This $50,000 Bottle of Irish Whiskey Is So Rare It Traveled With a Police Escort, And Tickets to Taste It Cost Almost $2,000

A rare bottle of Midleton Irish Whiskey required a police escort to get to its destination: Gormley’s Pub. The bottle will be available to taste at the Festival of Midleton Whiskeys. (Photo: Ian West/PA Wire URN:19631739)

On Tuesday, Fox 8 reported that a bottle of 48-year-old bottle of Midleton Irish Whiskey arrived in Rocky River, Ohio, for a whiskey tasting and charity event. The bottle is so valuable that it was escorted by police to get to its final destination: Gormley’s Pub.

This year’s event, called the Festival of Midleton Whiskeys, will be held at The Clifton Club, and the tasting of the bottle will take place March 2.

Tickets are valued at $1,949 a piece. Additionally, 200 entrants can enter a raffle to purchase discounted tickets for $50 each. The individual who wins first place in the raffle will get admission to the second night of the festival and will receive the opportunity to taste the rare whiskey. A second-place winner will get invited to the first night of the festival and be able to taste other rare Irish whiskeys.

The pub acquires a rare bottle of Midleton and hosts a tasting each year to benefit Malachi House in Cleveland. Described as a “loving home for life’s last journey,” Malachi House is a Christian ministry nonprofit that specializes in providing palliative care.

The inaugural event was in November 2021, when Gormley’s Pub spent $45,000 acquiring a bottle of 46-year-old Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Chapter 2 and hosted the first festival, where 20 attendees were invited to taste the rare offering for a good cause. The event was a success and has occurred every year since.

In December 2022, Gormley’s hosted its second rare and exclusive whiskey-tasting event, and tickets were priced at $3,500 for the first 19 buyers.

“We initially started this thinking it would help a great cause, but it’s turned into something really special and it’s benefited so many people at Malachi House and brought a lot of attention to the charity and the love of Irish whiskey,” pub owner Sean Gormley told Fox 8.

When the pub first hosted the event, Fox 8 reported that Gormley’s Pub was the first pub in the world to get its hands on one of the rare whiskey bottles.

In its third year, Gormley’s is continuing the tradition, featuring one of these rare unicorn Irish whiskey bottles.

“It’s so exciting to be able to do this again,” Gormley said.

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