BOTTLE # 43

February 2020 sees the launch of the first release from Ireland’s oldest ever whiskey collection. Midleton Very Rare, renowned as the Pinnacle of Irish Whiskey, is produced in Midleton Distillery, Co. Cork, Ireland and the Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection is a collection of six releases. The first is a 45-year-old Irish single malt. There will be one release annually until the year 2025, ranging in age from 45 to 50 years old, all from the fabled Old Midleton Distillery (operating 1825-1975). The last release will coincide with Old Midleton Distillery’s 200th birthday.  

A 'silent' distillery is one that has closed its doors and been lost to ages past, achieving almost mythical status. As rumours of this ‘unicorn’ whiskey swirl around the whiskey world, these precious bottlings have become highly sought after by whiskey enthusiasts.  A traditional distillery, Old Midleton Distillery was famous throughout the world for Irish whiskey, but when it closed its doors for the last time in 1975, it became an iconic part of Irish distilling legend.  

While other silent distilleries have re-opened and been brought back to life, Old Midleton has been fully decommissioned and will never produce again. Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Chapter One will be the first official release from Old Midleton Distillery in 16 years and the collection represents some of the last drops of this inimitable spirit before the distillery closed its doors forever.