Update: October 2020 – If you want to see up to date prices, check out our collaboration partner, The Whiskey Companion here

I’ve often been asked what I believe a “blue chip” investment would be when it comes to collecting Irish Whiskey – and right up the top of my list is Midleton. 

While we have an immense selection of wonderful drams on this island, Midleton would be widely recognised as the Macallan of the Irish Whiskey. While Jameson is probably the most recognisable brand in the mass market, those “in the know”, would often point to the top shelf where the Midleton Very Rare range has been perched since 1984. 

I’m not saying that Midleton’s are the most valuable whiskeys on the market (although some are), or will provide you with the biggest return on investment – but rather that its appeal is lasting, and anyone who claims to be a collector of Irish Whiskey will often have at least one bottle in their cabinet. 

Beyond the “Very Rare” bottlings, Midelton has also presented us with multiple one-offs like the 20th Anniversary Edition; 25, 26 and 30 year old releases, many many Single Casks, and of course the “Pearl” – arguably the pinnacle of Irish Whiskey which will shortly be live for bidding on the Irish Whiskey Auctions (IWA) website. I will be one of many very eager to see how this goes!

Likewise – full sets of the Dair Ghaelach series (Grinsell Woods & Bluebell Wood) are up for auction on the inaugural Celtic Whiskey Auction website. While there have been a couple of the Bluebell Wood sets up for sale recently, its the first time I’ve seen a full set of the Grinsell Woods at auction. 

Each of the above series/bottlings will get their own blog at some stage in the future, but for the moment, lets focus on the “Very Rare” collection – a full set of which recently sold at the last IWA auction for just shy of €40k (after charges are factored in). 

I’ve been keeping records on the MVR’s for approximately 4 years – over which time there has been a meteoric rise in interest and value. For example; the hard to find/afford 1989 could have been bought at auction in Aug 2014 for €350 (after charges). Compare that to recent sales of up to €8.5k, and it’s a serious return!

So in an attempt to make it easier for us mere mortals to navigate the cost of putting a set together, below image I have assembled a guide for estimated values of the MVR series (from the last 12 months). Yes, some bottles have gone for more (and less) than the ranges I have advised, but hopefully this will provide you all a decent guide on what to look out for. 

These valuations are backed up by over 250 transactional entries received from “The Survey” so I’m quite confident that they represent actual, and potential value. Notwithstanding this, values go up and down over time, so we will be tracking, and updating the values over time. 

If you’ve enjoyed/appreciated the insight provided in this blog, please join the Facebook Group, and the follow us on Instagram. But more importantly – If you’ve bought or sold in the secondary market (or want to buy and sell at a price), please log your transaction on The Survey. This will allow me to give some good feedback on value & prices for future blogs! AND – if you have any other bottlings you want added to the Survey, let me know and I’ll try and capture it in future iterations.

Next up…..Lets have a chat about Dingle…….

Slainte!