a.b.v.)
but also two Waterford Crystal Lismore tumblers all packed in its own coffin, sorry a
solid mahogany presentation case. The perfect present for those who earn so much
that they pay little or no tax. For
the merely wealthy as opposed to obscenely wealthy there is always Midleton Very
Rare at only €120 or so per bottle. It is a blend of whiskies aged between 12
and 25 years old aged in old Bourbon barrels. What
do they taste like – delicious, as you’d hope at these prices? My
notes on the anniversary release say that the nose had nut, chocolate, vanilla, orange
and dried fruits, while the palate shows wheat, honey orange and also lemon. The
strength gives it an explosive taste grenade quality. The
2004 release, bottled at the traditional 40% a.b.v., shows orange and dried
fruits on the nose and the palate echoes these plus it shows wheat and honey
again with a long smooth finish. Finally
the bargain purchase (in this company at any rate) that we shall be tasting is
Connemara 12 year old produced by the Cooley Distillery who have released only
7000 bottles. This has a distinctive peat smoke edge in the manner of a malt
from one of the Scottish islands and costs about €80.
|
|
|
Wine Reviews | Wine of the week
| Free Run |
Events | Articles |
