What we’re drinking: Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Six
Where it’s from: Midleton is part of the Irish Distillers, an Irish whiskey subsidiary of Pernod Ricard that also includes Jameson, Powers, Redbreast and more. The original Midleton distillery dates back to 1825, and a new location was opened in the mid-1970s.
Why we’re drinking this: How often do you get to try a $60,000 bottle of 50-year-old Irish whisky? I’m a big fan of the Silent Distillery Collection, which is coming to an end with this recently-released (in the United States) sixth edition. Previous editions ranged from a 45-year-old peated single malt aged in a third-fill sherry butt (Chapter One) to pot still and grain whiskey releases aged in ex-sherry and ex-bourbon barrels for 45+ years.
The collection, released annually since 2020, honors the legacy of the Old Midleton Distillery, which operated from 1825 to 1975 and was renowned for its Irish single pot still whiskey. These are the actual last drops from the now-shuttered (or “silent”) distillery. It was distilled by Master Distiller Emeritus Max Crockett in the world’s largest pot still.
“Max decided to keep some barrels back from the old distillery,” says Master Distiller Kevin O’Gorman. “They were kept in a warehouse, and we decided around 2016 or 2017 that it was time to do something with them.”
Initially aged in ex-bourbon American oak barrels, the whiskey for this release was later decanted into a bespoke cask crafted by Master Cooper Ger Buckley and his team. This unique barrel was created using wood from the five previous Silent Distillery releases.
“To be honest, the barrels were old and didn’t really add that much,” O’Gorman says. “It was more of marrying the four [remaining] barrels together that’s what we wanted. And then we bottled it at cask strength.”
We were able to try a few sips and also get reacquainted with what turned out to be my favorite Irish whiskey ever, as you’ll see below. You can also read more of the backstory on this expression here, from when our Europe-based writer Josh Sims was able to spend time with O’Gorman last summer.
How it tastes: Bottled at 53% ABV, this surprisingly does not taste like a 50-year-old whiskey — it’s vibrant, fruity and not drowned out by the oak. “That comes down to being stored in third-fill and fourth-fill barrels,” O’Gorman says. “And [for barrel maturation] Ireland is obviously very temperate with no weather extremes.”
Overall, this is a complex, herbal and still approachable release, full of dark fruits, black currant, malt, fudge, cherries, black tea, dark chocolate, aged oak and a bit of leather.
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From budget options to premium pours, we’ve got St. Patrick’s Day coveredFun fact: At this tasting, I was able get reacquainted with Midleton Very Rare Dair Ghaelach Kilranelagh Wood, the fifth chapter of that particular Midleton series, where extra-aged Irish whiskey is finished in barrels made from virgin Irish oak cultivated from select forests across Ireland. For this release, six Irish oak trees were selected from the grounds of Kilranelagh Estate, and the casks were filled with a selected range of 15- to 28-year-old single pot still whiskeys previously matured in American oak barrels. This is probably my favorite Irish whiskey (and certainly more affordable than the Silent Distillery series). Coffee, chocolate, cinnamon, citrus, allspice, coconut, tropical fruit, vanilla and oak spice are the notes present on this cask-strength release. If you want something like it or something else special or affordable, it’s part of our annual best Irish whiskeys guide.
Where to buy: About 225 bottles of Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Six are available from specialist retailers for $60,000. Given the price point, it’s no shock the whiskey arrives in a specialty decanter designed by the House of Waterford, housed in a wooden cabinet built from rare woods previously featured in the cabinets of the Silent Distillery releases.
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