Irish Distillers

In 1785, the British parliament imposed a punitive tax on malted barley used in Irish distilleries.

The tax was levied specifically on the malted grain itself, designated to squeeze Irish distillers who relied on 100% malt recipes similar to their Scottish neighbors.

Rather than surrendering their profits, Irish distillers devised a ingenious legal loophole.

They began blending raw unmalted green barley directly into their mash along with the taxed malted barley.

Because the law strictly taxed malted grain, any unmalted grain added to the mash was completely tax-free.

When mashed and triple distilled in massive copper pot stills, these proteins do not convert to alcohol.

Instead, they carry over into the distillate, creating an extraordinarily thick, creamy, velvety mouthfeel.

Furthermore, unmalted barley produces a distinct, vibrant spice profile that balances the grain's natural sweetness, a signature peppery, zesty sensation that Irish distillers affectionately call the pot still prickle, which I didn't know until writing this.

So then I got a job in Bushmills.

That was part of Irish Distillers, so essentially it was a monopoly on Irish whisky.

Yeah, it was actually, I only just copped it there when I kind of thought about it.

So it was in 98, I think you were in Bushmills.

That was Irish Distillers time.

So yeah, so it was Irish

Distillers putting a re-card in there.

I totally didn't cop that.

And it's amazing.

Wow, that's so interesting, isn't it? So come here, Irish Distillers where you work, how many barrels would they be dealing with every year?

Lots, I suppose, that's all.

Their operations, they're a massive, massive great company that have supported this trade throughout as well.

Is it just sport mulch you've worked with for now, or if someone is in, you know, like the tier lawn or the dairy gold pay 10 or 15 euro on a sustainability bonus, or has that all to be worked out yet?

No, so there's, we're, and the tillage side we're with two, we're with Irish distillers, Irish distillers have a sustainability programme as well, so again, many growers would be part of that, where they're getting those sustainability bonus with them.

We also have it on the dairy side, obviously, but from a tillage perspective, they're the only two schemes at the moment.

We are open to other processors, co-ops, that develop sustainability schemes for tillage farmers that meet our criteria.

The original distillery in Middleton dates back to 1825.

Then in 1966, Jemisin, Powers and the Cork Distilleries Company came together to form Irish Distillers.

And in 1975, the new Middleton Distillery opened beside the original site.

And that's the Middleton we know today, and it's a pretty special place.