There are bottles you drink, and there are bottles you sit with. The Midleton Very Rare 2007 bottling belongs firmly in the latter camp — a release from the long-running series that has, since Barry Crockett first curated it in 1984, become the quiet benchmark for premium Irish blending. Each year's expression is its own conversation, and the 2007 vintage arrives now at a secondary market price that tells you everything about how collectors have received it over the intervening years.
Midleton Very Rare has always been an exercise in restraint. Where Scottish blenders often chase complexity through peat or sherry-bomb theatrics, the Midleton approach leans into the distillery's extraordinary range of pot still and grain whiskeys, layering them with a watchmaker's patience. The 2007 bottling sits at a gentle 40% ABV — no cask strength fireworks here — and wears its age statement, or lack thereof, with the quiet confidence of a house that knows exactly what it's doing. This is Irish whiskey as architecture: clean lines, considered proportions, nothing wasted.
At £1,200, you're paying not just for liquid but for provenance. The Very Rare series has become one of Irish whiskey's few genuine collector verticals, and the 2007 release sits in that sweet spot where bottles are old enough to be scarce but recent enough that condition is rarely a concern. Whether that represents value depends entirely on what you're looking for. As an investment? The market has spoken. As a drinking experience? That's more interesting.
Tasting Notes
I'll be honest — specific tasting notes for this particular vintage deserve their own dedicated session rather than hurried scribbling. What I can say is that the Midleton Very Rare house style across this era tends toward honeyed pot still spice, soft orchard fruit, and a characteristic creaminess that comes from the marriage of pot still and grain components. The 2007 bottling sits squarely within that tradition. Expect elegance over power, suggestion over statement. This is a whiskey that rewards patience and a quiet room.
The Verdict
The Midleton Very Rare 2007 is a serious bottle for serious occasions. It represents a particular moment in Irish whiskey's modern renaissance — crafted before the current boom turned every new release into a hype cycle, when the Very Rare series was still something passed between those who knew rather than traded on forums. At 40% ABV it won't challenge you, but it will remind you why Irish pot still whiskey earned its reputation in the first place. A 7.8 out of 10 feels right: this is a beautifully made, historically interesting whiskey that delivers genuine quality, even if the secondary market price means you'll think twice before pouring a casual dram. It loses a fraction for the modest ABV — I'd love to know what this blend would have shown at 46% — but what's in the glass is polished, composed, and undeniably lovely.
Best Served
Neat, in a proper tulip glass, at room temperature. Give it fifteen minutes after pouring — Midleton's pot still character tends to bloom slowly, and rushing this one would be like fast-forwarding through the quiet scenes that make a film worth watching. A single drop of water if you must, but no more. This is an after-dinner whiskey for an evening when the company is good and nobody's checking the time. If you've opened it for a special occasion, let the occasion deserve the bottle.
