HOW ITS MADE - WHISKEY PRODUCTION PROCESS

At this juncture, in midleton, the fate awaiting the wash depends on precisely the kind of whiskey they want to produce. For pot still whiskey the grist will have been made up from anything within the parameters of 60 per cent unmalted barley and 40 per cent malt, or from a straight 50/50 split. From this range of mixes three types of whiskey can be produced: light pot still; medium/modified (known as midleton Mod Pot); or heavy.

Afer all three distillations the stillman can produce a heavy whiskey, which contains some fo the heavier oils. The lighter the spirit he requires, the more central portion of the run will be selected each time. The result is a lighter spirit which is higher in alcoholic strenght. From the time the spirit is filled into the cask it will have been distilled at least three times. It is the most complicated whiskey-making system in the world.

Midleton also produces the grain whiskey required not only for their own blends but also Bushmills. Sometimes the grain is made from a mixture of malted (20 - 25 per cent) and un,ated (80 - 75 per cent) barley. This tends to produce a more fully flavoured grain whiskey than when they use wheat or maize.

One of the great features of the Midleton distillery is the acres upon acres given to warehousing. At midleton the casks are stacked upright on palates which are then placed on top of each other, a process which is much less labour intensive than the process in Scotland.