Midleton

Midleton distillery, founded by the Murphy family in 1868, was in fact the amalgamation of three previous distillers in Cork, as a suggestion by the Murphy’s to help overcome the difficulties the industry was facing. However, trouble for the Irish whiskey industry was only beginning, and it reached near-complete devastation by the middle of the 20th century. With global markets drying up, prohibition in the United States, two World Wars and English tariffs pricing it out of the market, by 1965 only four Irish distilleries remained.

Then, in 1966, something rather momentous occurred. The big three distillers - Jameson’s of Bow Street, The Powers of Thomas Street Dublin and The Murphy’s of Middleton, Cork - all titans of the industry, came together pooling resources, experience, and a passion for traditional Irish whiskey. Between them they forged the ‘New’ Midleton distillery, in a bid to save the industry, and the style (Irish Single Pot Whiskey) from complete annihilation. The new distillery opened on the old Midleton site in 1975 with Jamesons, Redbreast, Powers, The Spots and Midleton’s now being produced within this industry defining distillery. The distillery, now owned by Pernot Ricard, now has nine of the largest Pot stills in the world. Combined, these stills have a capacity of 80,000 litres. Alongside three eight-storey-high column stills, this distillery now produces some of the most iconic whiskeys in the world.