Midleton in County Cork is Ireland’s largest distillery. It was founded in 1825 by brothers James, Daniel and Jeremiah Murphy. In 1966, the groups Jameson, Powers, and Cork Distillers merged to form Irish Distillers. In 1975, the Powers and Jameson distilleries were closed and a new distillery opened next to Midleton to centralize and optimize production for the various brands. The old distillery then closed and Midleton became the only distillery in Ireland until Cooley opened two years later. The focus then turned to the Jameson blend, to the detriment of the single pot stills that have gradually come back into fashion in recent years.

Red Spot is a whisky distilled at the Midleton distillery and aged in bourbon casks, European oak sherry casks and casks previously used for Marsala, a Sicilian wine. After being discontinued by Irish Distillers in the 1960s, Red Spot was relaunched in 2012. The various spots (Green, Yellow and Red) are based on the marks the Mitchell family used to distinguish casks based on their potential.