Pernod Ricard has released the last expression in the Silent Distillery Collection series from Irish whiskey brand Midleton.
The sixth ‘chapter’ in the series, which has run annually since 2020, has been timed to debut with not only the 200th anniversary of the ‘old’ Midleton distillery, but also 50 years after the facility ceased production. The brand is named after its hometown in southern Ireland, where the group also has its current Irish whiskey distillery for the Jameson, Powers and Redbreast brands.
Earlier this month, Pernod Ricard’s Irish Distillers division implemented a temporary suspension of production at the site “to support the sustainable global growth of its portfolio of Irish whiskeys”.
Dubbed ‘The Last Drops’, the latest iteration of Midleton Very Rare is a single pot still whiskey that has been matured for 50 years in five ex-bourbon American oak casks before being combined in one final barrel comprising wood from the five previous Silent Distillery releases. Like the barrel, the case also features woods that featured in the earlier bottlings, joined by blue bird’s eye maple.
Priced at US$60,000, the 52.5% ABV whiskey is available online as well as through specialist spirits retailers in Ireland, the UK and the US.
“While there is a sense of sadness as the Old Midleton distillery and the Silent Distillery Collection reach a close, … it has been an extraordinary privilege to be part of the creation process,” said master distiller Kevin O’Gorman.
Irish Distillers is three years into a four-year project to expand the current facility at Midleton and phase out its ‘scope 1’ and ‘scope 2’ carbon emissions. The current capacity sits at 70m litres of pure alcohol per year.
