In the 19th and early 20th century, Irish whiskey built an outstanding global reputation on a unique style: single pot still. Made with malted and unmalted barley (usually alongside other grains like rye or oats), single pot still became renowned for its full, creamy body and spicy, leathery flavors. 

But by the mid-1970s, single pot still became a very rare form of whiskey. Indeed, it was almost extinct. Once the mightiest whiskey nation in the world, Ireland and her distilleries suffered the ravages of historical events: the war for independence, the partition of Northern Ireland from the Republic (and the bloody decades of conflict that followed), plus U.S. Prohibition, which dealt a severe blow to an important export market. Ireland's whiskey industry had also painted itself into a corner with a stubborn focus on single pot still at all costs, ignoring global trends that favored lighter-style blended whiskies like those coming out of Scotland. 

By 1975, the entire Irish whiskey industry was on life support. There were just two active distilleries in the country: Bushmills in the north, which made single malt whiskey, and New Midleton Distillery in Cork. New Midleton replaced an older facility by the same name, arising from a three-way merger by the Republic of Ireland's last surviving whiskey makers—which also included John Jameson & Son and John Power & Son—to form Irish Distillers. Very little single still pot was made, or sold, during this period, as the new company finally saw the writing on the wall and shifted gears to produce blended whiskey in an effort to survive.  

But Ireland’s darkest hour for whiskey has yielded something remarkable for today’s whiskey connoisseurs: the world’s rarest whiskies.  

How rare? There are now just two casks of whiskey in existence from the original Midleton era. They come from the most challenging and pivotal moment in Irish whiskey history—and contain spirit that can never be reproduced. 

The same might be said of scotch distilleries that closed decades ago—distilleries whose single malt still pops up in contemporary bottlings—but the comparison is limited. Single malt scotch was never on the ropes like single pot still Irish whiskey. Plus there's far, far more old scotch kicking around than Midleton spirits from the ‘70s. 

These last precious barrels of whiskey are under the care of Kevin O’Gorman, current master distiller at New Midleton, who's shepherding them into a series of bottlings called the Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection. The series started a few years ago, with Chapter One, a 45-year-old peated single malt, and will continue releasing additional chapters until 2025, ultimately encompassing single malt, blended, and single pot still styles. Chapter Three is 47-year-old single pot still. Just 97 bottles were produced. The good news: some bottles are still available. The bad news: as of this writing, one will run you around $45,000.

O’Gorman spoke with The New Wine Review about how the whiskey for this rare series came about and was preserved over the decades. He also discusses how he approaches the process of distilling and barreling whiskey today for decades in the future—part of a legacy of laying down casks that ensures Ireland's industry never faces such desperate straits again. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

• If you go back to the ‘50s and ‘60s, Irish whiskey was on its knees. There wasn't much hope. The first step along the way in terms of recovery was 1966 when the  [Jameson, Power, and Murphy] families decided to merge and form the Irish Distillers Group. And after years of bitter rivalry between them all, they decided to come together in ‘66. It was the first step in terms of the recovery. The next step was pooling all the resources and putting it into the [New] Midleton Distillery.
• A number of casks were set aside back in 1973, '74, '75—I suppose they were kept back [from being used in regular bottlings]. The plan was that over time they would be released as a very old whiskey from the old distillery. After many, many years of maturation and minding these casks—because they're obviously very special—we decided then to release a collection of these whiskies, ranging in age from 45 years to 50 years. And the 50-year, which is the last one, will be released in 2025. That will correspond to the 200th anniversary of the Old Midleton Distillery being founded. So it all comes together very nicely.
• This is truly a silent distillery. It obviously will never open again. This liquid [for the Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection]: that’s it. There will be no more of the whiskey from the old distillery. So it's truly unique. It's very, very special. There's just a very small volume left. I mean, Chapter Four, I think we're gonna get about 119 bottles. Chapter Three was 97. Even Chapter One was 48 bottles.
• [The whiskies] were matured in predominantly refill casks that allowed us to mature for an extended length of time. If you used, for example, a new oak, or even a first-fill cask, they would've got too woody. But they were matured in refill casks that have really contributed subtle flavors over time, but not too much wood. That was really critical.
• These whiskies have gone through four master distillers. Max [Crockett], first of all, set these casks aside, and we do that to this day [at Midleton]. We reserve those casks because we know they're extra special. We set them aside for the future generations, because a lot of the whiskies that we're laying down now—I won't be around for the launch of those whiskies. They'll be well after my time.
• We've been laying down a lot of innovative whiskies, a lot of different distinct styles. We're doing a lot of work on, for example, different types of yeast, giving us different flavor profiles. We're doing trials on different cut strengths, trying to maybe increase spiciness, increase sweetness, or whatever the parameter would be. And then you have all different types of casks, be it chestnut, acacia, cherry wood, Japanese wood: we are doing lots and lots of trials.
• At our tasting panels, we come across parcels of whiskey which are exceptional or casks of whiskey which are exceptional, and we put those aside—again, for the future. 
• My job at the team here is to lay down enough stocks for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years, so that they have more to play with in terms of the volumes of whiskey that's kept aside. Going back to 1974 and ‘75, they never could see, well, where, where is this gonna go? So there was only a [small] number of casks they set aside. So [now] there's lots going on. Lots of trials, and there's lots of casks being laid down. Hopefully I'll hand it on in good condition to whoever takes over.

Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection: Chapter Three

This 47-year-old single pot still Irish whiskey offers a rare taste of a style that was once nearly lost. It strikes a delicate balance between antique aromas of cedar cigar box, polished oak furniture and leather, plus rich, ripe Concord grapes, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and guava. The palate is similarly ripe and tropical, with berries, guava, and jackfruit, tempered by wood spice, dry and polished oak, and integrated nuttiness. Prominent but silky tannins add texture without drying out the mouth. Quite lengthy on the finish; persistent ripe fruit mingles with spiced oak and nuts, with mature polished oak flavors lingering for several minutes. Do not add water as it mutes the vibrancy of the whiskey.