Midleton Distillery has proudly unveiled Chapter Six, the last release in the Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection – the rarest and oldest Irish whiskey collection in the world.

TRBusiness was on location at the Midleton Distillery, near Cork, Ireland last week as the only representative of the travel retail press to report on a special moment in Irish whiskey history and one marking two centuries of Midleton Distillery’s legacy.

Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Six is bottled at 53% ABV and is available to purchase in specialist retailers in the UK, Ireland and the US, at a RRP of €60,000/£55,000/US$60,000.

From a limited run of 235 bottles, a number will be on sale at selected travel retail outlets including Dublin, London Heathrow, Amsterdam Schiphol and Istanbul airports together with airports in the Middle East.

Chapter Six is the culmination of the six-year Silent Distillery Collection that began in 2020, with one chapter released annually.

Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Six decanter and wooden cabinet.

Nurtured through generations

The collection honours the legacy of the Old Midleton Distillery, which operated from 1825 to 1975 and was world-renowned for its Irish single pot still whiskey.

Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Six represents the very last drops to be released from the Old Midleton distillery, now silent.

The expression is 50 years in the making and has been unveiled to celebrate the distillery’s 200^th anniversary.

TRBusiness was invited on a tour of the silent Midleton Distillery, which began in the old buildings dating from 1825 and took in the grain store, mash tubs, washback, kiln room and malting floor before visitors arrived at the 1854 giant copper pot still (144k-litre capacity), the largest in the world.

The modern Garden Still House built in 2012/13 contains six pot stills – the wash, feints and spirits stills of 40k litres, each flanked by the heat recovery steam generator pipes.

These recover the vapour heat into receivers that boil out unneeded oils, reducing the ABV from 84% to 63% through the spirit pots until the desired strength is achieved.

The Chapter Six whiskey is the last release to have been distilled by the forefather of modern Irish whiskey, Master Distiller Emeritus Max Crockett, in the world’s largest pot still.

Over the decades, it has been devotedly nurtured by three subsequent Master Distillers – Barry Crockett, Brian Nation, and most recently, Kevin O’Gorman.

Initially aged in ex-bourbon American oak barrels, the whiskey is later decanted into a bespoke cask crafted by Master Cooper Ger Buckley and his team.

Kevin O’Gorman, Master Distiller, Midleton Distillery.

This unique barrel is created using wood from the five previous Silent Distillery releases to form a one-of-a-kind cask.

The result is a vibrant whiskey, boasting lively, fresh fruit flavours elegantly balanced with earthy aromas of dried tobacco leaves and antique oak.

Describing the liquid, Midleton Master Distiller Kevin O’Gorman said: “Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Six is a whiskey whose excellence is shaped by so many extraordinary factors. From the now rare single pot still distillate style to the 50-year maturation process, this whiskey has been looked after like no other.

“There is a balance of aged oak influence with fresh fruit notes that can be challenging to achieve in ultra-aged whiskeys. I truly believe that we have encapsulated the essence of Old Midleton in this ultimate expression.”

A specially designed decanter is individually mouth-blown and refined by the specialist craftsmen and women of Ireland’s House of Waterford.

The bottle is housed in a wooden cabinet designed by Irish master craftsman John Galvin, who selected and combined six rare woods – each previously featured in the cabinets of the first five Silent Distillery releases – with the sixth being an eye-catching blue bird’s eye maple and enhanced with a delicate 18ct gold-plated trim with a hand-cut and embroidered premium leather interior.

Reporting by Ian Hill.

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