The second batch of Ireland’s oldest ever whiskey collection will be released this May—and a single bottle costs $45,000.
Presented in a hand blown Waterford Crystal decanter and displayed in a wooden cabinet made from reclaimed whiskey vats, there are only 70 bottles of Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Two in the entire world.
When the Old Midleton Distillery in County Cork closed its doors in 1975, after 150 years of whiskeymaking, several casks of trial whiskey innovations disappeared with it—until last year.
The first release was a 45-year-old peated single malt, created in 1974 by master distiller emeritus Max Crockett and guarded at the abandoned distillery ever since. The second is a 46-year-old single pot still whiskey, created in 1973, and with a price tag $5,000 higher than Chapter One.
Single pot still whiskey is a style of Irish whiskey made by a single distillery from a mash of malted and unmalted barley in a pot still.
Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Two was made, its makers say, in the world’s biggest copper pot still.
It began its maturation journey in a selection of sherry and bourbon casks, untouched for 20 years. The whiskey was then married and recasked into refill bourbon casks. Years later, it was recasked into port pipes and once again laid down to acquire further depth and complexity.
Finally, it was rested once again in a bourbon cask, until finally being deemed to have reached peak perfection by Midleton’s current master distiller Kevin O’Gorman.
Fancy a taste?
For Chapter One’s launch in February 2020, whiskey enthusiasts gathered from around the world in London’s Old Session House.
Glasses were distributed around the tables of eagerly waiting diners, before a switch was flicked so the glasses were lit from below and the whiskey gleamed brightly.
Tasting a fine whiskey is like skimming stones across a lake. The first sip breaks the surface, then the ripples of flavor spread out, but there are unexplored depths still to savor.
The Chapter Two whiskey is a cask-strength 53.5% alcohol—a tad stronger than last year’s 51.2%.
This whiskey is the second of six releases, with one release annually until the year 2025, ranging in age from 45 to 50 years old, all from the Old Midleton Distillery. The last release will coincide with the Old Midleton Distillery’s 200th birthday.
There will be 70 bottles of this second release for sale in the United States, the UK, France, Ireland and global travel retail, so be quick if you plan on buying one.
