Midleton Very Rare's 2026 vintage lands in the US at $240
The 43rd edition of Ireland's benchmark blended whiskey reaches American shelves with a recyclable box and a citrus-forward pot still blend.
Midleton Very Rare's 2026 Vintage went on sale across the United States in early November at a suggested retail price of $240, the 43rd release in the Irish distillery's annual series.
Master distiller Kevin O'Gorman, in his sixth year selecting the blend, combined five separate distillates for this edition: three single pot still whiskeys and two single grain whiskeys. One pot still component was adjusted to push lifted citrus notes forward, while a more traditional pot still style contributes the rounded sweetness the brand is known for. The bottle is finished at 40% ABV.
Midleton describes the tasting profile as orange peel and lemon zest up front, moving into apricot, orchard fruit, crème brûlée and toffee, with floral and herbal notes trailing. The 2025 and 2024 vintages remain available alongside it in most US markets, giving collectors three consecutive years to compare side by side.
Forty-three years of the same name on the label, and still no two bottles taste quite the same.
A packaging change years in the making
The distillery also swapped the Very Rare's presentation box for a fully recyclable paper design, dropping the magnetic closure used on previous releases. Pricing outside the US runs close to the same level: around €240 in euro markets and roughly £220 in the UK, though retailer prices vary and some UK and Irish shops list it higher.
Midleton Very Rare launched in 1984 as one of the first Irish whiskeys marketed explicitly as a limited annual vintage, a format Scotch producers had used for decades but Irish distilling had largely avoided until then. The series has run every year since, through periods when Irish whiskey as a category nearly disappeared and through its recent export growth.
A smaller category watching its bigger neighbours
Irish whiskey's annual vintage format sits in a spirits category far smaller than Scotch or Cognac, where volume drives pricing debates of a different scale. Cognac's own sales have fallen sharply since 2023, a reminder that limited, prestige-priced releases like Midleton's carry less exposure to the swings hitting mass-market spirits. Michelin's own guide to the island, which added 22 restaurants across the UK and Ireland in October, increasingly lists Irish whiskey pairings on its tasting menus, a sign of the category's steadier footing at home even as it remains a rounding error next to Scotch globally.
