Two of world's biggest copper stills create a stir en route to Midleton Distillery
The pot stills arrived by ship at the Port of Cork’s Kennedy Quay berth in Cork city centre over the weekend. Picture: Padraig O'Reilly-Shannon Images
The famous Midleton Distillery has taken delivery of two huge copper pot stills which, once installed, will be amongst the largest in use in the world.
The pot stills, which were handmade by master coppersmiths Forsyth’s of Scotland, arrived by ship at the Port of Cork’s Kennedy Quay berth in Cork city centre over the weekend, and were loaded onto trucks on Monday.
The pot stills, which weigh eight tonnes each and which have a capacity of over 75,000 litres each, were then transported by road to the distillery in Midleton in East Cork, where they will be installed over the coming weeks.
“These two pot stills will replace two stills that have been in operation in the Barry Crockett Stillhouse since 1974,” a spokesperson said.
“Installation will commence immediately and we expect that they will be fully operational by August 2021, marking completion of the project to upgrade equipment in this stillhouse which began last summer with the installation of similar new stills.”
The Midleton Distillery is home to some of the world’s most well-known and successful Irish whiskeys, including Jameson, Powers, Redbreast, Midleton Very Rare, the Spot family and Method and Madness.
The installation of the pot stills is the latest element of a massive €400m investment by Irish Distillers and Pernod since 2012 to double production and bottling capacity to meet global demand for its products. It included a near €120m investment at the Midleton campus and another €100m investment in warehouses at the nearby Dungourney maturation campus.
Irish Distillers was formed in 1966, when a merger took place between John Power & Son, John Jameson & Son and Cork Distilleries Company. In 1988 Irish Distillers became a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard.
Meanwhile, Midleton Distillery has launched the Barrel Club Midleton Distillery – a €499-a-year whiskey club that it says will connect members to the whiskeys and people from Midleton Distillery.
Each club member will receive a welcome gift box containing a specially personalised Distillery Edition bottle, tasting glasses and journal. Then, each quarter a limited-edition whiskey consignment including a 700ml bottle along with three 50ml samples will be delivered, each themed and handpicked by Master Distiller Kevin O’Gorman and his team at the distillery.
“Midleton Distillery has been at the forefront of Irish whiskey since 1825, thanks to generations of talented, enthusiastic, and innovative people,” Mr O’Gorman said.
“Passion and dedication to the craft, along with an unfailing ambition to share our whiskeys with the world, is at the core of everything we do at Midleton Distillery. I am delighted to share the magic and charm of Midleton Distillery with people across Ireland through our new and exclusive Barrel Club Midleton Distillery.”
Each membership will also include exclusive access to distillery whiskey education, virtual tastings and rare finds as well as a ticket to an in-person experience - a behind-the-scenes tour at Midleton Distillery or a whiskey blending class at Jameson Distillery Bow Street.
