The upgraded tourist attraction features new and immersive whiskey tours, tastings, and experiences incorporating all seven Irish Distillers’ whiskey brands, an immersive auditorium, modern retail facilities, whiskey tasting and cocktail-making rooms, a newly built café, and new workspaces.
Conservation and restoration of existing structures and features were central to the redevelopment, as many of the original distillery buildings date back to 1794. Every effort was made to restore and improve the buildings, marrying the old with the new. Improvements and upgrades to preserve the fabric of the historic buildings using like-for-like materials whilst embracing modern construction techniques were utilised. This has resulted in a unique visitor experience that encapsulates the history and heritage of Midleton Distillery in a beautiful, state-of-the-art modern visitor experience. A feature ‘Whiskey Wonderwall’ was designed, and this eye-catching element displays over 1100 bottles of various Midleton Distillery whiskeys.
The new experience has been constructed with sustainability and efficiency at the forefront of the design. The incorporation of a new and efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and the retrofit of existing buildings deliver improved energy performance throughout and help reduce the amount of energy used.
With sustainability in mind, an opportunity was identified to repurpose oak. The experience’s bar counters and tables were manufactured from repurposed oak, originating from an old whiskey vat in Irish Distillers’ Fox & Geese bottling plant in Dublin.
Several timber parquet floors have also been constructed from repurposed oak from used Jameson Whiskey barrels. The timber was dismantled, machined, and kiln-dried by a specialist timber flooring company before being used in various areas.
The Midleton Distillery Experience is a flagship for the many quality products and provides a world-class, multi-sensory Irish whiskey experience for domestic and international visitors. The project has preserved the long-standing history of the heritage site for future generations.
We are incredibly proud to have been involved in the Midleton Distillery Experience, which was officially opened by Irish Distillers and Tánaiste Micheál Martin in 2023.
