‘Of all the comrades that e’er I had, they’re sorry for my going away…’ You know the luxury product being launched is an Irish product when the singers are performing a song normally reserved for funerals. The release of the final chapter of Midleton Very Rare’s Silent Distillery series does mark a passing, the end of an era, and the Irish soul is, by inclination, mournful, papered over by the craic. As master distiller Kevin O’Gorman says, ‘It’s the end of the journey, so there is a mixture of joy and sadness to releasing this whiskey.’

In 1975, the decision was taken to shut down the old distillery that had operated in much the same way for 150 years, since it was built by the Murphy family (now better known for stout) and open a more modern facility next door, mainly for the production of Jameson after its Dublin distilleries closed. 

It meant less backbreaking work in maltings and shovelling coal beneath the huge, direct-fire stills, which can be seen on a tour of the old distillery. But it was an end as much as a new beginning. (There is an even newer distillery currently under construction next door to potentially double production. We are assured any tariff-related concerns are a blip in the grand scheme of demand.)

In the late 1970s, the majority of the whiskey distilled in the old buildings was simply used. However, the final drops squeezed out of that copper monster were kept aside, and that is what came to be the six chapters of the Silent Distillery collection. 

Kevin O’Gorman remembers his first days working at Midleton back in 1998: ‘The then-warehouse supervisor, Dennis McSweeney, brought me on a tour of the warehouses. And I remember going into warehouse A2, which is a special place, going back to the 1860s. And right down at the end, on the left-hand side, in bays one, two and three, were these casks, the last from the old distillery. Dennis told me, “These are liquid gold.” Dennis actually worked in the old distillery, so those casks were very important for him. I certainly kept a very close eye on them. But little did I think in 1998 that I’d be in that same warehouse presenting the last chapter.’

The tone O’Gorman takes is a long way from the vainglorious, exclusionary attitude of some luxury drinks launches. To him, 50 years is not simply a big number to boast about. In fact, he barely mentions that this is the oldest ever Irish whiskey release. It’s a number that connects his work to that of his predecessors: ‘To be the one to present this whiskey is an honour which I don’t take lightly. I do think of all the people that put work into this cask over many, many decades. Not only my predecessors in this role – Max Crockett, master distiller in 1975, then his son Barry, who came up with the idea of Midleton Very Rare, and Brian Nation, who nurtured this cask before me – but also the many people who worked in the old still-house, the cooperage and the warehouse.’

The family connection of two of the former master distillers is far from rare at Midleton. Master cooper Ger Buckley is the fifth generation of his family in the role. As he nears retirement, to be asked to cooper a special cask for this whiskey meant encountering a very tactile reminder of his father. ‘It was when we were working on the Silent Distillery Chapter V that I noticed we were using a cask that had been repaired by my father – it must have been not long before he retired in 1980-’81? Coopers use a mark on the barrel when we’ve finished repairing it and the mark he used, same as my grandfather, and same as me, is a number one. He would stamp it into the end of one of the staves, while I have always stamped it on the barrel head.’

For the final chapter, the decision was taken to finish the whiskey for six months in a special cask Buckley would reconstruct from staves and heads taken from the previous five chapters’ casks. And there, at the top of the barrel, are two ones, one on the stave, one on the head, pointing at each other. It’s hard not to choke up at the symbolism and Buckley says, ‘Yes, it’s been a special project to work on at the end of my journey as a cooper, and to see my dad’s mark next to mine all these years later makes me emotional. And you can also see the mark “NX”, which is that of Derek Cronin, the cooper I trained. But he asked me recently, when I finally leave, would I mind if he takes over the number one mark? So, the one will continue even after I’m long gone.’

It’s these generational and emotional connections that inspired the cabinet that the Silent Distillery Chapter VI arrives in. Though based in Glasgow, designer John Galvin is a local East Cork lad with family still there in Youghal. Midleton distillery is a huge institution in these parts – everyone knows someone involved, from farmers to engineers to guides. Galvin says, ‘I see a lot of synergy between whiskey making and cabinet making. Like Ger serving his apprenticeship then training the next generation, cabinetmaking takes decades to hone your skill and craft. I’ve been able to bring apprentices through, working on these Midleton Very Rare cabinets.’

As with Ger Buckley’s cask, Galvin has used wood elements from each of the previous five chapters in the final cabinet, each of which is a nod to the old distillery – for example, an elm burr to represent the patina on the copper stills. The sixth wood is an arresting bird’s eye maple coloured blue for the Midleton brand.

Inside the cabinet is a mouth-blown Waterford crystal decanter. And inside that, a deep mahogany pot-still whiskey with an obvious viscosity when you gently swirl it. (In keeping with the Irish psyche, the liquid trails running down the sides are not called “legs” but “tears”.) The nose hits first with dark but bright notes before more expected signs of age emerge: tobacco and leather, but still with a freshness, as well as ginger and orange peel. In the mouth, classic pot-still stone fruit takes over, along with toffee sweetness, before cocoa and a peppery bite towards the end. And maybe a touch of salinity as you shed a tear into it. As the song goes, ‘So fill to me the parting glass… Good night and joy be to you all.’

Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Chapter VI (£55,000 for one of what is rumoured to be between 200 and 250 bottles) is available at specialist retailers in the UK or by enquiry from midletonveryrare.com