Irish Chestnut Edition spent five years in casks made from six Irish chestnut trees and costs 440 euros a bottle
Irish Distillers, the Irish division of the Pernod Ricard group, this week launched Midleton Very Rare Irish Chestnut Edition, a single pot still Irish whiskey that spent its last five years in Irish chestnut casks. According to the brand, it is the first whiskey finished in casks made entirely from that wood. The release opens a new line, the Rare Wood Collection, devoted to woods rarely used in aging.
The wood came from six chestnut trees on the Cappoquin Estate, a property in County Waterford owned by the Keane family since 1735, according to The Spirits Business. According to Midleton, the staves were air-dried for two years, lightly toasted and made into hogshead casks; The Spirits Business reports that the seasoning and coopering were done in Spain, before the casks returned to Ireland to be filled.
The whiskey is a combination of light, medium and heavy style single pot stills that aged 12 to 19 years in American oak bourbon barrels before the five years in chestnut. The result has an age profile of 17 to 24 years and was bottled at cask strength, at 56.1% ABV, without chill filtration. Because chestnut is more porous than oak, about 29% of the liquid evaporated over those five years, according to The Spirits Business.
The suggested price is 440 euros per 70 cl bottle, and production is about 800 nine-liter cases, the equivalent of some 10,285 bottles, according to Drinks Intelligence. Distribution is worldwide; the brand has not announced a price or date for Brazil.
In its official tasting notes, Midleton describes aromas of red apple with honey, caramelized orange peel, chocolate, toffee and spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon, with nutty undertones. On the palate, it cites orchard fruit, citrus, vanilla, chocolate and pepper. The whiskey is made at the Midleton distillery in Ireland, led by master distiller Kevin O'Gorman. Irish Distillers also owns Jameson, which is also in the Bebidário catalog.
Sources: Midleton Very Rare (October 8, 2026), The Spirits Business (October 8, 2026), Drinks Intelligence (October 6, 2026).
