Explore the home of the world's most beloved whiskeys at Midleton Distillery Experience

Perfection takes time and refinement.

Irish whiskey is an example of both; a product steeped in craft, patience, attention to detail, and made with high-quality ingredients. There are few better ways of seeing this for yourself than by visiting the new-look Midleton Distillery Experience.

The Cork distillery is the home of seven iconic Irish whiskey brands — Jameson, Redbreast, Powers, Midleton Very Rare, The Spot Whiskeys, Method and Madness, and Knappogue Castle. Here, you’ll find endless casks containing pure liquid magic — some of which have been aged for several years, even decades, until they’re just right.

It’s not just the luscious, warming whiskeys produced at Midleton Distillery that have taken time to reach their fullest potential, however. Midleton Distillery Experience itself has been transformed in recent years; redeveloped into something bigger and better than ever before, that offers exciting new experiences for visitors.

The revamped Midleton Distillery Experience is nothing short of impressive. That’s partially because, like any good whiskey, the project has been years in the making — quite a few more years than initially planned, as David Byrne, Director of the Midleton Distillery Campus, explains.

“Midleton Distillery has an incredibly rich history. The first buildings on the site were constructed in 1794 as a woolen mill, and later, following the sale of the site in 1825 to three brothers — James, Jeremiah and Daniel Murphy, distilling commenced. Distilling continued for 150 years until in 1975, when the Old Distillery was decommissioned, and a New Distillery was opened next door.” 

Following a dormant period, in 1992, the Old Distillery re-opened as the Jameson Heritage Centre and the business was a success from the beginning. When David began working on the Midleton Campus in 1998, it was evident future investment would be required in order to preserve and enhance the old distillery buildings.

“Over time and due to the volume of business, general wear and tear, the site began to look quite dated. So fast forward to 2019; we decided to embark on a major refurbishment project. Our main objective was to secure the future of the historic buildings which require constant care and attention to keep them from deteriorating.” 

Here, David and his team in Midleton ran into their first obstacle — the initial outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020, not to mention the many stages of lockdown that followed. This resulted in construction on the redevelopment beginning much later than anticipated. It was “a very challenging time,” as David recalls.

“It was December 2021 when we actually got started. We were determined to remain trading throughout the works so as not to disappoint our visitors. With this objective in mind, we moved out of the building and transferred our team, and business, to a temporary Visitor Center located in an old maturation warehouse, affectionately known as Warehouse No. 8. 

“It became a big job, much bigger than we first imagined, primarily due to the age of the buildings and, the fact that the entire site is listed as a protected structure. As the fabric of the building was peeled back, we discovered many challenges which had to be addressed including foundations, walls, roof structures, and building services such as power, water, and drainage. Ultimately, the entire structure was refitted from top to bottom.” 

“Incorporating a sustainability agenda into the project was also a priority for the team. This meant installing new heating and ventilation systems; a switch to LED lighting throughout and taking the opportunity to improve insulation.” 

“We completed the project and re-opened the business to the public on September 30th, 2023. The team enjoyed an exciting couple of weeks as we opened our doors to the public — the place looked fantastic, and it was very well received by visitors. Everything was going great, and then of course the infamous events of October 18th occurred.” 

October 2023 saw Storm Babet bring devastating rainfall and flooding to Midleton. Over just two days, more than 100mm of rainfall fell in the town – the equivalent of an entire month's worth of typical downpours.

“We were literally left standing there, in our brand-new building, with water everywhere,” David recalls. “However most importantly, nobody at the experience or in the town was injured. The response from the team on the day was incredible and the support we received from colleagues, friends and neighbours in the days afterwards, was heartwarming. Like many of our neighbouring businesses affected in Midleton town, we had to close immediately and set about refurbishing, all over again! Our teams worked hard to not only deal with the damage of the visitor centre but also to support the community who were so badly affected in Midleton town.

Our construction partners, P. J. Hegarty & Sons, advised that repairs would take approximately five months and we knew this would be too long for our visitors and team. The only solution was to return to Warehouse No. 8, also damaged in the flood, and begin trading once again. Our second stint in the temporary facility enabled the flood damage repairs to proceed at speed, and five months later, on March 8th, 2024, we returned to the main building to celebrate another re-opening!”

It’s been a long, difficult road in getting here, but David and the team couldn’t be happier with the end result.

“Our revamped Midleton Distillery Experience is now bigger, warmer, brighter and offers much more choice to visitors,” he shares proudly. “Fundamentally, when people visit Midleton Distillery Experience, they want to experience our whiskeys. Now we offer our guests more ways to do that than ever before; be it a distillery tour, a premium whiskey tasting, a whiskey cask opening experience, cocktail classes, or an extended duration tour where visitors go behind-the-scenes to explore our many special distillery buildings, our whiskeys, and our craft.” 

“We’ve built a new café also, which offers morning pastries, a spot of lunch, and afternoon snacks. The café incorporates an external patio area for when the good weather arrives! The refurbished Distillery Shop stocks our entire whiskey portfolio, as well as branded items including clothing, glassware, and giftware. The new Whiskey Vault goes one step further and offers the opportunity to purchase high-end whiskeys and special editions which collectors would not find available in many other shops.”

While the new experience is certainly a whiskey connoisseur’s dream, you don’t necessarily need to be a devoted whiskey lover to enjoy a visit to Midleton Distillery Experience.

“We’ve designed Midleton Distillery Experience for everybody,” David explains. “We understand that many visitors are whiskey enthusiasts, whilst others have only a passing interest. We want everybody to find their visit interesting, and so we have an experience for everyone, be it a thirty-minute whiskey barrel opening, right up to a two day, fully immersive, whiskey education experience at our Irish Whiskey Academy. The idea is that the experience is light-hearted enough to entertain everybody, however, for the whiskey enthusiast who wishes to delve deeper into the production process, we can certainly provide options for them to immerse themselves.”

“As well as catering to people of all interests, Midleton Distillery Experience is also geared towards international visitors as tours are offered in many languages. More than 80% of visitors are from overseas including USA, France, Germany, and Great Britain, however the local and Irish market is also critical. It is our ambition to grow our domestic market, and this means convincing local friends and neighbours to visit also. After all, we believe the distillery is an important part of the town as so many locals have worked here over the past 200 years. We also believe that the people of Midleton are proud of that fact that every glass of Jameson enjoyed around the world is made right here, in Midleton town.”

“Now that we’re back up and running, we genuinely hope the people of Midleton, Cork and further afield will come in to visit us and the wider East Cork area — whether for a tour, to experience a cocktail making class, a morning coffee or to enjoy a drink in our impressive new bar or indeed to support other businesses in the community.

With so much for locals and international visitors alike to choose from at Midleton Distillery Experience, the only tough part will be having enough time to explore it all!

“Our classic tour is approximately 1hr 15mins in duration, bringing the visitor face-to-face with world’s largest pot still. Visitors are more than welcome to stay longer in order to enjoy our shop, café, bars or tasting rooms,” says David. "We never turn anyone away meaning we endeavour to offer an experience to everyone, whether one arrives at 10am or 5pm.

"One experience the team are very excited about is the new Cocktail Class which takes place in the beautiful Kiln Bar, nestled privately in the upper floors within the original distillery buildings. This old building has lain dormant for almost fifty years and is now an incredible space featuring a conservation grade roof structure above the bespoke training bar. Here, under the tutelage of one of Midleton Distillery Experience’s expert mixologists and using locally sourced ingredients, participants will learn the art, and enjoy the craic, of creating three specially curated cocktails.” 

“Regardless of how you choose to spend your time in Midleton, you won’t regret it,” David promises. “Following your visit to Midleton Distillery Experience, Midleton Town offers a great variety of boutiques, shops, bars, and restaurants, and did I mention the free parking? Further afield, East Cork’s beautiful landscape is there to be discovered and offers many additional visitor experiences, picturesque towns and villages, as well as great food. It’s a great visit. While you’re in Cork, though, a trip to Midleton Distillery Experience is a truly unforgettable experience. You get to learn about Irish whiskey — past, present, and future. We’ve been distilling whiskey in Midleton since 1825 — that’s almost 200 years of craft and expertise, and some of the world’s favourite Irish Whiskey brands and expressions to be experienced with our wonderful team. It’s a fun, unique experience and I can’t think of a better way to spend an hour or two of your time.”

To book an experience, visit www.midletondistilleryexperience.com