Midleton Very Rare – Dair Ghaelach Kylebeg Wood Tree 6

MIDLETON VERY RARE
Dair Ghaelach Kylebeg Wood, Tree 6 (2022)

MASH BILL – unknown proportions of malted and un-malted barley

PROOF – 110.8

AGE – blend of 15 to 28-year whiskeys

DISTILLERY – Midleton Distillery

PRICE – $304

WORTH BUYING? – No

In my post on Redbreast 15 Year, I noted my personal experience of the general Irish whiskey flavor profile, namely that I find it very consistent and recognizable from brand to brand. I noted how steeped this experience is in the ubiquitous offerings coming out of Midleton Distillery—e.g. the Spot whiskeys, Redbreast variations, the ever-present Jameson… Midleton’s unparalleled output arguably dominates the Irish whiskey genre for much of the drinking world. I’m pretty certain at this point that what I’ve been thinking of as my general sense of Irish whiskey is actually a general sense of Midleton whiskeys—good, fun, lacking surprise.

Considering this, my having paid the price I did for this Midleton Very Rare release is a bit of a shock to even me. Why pay so much for a whiskey I can fairly safely guess will not surprise me?

Because I could be wrong! There is a stubborn part of me—that same part that compelled my ongoing investment in the diesel-fumed Laphroaig—that wants to stumble upon the unexpected in what to date has been for me a delightful region of whiskey, one with a broad flavor profile I enjoy despite its predictability. I value surprise highly enough that Irish whiskey’s—or at least Midleton’s—lack of it means I might be as happy with a standard Jameson release as I would the average Redbreast 15. So why pay any heck of a lot, for any bottle?

The other reason I went for it is because of my love for oak. Midleton puts out its Very Rare release annually, always some blend of older whiskeys. But the special draw of this particular release, Dair Ghaelach Kylebeg Wood, is that it is comprised of older whiskeys that have been finished in casks made from virgin Irish oak, grown in Kylebeg Wood, near the town of Stradbally, south-west of Dublin.

Kylebeg Wood, designated for nature conservation as a Natural Heritage Area, is situated on a private estate called Ballykilcavan, carefully and sustainably managed for thirteen generations by the Walsh-Kemmis family. Seven trees were selected to be cut into new casks to finish Midleton’s blend of whiskeys. As the Midleton marketing states, the Very Rare Dair Ghaelach Kylebeg Wood release “pays tribute to the people, flora and fauna of this beautiful part of Ireland.” More details here, but that’s the sum of it.

Each tree’s whiskeys were bottled and labelled separately, allowing fans to experience the impact of a single tree on the otherwise same blend of whiskeys. This creates the obvious temptation to collect them all. But that would be a mighty investment! The bottle I have was aged in a barrel made of wood from Tree 6, which I selected after carefully considering a range of early reviews on the Dair Ghaelach Kylebeg Wood lineup. If I was gonna plunk down the cash, I wanted to better my odds!

So what is the impact of native Irish oak on Ireland’s native Single Pot Still whiskey? And is it worth paying not just a little but a lot extra?

Here we are, seven weeks after uncorking and three pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using a traditional Glencairn.

COLOR – buttery and honeyed ambers

NOSE – reserved yet thick, with a gently edgy copper zing, oak tannin, butter, vanilla, crisp white wine, faint baked orchard fruits like nectarine and peach, chalk

TASTE – syrupy and oaky, tangy apricot syrup, milk chocolate and caramel, layered oak tannins, dull copper

FINISH – a fine warm prickle from the heat (remarkably restrained given the ABV), oak, dull copper, medium-dark caramel

OVERALL – mysterious yet dull, like a thick but dry forest

Well…

Even after letting it sit over forty minutes in the glass, this is a very reserved dram. Thick, dark, layered flavors, and yet I hesitate to say it’s complex. It is. But I hesitate to say it. Maybe because of the emphasis on drier elemental notes—wood, metal, chalk—over sweeter fruit or candy notes. Especially on the nose.

Then on the taste, syrupy qualities dominate. It’s an immediate and welcome shift. The texture and flavors move slowly like a thick river of syrups, carrying a log jam of fallen oaks along their way to the mill.

The finish doesn’t linger long, leaving a very nice warmth yet only faint remnants of the flavors and aromas. They seem to glow through a mist, like tiny embers floating in the dark woods on some unseasonably warm autumn night.

I’m sure you can tell from my language, this whiskey does strike me as compelling. And yet it’s frustrating. It’s the extent of the whiskey’s restraint. Until this bottle, I have always been able to depend on Midleton whiskeys to brighten up the party. But Dair Ghaelach Kyleberg Wood unfolds like a mysterious fairytale that’s all atmosphere and no plot. Despite the promising setting, the story doesn’t ultimately seem to get told, leaving me unsatisfied in the end.

As I write this, I have one more new-to-me Midleton product in the bunker, a 2022 release of Yellow Spot. I suspect that bottle doesn’t have any surprises in store, as I’ve come to expect from Midleton. This Very Rare release is indeed surprising, just not for desirable reasons, and especially at the price. Despite its unique and intriguing origin story, it’s oddly lackluster.

I’ll enjoy this bottle fine. Over time, perhaps its core elements—those copper, oak, and chalk notes—will reveal more strata and striations. Maybe the sweeter fruit and candy notes will shift about as well. Or maybe it will remain unmoved, an old oak grove with no wind to stir it.

Slàinte Mhaith. (Slàinte Meh?)

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