Yesterday I called this a Midleton tasting on Twitter, and that is only a half truth. All whiskies from the tasting are distilled at the New Midleton Distillery, but only one of them is a Midleton whiskey. It was hosted by a Scotsman living in France, for the Jameson Brand Ambassador for Sweden.

Jameson
Very gentle and smooth with some apple and slightly bitter tart note. Also, a small alcoholic edge. It does bite a little bit on the tongue, but most of the palate consists of orchard fruit, Christmas cake spices and eggnog.

Jameson 12 Special Reserve
This one was more crisp and less typical for a blended whiskey. Quite some wood influence with a completely different spiciness than the regular Jameson. It is more bready than cakey. The palate is less sweet and thick with more acidic fruits, apple, lemon and white grapes. Quite dry too. The finish is drying but quite long with old apples.

Jameson 18 Limited Reserve
I already tasted this one in a left over tasting about a year ago. I might have to adjust my flavours a bit since this had quite some things to offer. Fruity with sweet oranges, orange peel and the bitterness of the seeds. Light wood and crisp. The palate is crisp and quite flat at first but it increases in pepper flavours and some grape skins too. The finish goes back to the sweet oranges, but its quite short, unfortunately.

Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy Single Pot Still
A very recent release of Midleton, that was released about half a year ago. The nose has some musty casks and rather heavy spirit but in a subtle way. It reminds me of some heavy 18th century style spirits (like Old Potrero and Abhainn Dearg). Also green malt and old and dry pineapple. The flavour is more spicy than I expected, slightly bitter with quite some wood influence. The finish becomes unexpectedly sweet with loads of tropical fruits on syrup, but then wholewheat biscuits and bread. A very exciting and interesting whiskey that has a different flavour to offer everytime you come back.

Powers John’s Lane
This was a mistery dram that I should have guessed, since it was released at the same time as the Barry Crockett I believe. A much more full bodied version of the regular Powers 12 year old. Rather sharp and it tastes like it has more alcohol than the 46% that’s there. Malt, dry cereals and toast on the nose, with spices and dry eucalyptus leaves. After a few minutes it gets more sweet. The palate is sweet and dry with spices and chili peppers and some tea leaves. The finish is sweet but quite volatile with some vanilla.

I really enjoyed the tasting and like to thank Fintan and Colin again for hosting it! Its not often that you can taste these kind of whiskies without paying a heap of money at a festival!