There are bottles you drink and bottles you sit with. The 1998 bottling of Midleton Very Rare belongs firmly in the second category — a whiskey that asks you to slow down, to consider what Irish distilling was doing at the end of the twentieth century, and to appreciate how far a bottle can travel in the years between cork and glass.
Midleton Very Rare has always occupied a particular space in Irish whiskey. Launched in 1984 by the late, great Master Distiller Barry Crockett, it was conceived as Ireland's answer to the prestige bottlings coming out of Scotland and Kentucky — a yearly release, each one a singular blend drawn from the vast stock maturing in the Midleton complex in County Cork. This 1998 edition represents a snapshot of that programme at a point when Irish whiskey was still very much the underdog on the world stage, years before the Celtic Tiger boom would bring international attention to everything coming out of Ireland.
At 40% ABV and without an age statement, Midleton Very Rare has never been about brute force or headline numbers. The series trades on finesse, on the blender's art of marrying pot still and grain whiskeys into something seamless. Each vintage release draws from a different selection of casks, meaning the 1998 bottling is, by definition, unrepeatable. That scarcity — genuine, not manufactured — is part of what drives the £1,250 price tag, though collectors of Irish whiskey will tell you that the late-nineties bottlings have become increasingly sought after as the series' reputation has grown.
Tasting Notes
I won't pretend to break this down into clinical columns of nose, palate, and finish with the kind of precision that suggests I cracked this bottle yesterday. What I will say is this: Midleton Very Rare, across its various vintages, is defined by a house style that leans toward honeyed fruit, gentle spice from the pot still component, and a creaminess that is unmistakably Irish. The 1998 edition, with over two decades of additional bottle age behind it, will have softened and integrated further. Expect something composed, unhurried, and quietly confident — a whiskey that doesn't need to shout.
The Verdict
An 8 out of 10 feels right here. This is not a whiskey I'd mark down for its 40% ABV — that was the convention of its era, and Midleton Very Rare was never designed to be a cask-strength bruiser. What it offers instead is history in liquid form: a blend crafted during a quieter chapter of Irish whiskey, bottled before the global renaissance, and now carrying nearly three decades of provenance. The price reflects rarity and collectibility as much as what's in the glass, but for anyone with a serious interest in Irish whiskey's modern story, this is a meaningful bottle to encounter.
Best Served
Pour two fingers into a wide-bowled glass — a Glencairn if you have one, though honestly a small wine glass works beautifully with older Irish whiskeys. Add nothing. No water, no ice, no distractions. Let it sit for ten minutes while you do something else. Come back to it. A whiskey that has waited twenty-eight years in the bottle deserves ten minutes of patience from you. If you're in Cork, drink it looking out at the Lee. If you're not, close your eyes and put yourself there anyway.
