Jameson Redbreast and Midleton

WHEN IRISH WHISKEY RULED THE WORLD

There was a time when Irish whiskey ruled the world. It has been through its ups and downs over the last century or two, but if not for the Midleton Distilleries, who knows where it would be. These are the distilleries which have carried Irish whiskey on their shoulders for a very long time. There is support from newcomers, or relative newcomers, today, but they would all, no doubt, acknowledge the debt they owe to the Old and the New Midleton distilleries. We refer to Old and New but in reality, one followed the other in chronological terms.

Located in Midleton, County Cork, the New is still Ireland’s largest distillery and is responsible for a great many of the country’s most famous whiskeys. Names like Jameson (the world’s largest selling Irish whiskey), Redbreast, Yellow Spot, Midleton itself, Writers Tears, Green Spot, Powers, The Irishman, and even gin, vodka and beer.

The Old Distillery (it is important to distinguish between the Old and the New Midleton distilleries) was founded as far back as 1825, by James, Daniel and Jeremiah Murphy. The building was in use before that, as a woollen mill. The brothers paid thirty thousand pounds – a huge sum in those days – for the building and converted it to use as a distillery. It quickly increased in importance and less than a decade later, it was employing more than 200 people and was producing 400,000 gallons. By the late 19th century, Irish whiskeys were in the doldrums and sales plummeted. The reasons, as they almost always are in such situations, were many and varied but most notably, the rise in popularity of blended whiskies and the Anglo-Irish trade wars hurt Irish production (scary to think that more than a century later, lessons have not been learnt). While the Midleton Distillery was swept along with the tide, they managed to do so much better than most and remained in production at all times. The 1960s saw a time of declining sales as well. In an attempt to stem the tide, in 1966, Irish Distillers Ltd, was founded by merging several separate distilleries, also including John Jameson & Son, John Powers & Son and the Cork Distilleries Company. The decision was taken to close existing distilleries in Dublin and Cork and to consolidate production. This would be done at a new, specially-built distillery. The site chosen was next to the existing Midleton Distillery (hence, ‘Old’ and ‘New’). Dublin had been ruled out as there was simply not room to expand next to the existing distilleries.

Further expansion took place in 1972 when Bushmills, which was the only other distillery operating in Ireland at that time, joined the fold. It meant that, at that time, Irish Distillers was in sole control of all whiskey production. A far cry from the days of several hundred distilleries and 60 per cent of the world market, enjoyed over a century earlier.

In July 1975, the Old Midleton Distillery produced its last whiskey. A few days later, production began at the new operation. The Old Distillery had the world’s largest pot still, with a capacity of 31,618 gallons, as well as two more 10,000 gallon spirit stills and a Coffey still. The New Distillery had, at that time, three 75,000-litre pot stills and three column stills.

The old distilleries? Old Midleton and Jameson’s Bow Street Distillery have both reopened, not as working distilleries but as visitor centres. Powers John’s Lane Distillery was not so fortunate, much of it demolished, though a small part of it avoided the bulldozers and now forms part of the National College of Art and Design.

A number of multinational corporations showed strong interest in Irish Distillers Ltd and in 1988, by way of a friendly takeover, Pernod Ricard took control. In 2005, Bushmills was sold to Diageo and a decade later, Paddy went to Sazerac, although production still takes place at the Midleton Distillery. In 2010, a further €200 million was tipped in to update operations, allowing for an increase in production to 64 million litres per annum.

The Distillery works in two ways. Grain whiskey is made in column stills and there is also traditional Irish single pot still whiskey from pot stills. Water, so vital in production, has always been sourced from the Dungourney River, once also its power supply – the giant waterwheel is still on site. Midleton uses brewer’s yeast for fermentation, which takes approximately 60 hours, giving a wash with an alcohol content of 10% - 12% ABV. Fermentation for grain whiskey distillation takes 90 - 100 hours, with an alcohol content of 13% - 15%.

As mentioned, the Distillery uses triple pot still distillation. There are now seven pot stills, each with a capacity of 80,000 litres. After running through three pot stills, the spirit has a strength of 83 - 85% ABV. But of course, this distillery produces a number of different whiskeys, each with their own character. Hence, procedures are not all uniform, especially, in relation to cuts from head to tails. For grain’s continuous distillation, Midleton has five old column stills and six newer, larger column stills.

Their whiskey is matured in a mix of American oak and European oak casks. The team at the distillery believe that the casks should not be allowed to

dry and so, even when transported from their various locations to the distillery, they travel as fully made, and not disassembled, casks. On arrival, the sherry and port casks are filled immediately. The distillery can fill 70 to 80 casks simultaneously, while bourbon casks will be filled within one to three months. At this stage, everything is computercontrolled and monitored. On site, there are now forty warehouses, recently completed to expand the storage capacity.

Needless to say, an operation this size making so many different whiskeys, and the numerous variations within them, make it impossible to fully cover all. If one had to pick just one, it is hard to go past the Midleton Very Rare.

Before his retirement in 2013, master distiller Barry Crocker, had worked at the distillery for 47 years, 37 of them as master distiller, after arriving as an apprentice to his father. Much of the success of Jameson’s can be attributed to his efforts and releases such as the Midleton Very Rare in 1984 and the Single Pot Still Whiskeys of Midleton, beginning in 2011. Crocker was succeeded by Brian Nation. To celebrate Crocker’s career, and the 30th anniversary of Midleton Very Rare, a limited release of just 177 bottles of Midleton Very Rare 30th Anniversary Pearl Edition was issued, with a higher strength, 53.1% ABV.

Midleton Very Rare is a non-age statement whiskey, blending pot still and grain whiskeys, and matured for between 12 and 20 years in American Oak barrels, previously used to house bourbon. The early examples incorporated whiskey from the Old Distillery, as time was needed to mature the requisite whiskey from the New Distillery. Every year, a new bottling is blended by the master distiller, who has his pick of the whiskeys in the distillery’s warehouses. The aim is “to produce the best whiskey possible”. It means that every year, the release will be different, and this makes them irresistible to both aficionados and collectors. Quantities are almost always less than 2,500 cases per annum. Every bottle is numbered and signed by the master distiller and comes in a wooden presentation box. More recently, Midleton have also released a number of single pot still whiskeys. Examples include a 30-year old Pure Pot Still, distilled in 1969 and released in 1999 and a 26-year-old Pure Pot Still, distilled in 1974, matured in oloroso butts, and finished for one year in a port pipe. It was released to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Old Midleton Distillery.

As well as such famous whiskeys as Jameson’s and many others, Midleton’s Distillery also produces another local favourite – Redbreast. Originally, it was part of the Gilbeys’ wine and spirits operation, with the first record of it appearing in 1912. It is thought that this was actually a reference to the Gilbeys ‘JJ Liqueur’ Whiskey 12-Years-Old and that ‘redbreast’ was a nickname for it, the Chairman of Gilbeys a well-known ornithologist.

Redbreast gained some notoriety in the 1920’s, earning its own nickname of ‘the priest’s bottle’. The 1920s were tough times in Ireland, political and economic turmoil abounding. Few had the means to enjoy a fine whiskey yet the Irish clergy seemed to always have a bottle of Redbreast available. The distributors liked to think of it as a case of ‘spiritual and gastronomic enlightenment’. The average Irishman may not have been so charitable in his thoughts.

Irish Distillers Ltd, at the time of its creation by the merger, decided to implement some changes in production and sales. Importantly, they decided that the day of selling bulk whiskey, ‘by the cask’, to wholesalers and retailers, who would then bottle and sell it themselves, would be phased out. They were looking to increase exports and also to increase the number of brands in their portfolio and so required the whiskey for their own plans. Gilbeys however, managed to persuade them to continue supplying their pure pot still whiskey for Redbreast until the closure of Bow Street Distillery in the summer of 1971. The last bottling of Redbreast, under the Gilbey’s banner, took place in 1985, and the following year, Gilbeys sold the brand name to Irish Distillers. There followed a period of a decade where Redbreast was simply unavailable.

Finally, in 1991, Redbreast was given the proverbial make-over and it was relaunched as a 12-Year-Old, matured in a mix of sherry and bourbon casks. The new Redbreast was met with critical and popular acclaim.

In 2005, ‘Redbreast 15’ was released. Originally for the 50th Anniversary celebrations of their French distributor, ‘La Maison du Whiskey’, this non chillfiltered whiskey was an immediate hit and was named by Jim Murray as the Whisky Bible’s ‘Irish Whiskey of the Year’.

2012 and another Redbreast hit the shelves, ‘Redbreast 12 Cask Strength’. It is bottled direct from the cask with no water added. This means that even though the Redbreast DNA is evident in each bottle, as each cask will differ ever so slightly in terms of alcohol strength, each release is marginally different.

The following year, 2013, saw the launch of the oldest whiskey in the Redbreast range, ‘Redbreast 21’. Named ‘21’, it actually contains whiskeys up to 25 years of age. Redbreast master blender, Billy Leighton, sees the style as the epitome of the Redbreast sherry style and it is their flagship.

A limited release in 2015 of just 2,000 bottles, the Redbreast ‘Mano a Lamh’ is the only one of their whiskeys to be matured exclusively in sherry butts. It is now seen as very much a collectors’ item. But they continued the theme in 2016 with the ‘Redbreast Lustau Sherry Finish’ edition. This bottling is initially matured in a mix of both bourbon and sherry casks for a period of nine to twelve years and then sees a final year in selected oloroso sherry butts from Bodega Lustau in Jerez, Spain. It has become a permanent addition to the Redbreast range.

No doubt, lovers of Irish whiskey are anticipating more exciting and innovative releases in the years to come.

In 2013, an Irish Whiskey Academy was opened in the grounds of the distillery. It offers a range of Irish whiskey appreciation courses, over one to three days, and also training for aficionados, journalists and members of the trade. The distillery also houses the official historical archives for the Irish Distillers.