THE RECORD / STUDY 01
Two centuries at Midleton.
The still in Study 01 is a modern one. It stands in the Garden Stillhouse, opened in 2013, on a site that has distilled whiskey since 1825. This is the record behind it: the mill that became a distillery, the giant still of 1854, the companies that merged to survive, and the expansion that doubled Midleton in a single build.
A woollen mill, then a barracks, then a distillery
The main building at Old Midleton is older than the whiskey. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records a nineteen-bay, four-storey former mill built in 1793, with a mill race and culverts on its north side. It began as a woollen mill. During the Napoleonic wars a military barracks occupied the building.
In 1825 the Murphy family bought the site and converted it to a distillery. Irish Distillers dates its Midleton story from that purchase, and the archive still holds barley purchase books from the 1820s and 1830s. The cast-iron waterwheel on the north elevation was erected in 1852 by Fairbairn, with barley motifs cast into its panels. It stayed the main source of power until 1975.
Midleton Distillery, Distillery Walk, Townparks (Reg. 20830059) · Midleton Distillery celebrates 200 years of distilling traditionThe largest pot still in the world
The still Midleton is famous for is not the 1825 original. Irish Distillers says the giant copper pot was assembled and installed in 1854, and was "said to be the largest pot still in the world". Fired from beneath, it was tended by the Midleton "fire men", who controlled the heat by hand. The company says it could heat more than 30,000 gallons of liquid in a single day.
The capacity is quoted two ways. The Irish Whiskey Technical File, the legal definition of Irish whiskey lodged with the EU, says that by no later than 1867 Midleton had the world's largest still at 31,500 gallons, "a record that still stands today". Trade writers give 31,618 gallons, about 143,000 litres. We use the Technical File figure. The vessel survives at Old Midleton and is shown on the distillery tour.
Fire Men · Technical File for Irish Whiskey / Uisce Beatha Eireannach / Irish Whisky · Midleton Distillery at 200: 10 great talking pointsCork Distilleries Company, 1867
Irish whiskey consolidated early in Cork. In 1867 four of the city's largest distilleries, Daly's, the Green, North Mall and Watercourse, amalgamated as the Cork Distilleries Company. Midleton joined the company in 1868. The largest plant was at North Mall, on an island on the north bank of the Lee.
A fire in 1920 destroyed the Victorian mill at North Mall and damaged much of the site. With the industry in crisis, the company chose not to rebuild and moved production to Midleton instead. That decision made Midleton the surviving Cork distillery. The Cork Distilleries Company records now sit in the Irish Distillers archive at Midleton, alongside those of John Jameson & Son and John Power & Son.
Cork Distilleries Company bottling plant, North Mall · Midleton Distillery celebrates 200 years of distilling traditionIrish Distillers and the 1975 distillery
By 1966 the Republic had three distillers left: John Power & Son, John Jameson & Son and the Cork Distilleries Company. That year they merged as Irish Distillers Limited. In May 1972 the group bought a controlling 55 per cent of Old Bushmills for £2,267,000, which put every working Irish distillery under one company.
The old plants were judged no longer fit for purpose. Irish Distillers built a new distillery beside Old Midleton, which the company called Europe's most modern, and opened it in 1975. Jameson's Bow Street and Powers' John's Lane in Dublin closed and production moved to Cork. Old Midleton fell silent the same year. Midleton Very Rare launched in 1984. In 1988 Irish Distillers joined Groupe Pernod Ricard, which still owns it.
Our Story · Technical File for Irish Whiskey / Uisce Beatha Eireannach / Irish Whisky · Bushmills: 400 Years in the Making, chapter 25 (excerpt)The Garden Stillhouse, 2012 to 2013
Work on the expansion began in May 2012. Irish Distillers put €100 million into Midleton and €100 million into a maturation site at Dungourney, €200 million in total. The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, unveiled the plaque at the new Garden Stillhouse on 4 September 2013. It is named for its position in the garden of the old distiller's cottage.
The stillhouse holds three copper pot stills of 75,000 litres each, identical to the existing stills in the Barry Crockett Stillhouse. The master distiller calls them the biggest operational pot stills in the world. A separate column stillhouse added three columns, the rectifier under pressure and the beer column under vacuum so heat cascades between them, cutting column energy per litre of alcohol by 52 per cent. Site capacity went from 33.5 to 64 million litres of pure alcohol a year.
The Midleton expansion · Irish Distillers launch $132 million expansion to Midleton complex · Irish Distillers dedicates new Midleton expansion · Inside the Garden Stillhouse · Garden Stillhouse: the visible formSince the expansion
A Micro Distillery, with a scaled-down wash, feints and spirit still built by Forsyths, was commissioned in September 2015. Method and Madness, the experimental range that draws on it, launched in March 2017 with four whiskeys. Irish Distillers calls it the first new brand since Midleton Very Rare in 1984.
In June 2021 two new Forsyths pot stills, each over 75,000 litres, arrived at the Port of Cork to replace two Barry Crockett Stillhouse stills in service since 1974. In September 2022 the company announced a €250 million second distillery on a 55-acre site next door, to be carbon neutral and to open in 2025. By May 2025 the opening had moved to 2027 at the earliest, and production paused from April until the summer of that year for what the company called a routine review.
Jameson thinks small with microdistillery · Method and Madness: masters and apprentices unite · Our Story · Two of world's biggest copper stills create a stir en route to Midleton Distillery · Irish Distillers announces investment plan for new distillery in Midleton · Opening of Irish Distillers' new €250m facility in Midleton pushed back to 2027 at the earliest · Irish Distillers joins Diageo in production pauseOld Midleton as a visitor centre
Old Midleton Distillery worked from 1825 to 1975. In 1992 it reopened as a visitor centre. Pernod Ricard says more than 3.5 million people have visited since then. The 1852 waterwheel and the 1854 still survive on site, and the old still is shown on the tour. Many of the buildings date to 1794.
A multi-million-euro redevelopment, designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates and built by PJ Hegarty, reopened on 29 September 2023 as the Midleton Distillery Experience, covering all seven Irish Distillers brands. The company marked the distillery's 200th year in 2025 with the final chapter of the Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection, whiskey distilled at Old Midleton before it closed.
Irish Distillers opens newly redeveloped Midleton Distillery Experience · Midleton Distillery celebrates 200 years of distilling tradition · The Old Midleton Distillery story, nearly 200 years on · Midleton Distillery, Distillery Walk, Townparks (Reg. 20830059) · Midleton Distillery at 200: 10 great talking pointsWhy Midleton matters to single pot still whiskey
Pot still Irish whiskey is defined in law. The Irish Whiskey Technical File requires a mash of at least 30 per cent malted barley and at least 30 per cent unmalted barley, up to 5 per cent other cereals such as oats or rye, batch distillation in pot stills and at least three years in cask in Ireland. "Single" means it was all distilled at one distillery. The unmalted barley gives the spicy flavour and creamy texture that mark the style.
The file notes the style is usually distilled in large pot stills, whose size shapes the reflux and the character of the spirit. Midleton's operator says it runs the largest of them. The Garden Stillhouse was built for pot still production. Redbreast, made at Midleton, is the largest-selling single pot still whiskey in the world.
Technical File for Irish Whiskey / Uisce Beatha Eireannach / Irish Whisky · Irish Distillers dedicates new Midleton expansion · Our BrandsMade at Midleton
- Jameson
- A blend of single pot still and grain whiskey, triple distilled, and every drop distilled and matured at Midleton. A record 10.4 million cases sold in 2022. Our Brands
- Powers
- James Power's whiskey, originally distilled at John's Lane in Dublin. The range now runs from the blended Gold Label to single pot still releases and Powers Irish Rye. Our Brands
- Redbreast
- The largest-selling and most awarded single pot still Irish whiskey, with a signature sherry influence. It passed 100,000 cases for the first time in 2022. Our Brands
- Midleton Very Rare
- First bottled in 1984 by Master Distiller Emeritus Barry Crockett, with a new vintage released every year since. Our Brands
- Spot whiskeys
- Rooted in Dublin wine merchant and bonder Mitchell & Son, who marked casks with a spot of paint by age: blue for 7 years, green for 10, yellow for 12, red for 15. Our Brands
- Method and Madness
- Launched in March 2017 from the Midleton Micro Distillery as a range of experimental whiskeys exploring new mash bills, distillation and wood. Method and Madness: masters and apprentices unite
Questions people ask
What is the largest pot still in the world?
The record holder is the copper pot still at Old Midleton Distillery, Co. Cork. The Irish Whiskey Technical File puts it at 31,500 gallons and says the record still stands. Irish Distillers says it was assembled and installed in 1854. For working stills, Irish Distillers describes the 75,000-litre pots in Midleton's Garden Stillhouse and Barry Crockett Stillhouse as the biggest operational pot stills in the world.
Technical File for Irish Whiskey / Uisce Beatha Eireannach / Irish Whisky · Fire Men · The Midleton expansionWhen was Midleton Distillery founded?
In 1825, when the Murphy family bought a former woollen mill and barracks in Midleton and converted it to a distillery. Irish Distillers marked the 200th anniversary in 2025. The current distillery next door opened in 1975.
Midleton Distillery, Distillery Walk, Townparks (Reg. 20830059) · Midleton Distillery celebrates 200 years of distilling tradition · The Midleton expansionWhat is the Garden Stillhouse at Midleton?
A pot stillhouse opened in September 2013 as part of a €200 million expansion. It holds three 75,000-litre copper pot stills and is named for its position in the garden of the old distiller's cottage. Its north-facing raked glass wall was designed to show the stills from outside.
The Midleton expansion · Irish Distillers launch $132 million expansion to Midleton complex · Garden Stillhouse: the visible formWho owns Midleton Distillery?
Irish Distillers, which was formed in 1966 by the merger of John Power & Son, John Jameson & Son and the Cork Distilleries Company. Irish Distillers has been part of Pernod Ricard since 1988.
Our StoryWhat whiskeys are made at Midleton?
Jameson, Powers, Redbreast, Midleton Very Rare, the Spot whiskeys and Method and Madness. Irish Distillers also lists Knappogue Castle among the brands it houses at Midleton.
Midleton Distillery celebrates 200 years of distilling tradition · Irish Distillers announces investment plan for new distillery in MidletonWhat is single pot still Irish whiskey?
A legally defined style: a mash of at least 30 per cent malted barley and at least 30 per cent unmalted barley, with up to 5 per cent other cereals, batch distilled in pot stills and matured for at least three years in Ireland. "Single" means it all comes from one distillery.
Technical File for Irish Whiskey / Uisce Beatha Eireannach / Irish WhiskySources are linked under each section. Company statements are attributed as such. Where sources disagree, the page says which figure it uses and why. Corrections: hello@stillbound.ai.