Welcome to the Irish Distillers Tasting Club a six-part series for whiskey lovers. 

Over the series we’ll meet true masters of their crafts from Midleton Distillery.  From flavours and aromas, to cask selection and the wonderful stories behind each product, we will share insights into how Irish Distillers create some of the world’s most enjoyed Irish whiskeys. 

In episode 4, our host Ger Garland is joined by Master of Maturation, Kevin O’Gorman. Kevin has a fascinating job sourcing casks and managing the maturation of our whiskeys. Kevin explains the range of aromatics and the depth of flavour that can be found throughout the Spot range, be it Green Spot, Yellow Spot or Red Spot. 

Welcome to the Irish Distillers Tasting Club a six-part series for whiskey lovers. 

Over the series we’ll meet true masters of their crafts from Midleton Distillery.  From flavours and aromas, to cask selection and the wonderful stories behind each product, we will share insights into how Irish Distillers create some of the world’s most enjoyed Irish whiskeys. 

In episode 3, our host Ger Garland talks to Master Distiller Brian Nation about his role in producing a whiskey which is often referred to as the ‘pinnacle of Irish whiskey’. Brian joined the ranks of some legendary figures of Irish whiskey when he took over as Master Distiller. In this episode he discusses how he came to work for Irish Distillers and the craft behind the production of Midleton Very Rare.  

Welcome to the Irish Distillers Tasting Club a six-part series for whiskey lovers. 

Over the series we’ll meet true masters of their crafts from Midleton Distillery.  From flavours and aromas, to cask selection and the wonderful stories behind each product, we will share insights into how Irish Distillers create some of the world’s most enjoyed Irish whiskeys. 

In episode 2, our host Ger Garland meets Master Blender Billy Leighton. Billy is responsible for creating iconic blends within the Irish Distillers portfolio of brands and together they take a closer look at a very special whiskey – Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey.

Welcome to the Irish Distillers Tasting Club a six-part series for whiskey lovers. 

Over the series we’ll meet true masters of their crafts from Midleton Distillery. From flavours and aromas, to cask selection and the wonderful stories behind each product, we will share insights into how Irish Distillers create some of the world’s most enjoyed Irish whiskeys. 

In our first episode, host Ger Garland meets Dave Quinn, Master of Whiskey Science at Midleton Distillery. Dave takes us through the origins, character and taste of one of our most successful innovations - the Jameson Caskmates series. 

This additional episode gives insider access to the launch of A Story of Irish Whiskey. Recorded live in Dublin city centre, you will hear first-hand accounts from our craftspeople and guests in conversation with the producer, as they reflect on the history of Irish Distillers over the decades and how it now lives on as a podcast.  

 A Story of Irish Whiskey:  Launch Night Exclusive
 
 

In this special bonus episode, buried in the Irish Distillers’ archives, the secrets of the ‘Punishment Book’ are revealed.

Find out how the workers’ perk of daily grog could be stopped – a punishment that no worker would want to suffer – and why the colossal mistake made by one worker, Bill Scully, had serious consequences for the distillery.

Coming together might have saved Irish whiskey, for now, but despite huge re-investment, it was still struggling to make an impact once again around the world.

Fending off hostile take-overs, it needed to grow quickly or Irish whiskey as a product would soon disappear.

Pernod-Ricard’s welcome take-over in 1988 offered a game-changing platform to the world and the Irish whiskey renaissance finally began and an ancient Irish industry sprung up once up again.

As the Irish whiskey families met in 1966 in Tourin House, Co. Waterford, to discuss a merger, suspicions between the Dublin and Cork rivals proved difficult to reconcile.

Norbert Murphy was the patriarch of the Cork Distilleries Company who was wary of the motives of the Jamesons and Powers up in Dublin.  

The rivalry was century’s old, heightened when the Dublin whiskey companies labelled their whiskey with an ‘e’ to distinguish themselves from their country ‘whisky’ counterparts, and Norbert Murphy was not going to be easy to convince to join forces with them.

First came war, then revolution, quickly followed by Prohibition and economic trade wars, all outside of their control.

Having once conquered the world, the fall, when it came, was swift, and by the middle of the 20th century, Irish whiskey was on its knees.

To save themselves and Irish whiskey, the Jameson, Powers and Murphy whiskey families had to come together in a last bid for survival, but could old rivalries be buried?

In the 1800s, Irish Whiskey was the whiskey of choice around the globe with Irish distillers controlling about 70% of the world market.

The Chicago World Trade Fair in 1893 was the high point with a 30-foot round tower made entirely of Powers whiskey bottles epitomising the ambition, scope and standing of Irish whiskey on the world stage.

Innovation and individuality singled them out, but from being Kings of the World, came the inevitable fall.