The Friend at Hand Midleton Distillery Exclusives Trio - The 17 Year Old Midleton 'Wishing Tree', The 1999 Midleton Single Cask and The Rebreast 18 year old 'The Young Pretender'.
Northern Ireland and around Belfast in particular really is fast becoming a whiskey tourists hotspot. It's only a one and a half hour drive to Belfast from Dublin airport and on the way there's a wealth of whiskey related stops on your way to choose from.....Boann, Two Stacks, Killowen, Echlinville, Hinch and Rademon Estate. When you actually get to Belfast you also have two operational distilleries to visit these days with McConnell's (which is a very worthwhile visit) and Titanic Distiller's.
Outside of distilleries and whiskey bonders there is one stop in Belfast that is a must for any diehard Irish whiskey fan or indeed, those newly converted to Irish whiskey and that is The Friend at Hand. Part shop, part museum it's an experience that will likely linger long in your mind, especially if you are fortunate to experience a whiskey tasting there under the tutelage of the shops Three Grumpy Men....Jim, Marty and Ray.
The shop is a tour de force of Irish whiskey history, rare drams, rare memorabilia and possibly one of the most beautiful tasting rooms you will ever set your foot in. Honestly I miss having this place in such relative closeness to me before I moved to sunnier climes here in South Florida. It's a testament too to the owner Willy Jack who has done so much to preserve so many historical articles directly relating to Irish whiskies heyday.
As I've alluded too The Friend at Hand is also a shop dedicated to Irish whiskey. Not only do they stock pretty much every current expression going from nearly every producer going they also have their own range of exclusives. Today I'm looking at three expressions still available to buy. I first tried them at a very lovely invite only tasting that occurred in The Dark Horse situated about 50 paces from The Friend at Hand (and it's also under Willy Jack's stewardship) which was hosted by Dillon Bass representative extraordinaire, Joe Magowan.....who a lot of us think is actually Jim's whiskey son.
![]() |
Joe & Jim |
Getting back to the tasting and we were given 5 rather lovely drams that were all from the Midleton Distillery covering the Midleton, Powers and Redbreast brands and are all The Friend at Hand exclusives. The first and last drams I've already reviewed on here and they are the Powers 14 year old Single Cask and the Redbreast 25 year old All Sherry Single cask.
The Midleton 'Wishing Tree' which was a single pot still single cask matured in bourbon barrels before being finished in a cask made of Irish virgin oak. The cask was number 25227 and it only parted with 153 bottles at 53.8% abv. Sadly this bottle is no longer available to buy.
Next up was their 1999 vintage 20 year old Midleton single pot still single cask from cask 40278 that was fully matured in first fill bourbon and bottled at 46% abv with an outturn of 228 bottles. Priced at £400/€475/$500
Finally we had 'The Young Pretender', an 18 year old All Sherry single cask Redbreast that was the follow up the the 25 year old 'The Long Wait' release. From cask number 3413 this gave an outturn of 636 bottles at 55.2% abv. Priced at £375/€445/$470
Let's Taste!
The Friend at Hand Midleton VR 17 year old 53.8% abv
Nose: Rich oak, fudge and furniture polish are the immediate notes. Then vanilla, cinnamon, peanut brittle and pink & white nougat. Some pepper spice along with nutmeg and dried tobacco. Tinned peaches and pears in syrup.
Palate: A great mouthfeel that is super creamy. Caramel covered apples, peach and pear along with vanilla infused whipped cream. Lovely warming spice notes of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and pot still spice. There’s a nice earthy, herbal note that pokes through followed by dark chocolate and tobacco.
Finish: Medium with lingering pot still spice, chocolate and orchard fruit.
Score: 7 out of 10
Midleton 20 year old Single Cask 46% abv
Nose: Vanilla, honey and a mix of orchard and citrus fruit notes. Toffee apples, candied orange and lemon peels. Clove and nutmeg plus a hint of anise. Toasted oak, cocoa powder and cigar ash.
Palate: A let down on the mouthfeel – thin and watery. Sweetened mocha, coffee cake, walnuts and orange zest. Vanilla and a little desiccated coconut.
Finish: Short to medium with coffee notes and walnuts lingering the most.
Score: 4 out of 10
Redbreast 18 year old All Sherry ‘The Young Pretender’ 55.2% abv
Nose: Typical Redbreast All Sherry character. Bombastic sherry notes upfront – sweet and nutty sherry, balsamic reduction, dates, raisins and toasted almonds. Underneath are orchard fruits of ripe apples, conference pears and some apricot. Anise, cinnamon, dark chocolate and rolling tobacco.
Palate: Nice and oily, sweet, spicy and mouth coating. Burnt sugar, vanilla frosting and vanilla sponge batter. Then orange zest, sweet California raisins and a fig note. Clove, cinnamon and black licorice. Milk chocolate, hazelnuts and a sweetened espresso.
Finish: Medium to long – pot still spices of clove and fresh ginger pucker the palate alongside a mix of orchard and dried fruits plus sherry sweetness.
Score: 8 out of 10
Overall: Of the three there are two very good reasons to visit The Friend at Hand especially if you want to bring something that little bit special home. Sure they are pricey but try buying them at auction and you'll find the premium to be quite something.
If I'm being honest I also made a mistake in the order I drank these, I should have drank the 46% 20 year old first, but I did them in age order starting with the youngest first which meant the 20 year old was preceded by 2 much higher proof drams and so that may have influenced the low score.
Compared to the 17 year old Midleton and the 18 year old Redbreast it just felt weak and underwhelming. Sadly it's unlikely I'll get to try them in the correct order again but my review reflects how I felt when I tried them on the night and the 20 year old was dram 4 out of the 5.
All that aside I look forward to visiting the store and of course with Jim, Marty and Ray for a wee catchup when I finally make it back to Ireland.....that's if I'm not barred after this review.
If you’d like to support my site and continued whiskey exploration there’s a ‘buy me a coffee’ link on the homepage menu bar. Thanks for reading!
How could we ever bar you Phil?! You're part of the fabric 😉
ReplyDeleteA great review sir and, one that I would totally agree with. I too find the 1999 a little underwhelming. It's proof that, just because it uses the words Midleton and Single Cask on the label, it's no guarantee that the liquid inside is going to be massively impressive! It will however, command a hefty price tag.
Thank you for the kind words sir.
Cheers.