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Introducing
the new Method and Madness Irish whiskey
range which includes Single Grain,
Single Malt and of course a Single Pot
Still Irish whiskey.
Just over a week ago I had the pleasure
of attending the global launch in Dublin
of Method and Madness, a new premium
range/brand of Irish whiskey from Irish
Distillers who you may know from their
other Irish whiskey brands such as
Jameson, Redbreast and Midleton amongst
others.
The new Method and Madness whiskey range
is the result of the knowledge,
experience and expertise of the whiskey
masters of the Midleton distillery past
and present (the Method) combined with
the fresh talent, curiosity and
enthusiasm of its current generation of
apprentices (the Madness).
The innovative new Method and Madness
whiskey range launches with four new
Irish Whiskeys, each created with its
own touch of Method and Madness and all
with a contribution from Midleton's
master and apprentice Distillers,
Coopers and Blenders.
The new range includes
Method and Madness Single Grain
Irish Whiskey, a style of whiskey which
we have never really seen commercially from the
Midleton distillery and in line with the
Method and Madness theme of the new
range this is no standard single grain
release this was finished in Virgin
Spanish Sherry Oak casks.
This is joined by the
Method and Madness Single Pot Still
Irish Whiskey, a style of whiskey which
we are very familiar with from Midleton
but again this has a twist, it was
rather uniquely finished in a very non
standard wooden cask, French Chestnut.
Next we have
Method and Madness Single Malt, wait a minute I hear you say,
Midleton doesn't produce a single
malt Irish Whiskey, you are correct this
whiskey was distilled at the Bushmills
distillery on the north coast of
Northern Ireland back in a time when
Irish Distillers owned Bushmills. Again,
keeping to the theme of the new Method
and Madness range this is no straight
forward Irish single malt whiskey the masters
and apprentices of Midleton have added
their own twist, the new single malt has
been enhanced with French Limousin Oak
casks.
Sitting at the top of the new range is
something very special and very limited,
Method and Madness 31 Year Old Single
Grain Irish
whiskey. Single grain whiskey from
Midleton is a rarity in itself but
combined with the fact that it has been
bottled at 31 years old makes this a
very rare Irish whiskey. There is no
twist in the maturation with this one,
it was matured in a refill American
Bourbon barrel, I suppose you could say
the Method and the Madness was keeping
this in their warehouse for the rather
unconventional number of 31 years.
The Method and Madness range is now, and will continue to be in the
future, an
outlet for the whiskey makers at
Midleton, both masters and apprentices,
to experiment and use their innovation
and it was great to see that Irish Distillers are very committed
to backing them as can be seen in their
investment in the new
Midleton Micro Distillery where
Karen Cotter, who joined Irish
Distillers as a graduate distiller in
2012 is now the apprentice distiller overseeing
experimental whiskey distilling at the
Midleton micro distillery which I had the
pleasure of visiting on my trip to
Ireland last week. I could very much
sense the enthusiasm and pride from
Karen in what she was doing at the micro
distillery and I was very intrigued to
have the chance to taste three different
styles of new make spirit produced at
the micro distillery during a tasting
with Midleton's masters &
apprentices which you can read about
HERE.
During my time in Ireland I also had the
chance to have a chat with Midleton
Master Cooper, Ger Buckley as well as an
informal chat with Ger's apprentice, Killian O’Mahony who
just couldn't hide his enthusiasm and
sense of pride in his craft and the whiskey
he will have a hand in producing for
generations to come. You can read my
interview with Ger Buckley
HERE
Brian Nation, Master Distiller at Irish
Distillers commented: "At the Midleton
Distillery, we are committed to
innovation and experimenting with new
whiskey styles. We are also invested in
training and nurturing the next
generation of Irish whiskey makers and
this project really brings that
commitment to life. The passing on of
knowledge and skills is part of our DNA
from our long line of master distillers,
to the generations of coopers that
served their apprenticeships at the
Midleton Distillery. In fact, this
summer our apprentice cooper, Killian
O’Mahony will become our first qualified
cooper in over 40 years’".
The Method and Madness whiskey range will be available in the UK,
France and Ireland (including Irish
travel retail) from this month at the
respective RRPs of €49, €69 and €79. The
Method and Madness 31 Year Old, Single
Cask, Single Grain will be available in
the same territories from April 2017,
priced at €1,500. Al the of the whiskeys
will be available
from specialist online whisky retailers such as
Master of
Malt
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