There are bottles you buy to drink, and there are bottles you buy because they represent something — a moment in time, a tradition made tangible. The Midleton Very Rare 40th Anniversary Ruby Edition sits firmly in the latter camp, though I'd argue it deserves to be opened rather than merely admired. At £17,700 and bottled at a commanding 53.1% ABV, this is Irish whiskey operating at its most ambitious, a release that asks you to consider what four decades of a single blending programme actually means.
The Very Rare series has long been the flagship of Irish pot still whiskey — an annual release that, since its inception, has served as a kind of state-of-the-nation address for the craft. Each edition reflects the master blender's reading of the stocks available, a snapshot of what the casks have given up that year. The Ruby Edition marks the 40th such reading, and the name alone tells you something about the intent: richness, depth, colour drawn from wood.
What we know is that this is a no-age-statement blend bottled at cask strength, which in the context of Irish whiskey suggests confidence. There's no dilution here, no softening of edges for mass appeal. At 53.1%, this is whiskey that expects you to meet it on its terms — or add water slowly, deliberately, and watch it open. The NAS designation, far from being evasive, is standard practice for the Very Rare line, where the blender's art lies in marrying whiskeys of different ages and cask types into something greater than the sum.
The Ruby designation strongly implies significant influence from wine-seasoned or port-seasoned casks — the kind of finishing that, when done well with Irish pot still spirit, can produce extraordinary results. The marriage of that characteristically creamy, spiced pot still backbone with the fruit-forward sweetness of ruby casks is a combination that rewards patience and attention.
Tasting Notes
I'll be honest: this is a whiskey that demands a proper, unhurried session to fully appreciate. At cask strength, the initial pour rewards a few minutes in the glass before nosing. Given the Ruby Edition designation and the ABV, expect layers that reveal themselves slowly. I'd recommend tasting neat first, then with a few drops of water to see how the spirit transforms — cask-strength Irish pot still whiskey is famously responsive to dilution.
The Verdict
At 8.2 out of 10, the Midleton Very Rare 40th Anniversary Ruby Edition earns its place among the most serious Irish whiskey releases of the year. The price is, obviously, extraordinary — this is collector territory, and there's no pretending otherwise. But what you're paying for is genuine rarity: a cask-strength release from one of the most respected blending programmes in whiskey, marking a milestone that only happens once. It loses a fraction for the sheer inaccessibility of the price point — great whiskey should, ideally, be tasted, and at nearly eighteen thousand pounds, most of these bottles will sit behind glass. But for those who do open one, this is a serious, uncompromising expression of Irish craft at its peak.
Best Served
Neat, in a tulip glass, with time. Pour it and leave it for ten minutes. Then nose it. Then add three or four drops of cool, still water — nothing more. This is an evening whiskey, the kind you sit with after a long dinner when the conversation has turned quiet and honest. No ice, no mixers, no distractions. If you've spent this much on a bottle, give it the silence it deserves.
