We’re used to seeing five- and six-figure price tags on Scotch.
Now, it’s Irish whiskey’s turn to get luxurious.
Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Chapter One is a 45-year old expression with a retail price of $40,000. According to the Spirits Business, the casks were laid down in 1974 at Old Midleton Distillery in County Cork as part of an “innovative trails” series that was never released or repeated; that distillery closed a year later in 1975.
The release is a peated single malt (peated being very rare in the Irish whiskey field) influenced by a third-fill Sherry cask; it was also distilled through the largest pot still in the world, according to master distiller emeritus Barry Crockett, the son of Chapter One’s creator Max Crockett. Expect notes of ripe honeydew melon, red berries and toasted oak.
Related:
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Irish Whiskey Is Booming Again. Here’s Why.
Only 48 bottles of the Midleton will be available for purchase in Ireland, France, the UK and the U.S., with two bottles set aside for Midleton’s Very Rare online members program (which you can join for free here). The liquid will be presented in a handblown Waterford Crystal decanter and displayed in a wooden cabinet crafted from reclaimed whiskey vats.
“This is a true unicorn whiskey,” as Irish Distillers head distiller Brian Nation told CNN Travel.
The good news is that owner Pernod Ricard plans to launch a new 45-50 year old Irish whiskey each year in this new collection, at least through 2025. These bottles will make up what is considered Ireland’s oldest whiskey collection.
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