Midleton distillery (home of Jameson in Ireland) has released ten single casks, selected by specialist retailers like The Whisky Exchange (by far the oldest in this series, distilled in 1991), LMdW and Dublin Airport among others.
The distillery complex houses different types of stills, but this particular whiskey was produced by triple-distillation in copper pot stills from a mash made of both malted and unmalted barley. Cask #48750 was a first fill bourbon hogshead and yielded 205 bottles at the time of bottling, last October.
Midleton 20 yo 1991 (54,1%, OB for The Whisky Exchange 2012, first fill bourbon cask #48750, 205 btl.)
Midleton 20 yo 1991 (54,1%, OB for The Whisky Exchange 2012, first fill bourbon cask #48750, 205 btl.)Nose: a great mix of tropical fruits: mango, juicy apricots, kiwi, banana, honeydew melon and pink grapefruit. Excellent. It’s a fragrant, aromatic style of fruit, with hints of marshmallows and rosewater lokum. Creamy vanilla and frangipane. Some light (typical) solventy notes as well – I like that. All this spiced up by some young oak.
Mouth: utterly fruity again. Peaches, melon, banana, pink grapefruit, white grapes. Grows substantially spicier, think vanilla, cinnamon bark and ginger. Hints of roses before it turns to a peppery, oaky heat.
Finish: sweet and spicy. Echoes of cigar boxes and pepper.
This Midleton 1991 is a quintessential Irish pot still whiskey. It shows exquisite fruits and the oak is well contained. Of course € 275 is a big pile of bank notes for a 20 year-old Irish whiskey (I’ve just bought a Glenburgie 1966 for less money). Seriously though, this is an extremely seductive dram. Warmly recommended. Available from TWE.
Score: 91/100