The Midleton distilleries complex is situated in

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satellit ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ireland. It is owned by

Irish Distillers Irish Distillers is a subsidiary of the French drinks conglomerate Pernod Ricard. It is the largest distiller of Irish whiskey, distilling popular brands such as Jameson and Powers, in addition to premium whiskeys such as Redbreast and Midleto ...

, a subsidiary of

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or ''Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

. Located alongside is the

Old Midleton Distillery The Jameson Experience, Midleton, (also known as the Old Midleton Distillery) is an Irish whiskey museum and visitor centre located in the Old Midleton Distillery in Midleton, County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Set over 15 acres, since ...

, which was established in the early 17th century and now operates as a visitor centre known as the Jameson Experience.

History

In 1966, John Power & Son, John Jameson & Son and the

Cork Distilleries Company Cork Distilleries Company was an Irish whiskey distilling company. It was formed in 1867, when four Cork distilleries, Daly's, the Green, North Mall, the Watercourse were amalgamated under one company to form the Cork Distilleries Company. In ...

(which owned the Old Midleton distillery) merged to form the

Group. The board of the newly formed company decided to close their existing distilleries and consolidate all production at a new facility. This was built at Midleton as it was the only existing site with room for expansion. In July 1975, production ended at The Old Jameson Distillery and began in the new one. The old distillery has since been turned into
visitor centre
Since 2010, the distillery has expanded vastly, with Irish Distillers investing over €200 million to double the capacity of the plant and build a new maturing facility in

Dungourney Dungourney () is a village in County Cork, Ireland on the R627 regional road northeast of Midleton. The river Dungourney flows through the village. St. Peter's National School is located in the centre. There is a church in the west of the vil ...

, a nearby village.

Production

Midleton is one of the most modern

distilleries Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...

in the world and has its production areas linked via fibre-optic networks. The distillery boasts three 75,000 litre pot

still A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been used ...

s (the largest currently in operation worldwide), and three column stills, which are used in combination to produce different types of

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...

. With a total production capacity of 64 million litres per annum, the distillery is the largest in Ireland. The distillery also hosts a micro distillery with smaller pot stills, which have the capacity to produce about 50,000 L of alcohol per annum.

Visitor attractions

The New Midleton Distillery is next to the Old Midleton distillery, home of th
visitors centre
called the Jameson Experience. Like the visitors centre in Dublin at the

Old Jameson Distillery Jameson Distillery Bow St. (informally the Jameson Distillery) is an Irish whiskey tourist attraction located just off Smithfield Square in Dublin, Ireland. Jameson Distillery Bow St. is the original site where Jameson Irish Whiskey was distille ...

, the tour explains the history of

Jameson Whiskey Jameson ( or ) is a blended Irish whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. Originally one of the six main Dublin Whiskeys at the Jameson Distillery Bow St., Jameson is now distilled at the New Midleton Distillery i ...

. The story is told through a series of reconstructed scenes from the original distillery in Dublin, exhibition areas that show the seven stages of whiskey making, and a video that shows what the distillery was like when the creator John Jameson was alive. Small numbers of visitors can also participate in a taste test between

Scottish whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial distil ...

, and

American whiskey American whiskey is whiskey (a distilled beverage produced from a fermented mash of cereal grain) produced in the United States. American whiskeys made from mashes with at least 51% of their named grains include bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey, ...

to become a "Qualified Irish Whiskey Taster". In 2013, a new Irish Whiskey Academy was opened in the Midleton Distillery Grounds offering a range of one to three day Irish whiskey appreciation courses and training for Irish whiskey aficionados, journalists and other members of the drinks profession and industry. The grounds of the old Midleton Distillery also houses the official historical archives for the Irish Distillers Whiskey labels in the old Master Distillers House.

Whiskeys produced

As a result of the different stills combinations that can be achieved, a range of different products can be produced. The most significant brands produced are: * Jameson - The best selling Irish whiskey in the world *

Tullamore Dew Tullamore Dew, rendered in most branding as Tullamore D.E.W. (typically with the dots de-emphasised using colour and font size), is a brand of Irish whiskey produced by William Grant & Sons. It is the second-largest-selling brand of Irish whi ...

- owned by

William Grant & Sons William Grant & Sons Ltd is an independent, family-owned Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky and other selected categories of spirits. It was established in 1887 by William Grant, and is run by Grant's descendants as of 2018. It is th ...

(No longer produced as Tullamore has its own distillery as of 2014) * Powers * Paddy * Redbreast *

Midleton Very Rare Midleton Very Rare is a premium Irish whiskey, produced by Irish Distillers at the New Midleton Distillery, in the East Cork town of Midleton, from which it gets its name. A non-age statement whiskey, containing a mix of pot still and grain whi ...

In September 2014, Midleton Distillery invited their Master Distiller Emeritus Barry Crockett out of retirement to join his successor Master Distiller Brian Nation in producing a limited expression of just 117 bottles of Midleton Very Rare 30th Anniversary Pearl Edition to commemorate 30 years of Midleton Irish Whiskey. * Green Spot * Red Spot * Yellow Spot * Blue Spot

Other products

*Cork Dry Gin *Huzzar Vodka

References

External links

{{coord, 51.913110, -8.169485, display=title, region:IE_type:city Distilleries in the Republic of Ireland Midleton Pernod Ricard brands Tourist attractions in County Cork Irish companies established in 1975