Midleton Distillery

“We spend a most interesting time at the Distillery, and were more than ever convinced that woolen mills and barracks are not only suitable, but more convertible buildings for distilling purposes than any other…” Alfred Bernard describing his visit to the Midleton Distillery in The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom, 1887. 

In September 2013, the Midleton Distillery in Co Cork formally launched its €100m expansion. Since the mid-1970s, IDL’s four massive pot stills and seven column stills at the site had been the engine that drove Irish whiskey’s growth across the world. The success of the Jameson brand in particular meant that it was time to invest to meet demand, doubling the distillery’s capacity to an astonishing 64 million litres of alcohol per year. It’s a scene that’s worlds apart from what greeted Bernard, apart from those onion-shaped copper stills that have been the cornerstone of traditional Irish whiskey distilling for centuries.

The distillery is high-tech, but still produces an impressive range of whiskeys with great craft and character. It was designed to produce and mature pot still and grain spirit for three of the then four remaining Irish distillers, who joined forces in 1966 to tackle Irish whiskey’s spiralling decline.

As part of the plan, Jameson’s Bow Street and Powers John’s Lane stills would fall silent, ending the era of whiskey distilling in Dublin, once the world’s greatest whiskey distilling city.

There was space to build beside the Old Midleton Distillery, which belonged to Cork Distillers, the third member of the IDL partnership. And so, one September day in 1975, production stopped at the old facility and moved a few hundred yards to the new one. A new chapter in Irish distilling history had begun.

From the time the new stills took up the baton until only very recently, the Midleton Distillery was the only source of traditional pure pot still Irish whiskey, for many is the quintessential style of Irish whiskey. It forms the heart of the Jameson and Power’s blends and can be experienced in all its glory in the likes of Redbreast, Green Spot and Yellow Spot.

Pure pot still had been the mainstay too of the Old Midleton Distillery, which was originally founded in 1825 when brothers James, Daniel and Jeremiah Murphy bought an old wool mill near the town. The 1823 Excise Act had just been passed and there was an opportunity for entrepreneurs to cash in on legal distilling, providing it could be done on a large scale. The Murphys took full advantage.

By 1830, they were employing over 200 men and capacity was reaching 400,000 proof gallons per year. By 1866, the distillery had merged with the other main Cork distilleries of North Mall, Watercourse, The Green and Daly's. During this time there was a lot of rationalisation, but Midleton remained as the epicentre while the others saw most of the cutbacks.

In the 1920s, a seven-year-old pure pot still whiskey was the company’s flagship brand. It had been made popular by one of the real characters in Irish whiskey at the time, Cork Distillers sales rep Paddy Flaherty, and it eventually bore his name – Paddy Irish Whisky. Versions of it are still on sale today. The new distillery, however, has added considerably to the range, producing an ever-expanding range of Jameson, Power’s, Midleton, Tullamore Dew and many more whiskeys.

The Old Midleton Distillery is now perfectly preserved as a visitors’ centre and museum. 

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Midleton Distillery

Midleton Dair Ghaelach Knockrath Tree 3

70cl

For this 3rd release in the series- the team have worked with Knockrath Estate in Co. Wicklow to sus..

€310.00 Ex Tax: €252.03

Midleton Dair Ghaelach Knockrath Tree 4

70cl

For this 3rd release in the series- the team have worked with Knockrath Estate in Co. Wicklow to sus..

€310.00 Ex Tax: €252.03

Midleton Dair Ghaelach Knockrath Tree 5

70cl

For this 3rd release in the series- the team have worked with Knockrath Estate in Co. Wicklow to sus..

€310.00 Ex Tax: €252.03

Midleton Dair Ghaelach Knockrath Tree 6

70cl

For this 3rd release in the series- the team have worked with Knockrath Estate in Co. Wicklow to sus..

€310.00 Ex Tax: €252.03

Midleton Dair Ghaelach Kylebeg Tree 1

70cl

The inaugural release from the Kylebeg Wood is here! This whiskey has been finished in casks made fr..

€310.00 Ex Tax: €252.03

Midleton Dair Ghaelach Tree 2

70 cl

Midleton Dair Ghaelach, is the first ever Irish whiskey to be finished in virgin Irish Oak Hogsheads..

€259.99 Ex Tax: €211.38

Midleton Dair Ghaelach Tree 3

70 cl

Midleton Dair Ghaelach, is the first ever Irish whiskey to be finished in virgin Irish Oak Hogsheads..

€259.99 Ex Tax: €211.38

Midleton Dair Ghaelach Tree 4

70 cl

Midleton Dair Ghaelach, is the first ever Irish whiskey to be finished in virgin Irish Oak Hogsheads..

€260.00 Ex Tax: €211.38

Midleton Finest Whisky Fifteen Year Old

70 cl

This is rare old bottle from the Old Midleton Distillery in County Cork. Bottled by the Cork Distill..

€800.00 Ex Tax: €650.40

Midleton Kilranelagh Dair Ghaelach 6 Trees Set (Tree1-6) New In

Midleton Kilranelagh Dair Ghaelach 6 Trees Set (Tree1-6)

6 x 70cl

 Introducing the fifth addition to the Midleton Very Rare Dair Ghael ach collection, Midleton V..

€2,640.00 Ex Tax: €2,146.34

Midleton Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Three 47 Year Old New In

Midleton Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Three 47 Year Old

70cl

Beginning in 2020 the distillery began to release one chapter annually over 6 years which will culmi..

€45,000.00 Ex Tax: €36,585.37

Midleton Single Cask 2001 #18812 15 Year Old

70cl

An amazing 15 year old single cask single pot still Midleton that has been entirely aged in a first ..

€395.00 Ex Tax: €321.14

Midleton Very Rare 2014

70 cl

This is the latest release from the Midleton Very Rare range. The Very Rare series started in 1984 t..

€500.00 Ex Tax: €406.50

Midleton Very Rare 20 Year Old Ashford Castle Single Cask

70cl

A meeting of Irish icons, Ashford Castle's collaboration with Midleton Distillery offers the ult..

€1,950.00 Ex Tax: €1,585.36

Midleton Very Rare 2015

75 cl

The Midleton Very Range has been going since 1984, but the latest edition in the series is one of th..

€300.00 Ex Tax: €243.90

Midleton Very Rare 2016

75cl

The 2016 vintage of Midleton Very Rare effortlessly combines smoothness with some really nice, old p..

€300.00 Ex Tax: €243.90