Latest news with #MidletonVeryRareSilentDistilleryCollection
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Whiskey Of The Week: Midleton Silent Distillery Collection Chapter 6
It was just a couple of months ago, as I write this, that the venerable Bushmills distillery announced the release of the oldest Irish single malt whiskey ever bottled — a 46-year-old sherried malt almost the color of Coca-Cola, with a suggested retail price of $12,500. It was a very big deal... but only a few weeks went by before it was upstaged by the sixth and final release in the Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection, a single pot still whiskey aged for a cool half-century. Now, single pot still whiskey is not the same as single malt whiskey. 'Single malt' refers to a whiskey consisting entirely of malted barley, with distillate from a single distillery. Single pot still whiskeys, while also coming from a single distillery, contain a mixture of malted and unmalted barley, as well as other grains such as oats. So both Bushmills and Midleton can proudly boast of being the oldest ever in their respective categories. But a nice-round half century of aging is a little... sexier, I suppose, than 46 years. And there's also the source of the whiskeys in question. Bushmills is, obviously, still a going concern — in fact it's the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world, dating back to 1608. Midleton also survives, its distillery home to seven of Ireland's best-known whiskey brands, including Jameson, Redbreast, and Powers. But the whiskey from the Silent Distillery Collection was distilled at the Old Midleton distillery, which opened for business exactly 200 years ago, in 1825, and shut its doors for good in 1975 (it now serves as a visitors' center for Jameson). Chapter Six is in fact, according to the brand, the last of the Old Midleton whiskey to be bottled. Which, in part, explains why a bottle of this stuff will run you a cool $60,000, which makes $12,500 for Bushmills' 46-year-old seems almost a bargain. Suitable for display: the last "new" whiskey we'll ever see from the Old Midleton distillery is entitled to elaborate trappings. Given how long Irish whiskey has been a going concern, it's fair to wonder why the longest-aged Irish whiskey is 'only' 50 years old. After all, even second-tier distilleries in Scotland have released their share of 50-year-old bottlings in the last several years, and both Glenlivet (through independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail) and the Macallan have pushed the envelope with 80-year-olds. The sad fact of the matter is that Irish whiskey as a whole was in decline through almost all of the 20th century. It all but flatlined in the 1970s, when only two distilleries were still producing it — one of which was the replacement for Old Midleton. It wasn't until the late 1980s that a faint heartbeat was detected, and there wasn't much supply or demand for extra-aged Irish whiskeys until the 21st century, when the category once again picked up steam, and also picked up interest from serious whiskeyphiles. The last 'new' whiskey we'll ever see from Old Midleton was distilled by Max Crockett, one of the seminal figures in Irish whiskey history, in what at the time was the world's largest pot still. As you can probably guess by the fact that this is Chapter Six, Midleton has released five previous 'chapters' in the Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection, aged 45-49 years and finished in a variety of refill bourbon and refill sherry casks (meaning they'd previously been used more than once). For the final bottling, the extraordinary step was taken to assemble a special barrel using the staves and heads from barrels that aged Chapters 1-5. That's basically like taking pieces from five different jigsaw puzzles and figuring out a way to put them together in some coherent order. Ger Buckley, a fifth-generation cooper and Midleton's current master cooper, somehow managed the feat. The whiskey was married in this special cask for six months. Whether the fortunate few who buy a bottle will want to open it is a reasonable question, given the price tag. For those who want to know what it tastes like without popping the top on the hand-blown Waterford crystal decanter in which the whiskey is encased.... Bottled at a surprisingly strong cask strength of 53% ABV, it's obvious that, notes of dry oak and leather, this spirit is no spring chicken. But it's not overly tannic, and the dryness is offset by lush, lingering dark fruit notes — think dried pear and apricot. I've heard that the whiskey was originally laid down in a combination of refill bourbon and refill sherry casks, and I've also heard that it was entirely ex-bourbon casks. Either one seems plausible, though I would expect more orange and raisin notes from a sherry cask. Regardless, it's quite the elegant dram, with plenty of depth, this is one to savor regardless of the price. Even if you choose not to drink your $60,000 investment — about 200 of which are available worldwide, according to the brand — it's still pretty to look at. The aforementioned Waterford crystal decanter is housed inside a bespoke case made by Irish artist John Galvin, who has worked on other high-profile whiskies such as Glen Grant's 70 year old Devotion. The case features five rare Irish woods previously used for the cases of the first five chapters of the Silent Distillery Collection; the sixth wood used is a blue bird's-eye maple. With gold trim and leather interior, it sounds more like the interior of a car than a box made for holding whiskey. But since this whiskey costs as much as a car, it all kind of makes sense.
Irish Examiner
08-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Master of an art with 200 years of creative history
In 2025, Midleton Distillery celebrates its 200th anniversary, marking two centuries of Irish whiskey tradition and the home of renowned brands like Jameson, Redbreast, and Midleton Very Rare. 'I have the best job in the world,' says Kevin O'Gorman, the Master Distiller at Midleton Distillery since 2020 — one of the most coveted positions in world whiskey. Such a declaration is a rarity in the varied world of work — but an admission that Kevin underlines as the unadorned truth. Kevin's brief includes responsibility for maintaining the quality of all new pot and grain distillates produced at Midleton, in addition to overseeing the production process from brewing to distillation, and the tasting of all whiskeys to ensure the quality of all new pot and grain distillates produced at Midleton. 'Since starting my career in Irish Distillers in 1998, I have been lucky to learn from master distillers like Barry Crockett and Brendan Monks about the intricacies of the whiskey production, from grain to glass.' Having held the role of Master of Maturation since 2007, Kevin took over from Brian Nation, who served as Master Distiller since 2013. Kevin O'Gorman, Master Distiller at Midleton Distillery since 2020. Acutely aware of his link in an esteemed chain, Kevin pays homage to his predecessors: 'It is impossible not to be conscious of your place in history here, and how important my predecessors in this role have been. We go all the way back to 1825, and that is obviously a hugely important milestone in our history.' Kevin is also tasked with sourcing the casks used for maturing the raw spirit, smooth running of the maturation process and finally tending to the product as it matures in cask, including working with the 150-year aged wood from North America, France and Spain. A brand ambassador across the globe, he represents Irish Distillers on an international scale. Topping his extensive work portfolio is responsibility for the Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection — the name derives from having been distilled at the Old Midleton Distillery, which 'fell silent' after it closed in 1975. 'Like the distillate itself, the maturation journey of this whiskey is both complex and rare. 'In my former position as Master of Maturation it was a joy and privilege to play my part in the overseeing of the aging process in recent years, taking it to the final process if its bottling at peak perfection. It really is liquid gold.' A Cork native, Kevin is a graduate of the University of Limerick and holds a Diploma in Distilling from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. Having started his career in Midleton in 1998, working as a distiller under the tutelage of Barry Crockett, then moving to maturation where he honed his skills under then Master of Maturation Brendan Monks. Working with distillery teams in facilitating spirit options for new brands like Method & Madness and extensions in the Jameson, Redbreast and Spot range, Kevin spent much of his time pre-pandemic travelling to source the highest quality casks from world renowned cooperages, while overseeing the full maturation process across the portfolio. 'The growth of Jameson and our premium whiskeys has been nothing short of extraordinary,' Kevin notes of the upward trajectory. 'There is clearly a demand for premium whiskies out there, people want to try something different.' In a career that has taken him on a remarkable journey so far, this man with 'the best job in the world' has no hesitation of extolling its virtues to the next generation of graduates coming up. 'There are tremendous opportunities within the industry, and we have taken on so many people over the past number of years through our graduate programme. Working in an industry with such great growth prospects and offering such varied and interested options, it really is a career choice like none other.'
