Irish Distillers Introduces Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection
Irish Distillers has announced the Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection, a collection of six chapters to be released annually until the year 2025, ranging in age from 45 to 50 years old, all from the Old Midleton Distillery, which ceased operations in 1975. The last release will coincide with Old Midleton Distillery’s 200th birthday.
The first release, Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter One, is the only release in the collection to have been created as a peated single malt. Chapter One was laid down in 1974 under Master Distiller Emeritus Max Crockett, a year before the closure of Old Midleton Distillery, and was left to mature in a third-fill sherry cask for 45 years before being bottled at 51.2% ABV.
Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter One is described as having aromas of “deep, dark spices on a satisfying antique oak base. An earthy note of freshly cut peat, along with chamois leather, is lifted by a twist of grapefruit. The very old sherry wine seasoned hogshead cask contributes a touch of ripe honeydew melon and red berries as well as the sweet spices of toasted oak.” On the palate, it’s “instantly rich with the initial peppery spices slowly softening as the influence of the malted barley shows through. Liquorice root, barley sugar and honey bring some sweetness, just given a little edge by a touch of sherbet. All build on a solid foundation of toasted oak.” It concludes with “rich spices and malted barley” on a “slow to fade” finish.
Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter One is bottled in handblown, etched, and individually numbered crystal decanters produced by Ireland’s Waterford Crystal. The bottle comes displayed in a wooden cabinet handcrafted by Irish designer John Galvin using wood from ancient reclaimed whiskey vats, some up to 200 years old!
Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter One is available now at a suggested retail price of €35,000/£32,000/$40,000 for a 750 mL bottle. Availability is limited to just 48 bottles in Ireland, UK, France, and the US.
Photo credit: Irish Distillers.
Source: irishdistillers.ie.