Midleton at the heart of Ireland’s whiskey boom – 200 years on

Midleton Distillery in east Cork, home to a great deal of Irish whiskey, celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. As part of the celebrations, it released the sixth and final chapter of the Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection, containing the very last drops of whiskey made in the original distillery, which closed in 1975. A minimum of 50 years old, it is available from specialist retailers for €60,000 a bottle. I had a few small sips and can assure you it is an exquisite whiskey. I also tasted the 2025 release of the highly sought-after Midleton Very Rare.

Carol Quinn, Midleton archivist, is a mine of fascinating historical information. “In 1825,” she says, “as the second-largest natural harbour in the world, Cork was a huge centre of international trade, and home to that class of merchants in Cork city known as the merchant princes. Our records show that in 1824 the Murphy family were importing goods from the Mediterranean, things such as currants, raisins, olive oil, and even lemons from Sicily; they also had a thriving tea importation business. James Murphy, founder of the distillery in Midleton, understood international trade and how you import and export all around the world; he understood luxury goods and applied all of that knowledge to the distillery here when he established it in 1825.” In 1854 they installed what is still the world’s largest pot still.

“The distillery had a huge impact here in terms of employment. The records show there would have been around 200 people employed here, with father being followed by son and grandson. You could have five to six generations of one family.”

For various reasons Irish whiskey then went into decline through much of the 20th century, which culminated in the merger of all the southern Irish producers into Irish Distillers. More recently there has been a boom in Irish whiskey sales here and abroad, and we now have a range of interesting whiskeys. I include one below from Aldi; the rest are made by Irish Distillers.