midleton reserve blend control no. 107-1

[waitey1]

Hello,

I have a bottle of middleton reserve which has been in my family for more than 20 years just wondered if it would be worth anything to any collector out there.

It is an unopened bottle and states on the label
Midleton Reserve
blend control no.107-1
specialy blended rare whisky
70% proof - 26 2/3 fluid oz's
Distilled and bottled by irish distillers limited.

I do not know anything about whisky so any help would be much appreciated.
any q's please email me at.
Waitey@anthonywaite.wanadoo.co.uk

[waitey1]

Does anyone have an idea of value on this bottle

[lohssanami]

I have no idea, but if you are looking for advice or opinions on a bottle, you sometimes have to wait a few days. I'm sure when someone knows about this bottle, they will post something, and there are plenty of Irish experts here that may be able to help.

It would also help a great deal if you could post a nice picture of the bottle.

[waitey1]

Thanks for that i will try and get a picture of the bottle on now

[JCSkinner]

It's a Seventies bottling, I think, from Midleton obviously.
This predated the 'Midleton Very Rare' blend which is now issued in annual vintages.
It was considered a premium 'liqueur' dram for on-sale excise purposes, attracting similar levels of duty as Bushmills and Scotches, which obviously were imported into the Republic.
However, it wasn't quite the top end brand that the 'Very Rare' became (following clever marketing and the introduction of vintages.) Redbreast fell into the same category for duty too.
See comparative maximum prices here (Wexford, 1973):
http://193.178.1.79/1973/en/si/0200.html
Or here (Dundalk 1972):
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1972/en/si/0229.html
Your bottle might well be a product of the Old Midleton distillery, and that has its fans alright.
If you were selling this, its comparative rarity and its provenance from Old Midleton would likely make it attractive to the Midleton vintage collectors or those with fond memories of splashing out a full 42p a dram for it back in the day!
I'm more of a Bushmills man myself, but if you PM me, I'll make you what I believe is a fair offer. It is certainly possible that some of the keener Midleton fans may want to speak to you too if you are considering selling.

[waitey1]

Wow, how interesting thanks for the post. I have sent you a personal message.

Many thanks indeed..

[cathach]

Hi Waitey,

I don't know if you know it waitey1 but a bottle of this went for sale at mctears recently and made £160 or so, I partcipated in the sale in the sale of 2 bottles for E173 ea. so that should give you an idea of the value.

Irish whiskey has a lesser resale value than Scotch, as it is much the poorer cousin of the whiskey world generally in terms of audience.

[JCSkinner]

I made Waitey an offer in that ballpark, but it seems as if the bubble market is now coming to Irish whiskey too, as a noted retailer of Irish whiskey apparently trumped me with a much higher offer, presumably with the intention of selling on for a profit.

[Aidan]

Hi Waitey,

I don't know if you know it waitey1 but a bottle of this went for sale at mctears recently and made £160 or so, I partcipated in the sale in the sale of 2 bottles for E173 ea. so that should give you an idea of the value.

Irish whiskey has a lesser resale value than Scotch, as it is much the poorer cousin of the whiskey world generally in terms of audience.

I was the one who bought one at McTears. There was 15% on top of the sale price too. I think I got it for a good price, to be honest. I was really attracted to it because I have a Powers 15 in the same bottle, but there are people who'd pay a lot more for this bottle than I did, that's for sure.