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Ahascragh Distillery

Ahascragh Distillery in County Galway is part of the next generation of Irish Whiskey Distilleries that are re-energising the proud and long heritage of uisce beatha.

Founded by Gareth and Michelle McAllister the distillery is currently (January 2022) being built around the old landmark property of Ahascragh Mill.

By following Ahascragh Distillery social media sites you can access regular updates as to the progress of this ambitious venture.

In the meantime sourced spirits have been blended and packaged by Ahascragh Distillery in advance of their own produce and include Xin Gin, Clan Colla Whiskey and Uais Irish Whiskey.

Available in several local bars in Ahascragh village itself, Casks Away is ready to take you there to view the building works, enjoy a snack in the Old Mill Shop & Cafe and perhaps sample a few of their fine whiskey beside the distillery itself!

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All images courtesy Ahascragh Distillery website here.

Ahascragh Distillery twitter here, Instagram here and facebook here.

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Time To Start Again

Forgive me Irish Whiskey fans.

It’s been a year since my last blog.

COVID has been hard on everyone.

Here in Ireland pubs closed, distilleries closed and tourism fell off a cliff.

It’s starting back again, albeit slowly.

Casks Away has survived and is willing & able to show you round the sights, sounds and smells of Irish Whiskey Distilleries.

Ahascragh Distillery

There has been a positive boom of Irish Whiskey Distillery expansion and diversity during the pandemic.

Many new names, brands and bottles have been appearing.

Over the next few months I’ll be updating you in the latest developments and hopefully tempting yourselves to get out there & sample a few!

Tours are available with Casks Away.

Just be aware at the time of writing (Oct ‘21) masks are mandatory for public transport vehicles and a valid EU COVID pass or proof of vaccination is required to enter licensed premises.

Stay safe and see you soon!

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Titanic Distillers, Belfast

Despite the COVID pandemic, Irish Whiskey is showing remarkable resilience with continued announcements of new brands and distillery projects proceeding apace.

One of those, Titanic Distillers in Belfast, (see The Spirits Business link here) piqued my interest as it involves a bit of a story.

Peter Lavery courtesy Irish Times

The story begins with a lucky individual winning the lottery, Peter Lavery, back in 1996. (Irish Times link here)

Apart from buying the fancy cars and luxury holidays, Peter also released some whiskey brands. Titanic and Danny Boy being the most noticeable.

Titanic Irish Whiskey courtesy thewhiskeyexchange

Launched in May 2011, (launch link here) Titanic Whiskey gained a lot of attention and sold widely. By December 2011 events took a bit of a twist. Beam bought out the Cooley/Kilbeggan operations run by John Teeling. (Sale link here) At one fell swoop the source of Titanic’s whiskey (and others too, see link here) was turned off and stocks began to dwindle.

Undeterred, a plan to build a distillery in the historic Crumlin Gaol under the Belfast Distillery Company (BDC) name was started in 2013. (BDC link here)

Then all went quiet.

Rumours abounded, but nothing confirmed,then in 2019 a bottle of McConnell’s Whisky appeared!

McConnells Whisky Courtesy Celtic Whiskey Shop

The Belfast Distillery Company was alive and well under new ownership (Conecuch Brands link here) with Mr Lavery nowhere to be seen.

Some of the folks involved in the original BDC plan later resurfaced at Hinch Distillery (link to my blog here) in County Down.

Hinch Whiskey courtesy Hinch

But what of Mr Lavery?

Well in late 2020 a group lodged a planning proposal to turn the old Pump House beside the original Titanic Docks into a whiskey distillery.

Titanic Distillery plans courtesy Irish News

Here’s hoping it’s third time lucky for the irrepressible Peter Lavery!

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All photos courtesy sources credited below images.

Titanic Distillers header image courtesy Titanic Distillers website here.

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Inishowen Irish Whiskey

Alfred Barnard’s 1887 book ‘The Whisky Distilleries Of The United Kingdom’ listed 28 distilleries on the island of Ireland.

At the time they constituted the largest and biggest selling whisky manufacturers in the world.

The reasons for their dramatic decline in the decades that followed are still hotly debated today.

Abbey Street in Derry was one of the distilleries A Barnard visited.

Run by the Watt family, Abbey St installed one of the earliest Coffey stills ever used and had a trio of popular brands; The Tyrconnell, Favourite and Inishowen.

By 1925 however, it was all over. Abbey St closed it’s doors and very little now remains of the former impressive facility.

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‘The Lost Distilleries of Ireland’ by Brian Townsend is a good source of information on Abbey Street Distillery. 

Inishowen, in the shape of a double distilled peated blend, did resurface in the 1990’s.

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Cooley Distillery in Co Louth, 1 of only 3 whiskey distilleries operating then, released the brand.

To many it signifies the rebirth of Irish Whiskey fortunes.

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Sadly now discontinued. Inishowen is a reminder of the past glories of Irish Whiskey, as well as the potential future yet to come.

Savour the rich history with every drop.

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All images courtesy Casks Away

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Gelston’s Irish Whiskey

Gelston’s Irish Whiskey is a relatively new brand of Irish Whiskey celebrating a long family history based in Belfast.

Originally founded in 1830 by Samual Gelston, a successful wine and whiskey merchant, the business passed into the hands of the HJ Neill family whose descendents have brought this brand back to life.

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Comprising a wide range of single malt whiskeys finished in select barrels starting from a non age statement (NAS) offering,

Right up to a 26 year old cask strength ex-bourbon cask matured single malt,

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Gelston’s have a whiskey to suit all tastes, and wallets!

The whiskey is sourced from undisclosed Irish Whiskey Distilleries. Frank McHardy has assisted with the development of this brand, which should give some clues as to it’s origin!

Gelston’s are part of the Halewood International portfolio.

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Header image courtesy Yard Gallery here.

Bottle images courtesy Gelston’s website here.

Halewood International website here.

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Velvet Cap Irish Whiskey

Velvet Cap was a whiskey brand of Thomas Power & Co, a local drinks bottler and supplier in Dungarvan, Co Waterford. See Blackwater blog here for further information.

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Up to the 1960’s many a local grocer, bar or bonder sourced whiskey from various distilleries and matured it in wooden casks before selling it on under their own brand names.

Blackwater Distillery in Ballyduff, Co Waterford have revived this tradition, along with the Velvet Cap name, with this latest release.

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Velvet Cap is a blend of malt and grain whiskey obtained from Great Northern Distillery. It’s then finished in a variety of casks to produce a fine tasting whiskey.

Blackwater Distillery are also laying down their own spirit for future releases and will be allowing visitors into the distillery soon.

Casks Away is ready and waiting to take you there.

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Header image courtesy Buzz.ie here.

Thomas Power picture courtesy easyliveauction here.

Peter Mulryan image courtesy fft.ie here.

Blackwater Distillery web page here.

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Baoileach Distillery, Donegal.

Baoileach Distillery is truly a boutique operation crafting spirits of quality with a direct fired copper pot still in a stone cottage in beautiful Donegal.

Casks Away unfortunately hasn’t been able to visit this exciting distillery due to the COVID pandemic.

Baoileach have released a Mulroy Bay Poitín,

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and Mulroy Bay Gin,

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as well as an interesting barrel aged (up to 10 weeks is allowed under the rules here) poitín too!

A trip to Donegal awaits!

Contact Casks Away if you wish to come along.

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Image of Baoileach Distillery courtesy Baoileach twitter site here and website here.

Bottle images courtesy Celtic Whiskey Shop here.

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West Cork Distillers

West Cork Distillers have quietly built up the largest wholly Irish owned whiskey distillery operations in Ireland.

Founded in Union Hall in 2003 by three childhood friends, the business now occupies a large site in Skibbereen and is capable of producing 4 million litres of pure alcohol a year.

All styles of Irish Whiskey are made, Single Grain, Single Malt, Single Pot Still and Blended.

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West Cork not only release under their own brand.

They also contract distill for many other customers.

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Striving to use Irish grown grain they regularly use Irish wheat rather than the imported corn or maize many other distilleries use.

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A visitors centre is scheduled to open in 2020.

Casks Away looks forward to taking you there – when it is safe to do so.

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All images courtesy West Cork Distillers website here, facebook page here and twitter site here.

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Wayward Irish Spirits

Wayward Irish Spirits are newcomers to the current Irish Whiskey scene, but they have a proud family tradition of being in the drinks trade!

Aiming to be the most gorgeously situated single estate Irish Whiskey Distillery using grains grown on the Lakeview Estate in County Kerry, Wayward Irish Spirits recently launched The Liberator Irish Whiskey.

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A blended malt Irish Whiskey finished in Tawny Port Casks in Kerry.

Estate grown grain is already being sown to make a pot still whiskey.

The owners of the Estate are direct descendants of Daniel O’Connell aka ‘The Liberator’ after whom both the whiskey and the company name emanates from.

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Casks Away looks forward to taking you to the stunning scenery of Lakeview Estate to visit the blending rooms, maturation sites and ultimately, the grain to glass distillery of Wayward Irish Spirits.

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Photos courtesy Wayward Irish Spirits facebook page here, twitter site here and website here.

Bottle image courtesy Celtic Whiskey Shop here.

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Origin Spirits Ireland Ltd

Even during the COVID19 Lockdown new and innovative Irish Whiskey brands are still being released to the market.

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One of the most unusual and well received incarnations was the Currach Irish Single Malt.

To my knowledge at least, it’s the 1st Irish Whiskey to be finished in Atlantic Kombu Seaweed Casks!

That’s right. Seaweed!

Despite what many may think, seaweed has actually long been used as a food ingredient.

The brand makers at Origin Spirits teamed up with West Cork Distillers to create this unique single malt whiskey.

Currach charring

They carefully dried out the Atlantic Kombu Seaweed before placing it in used bourbon casks and proceeded to char the casks with this unusual ingredient.

The results are a lovely silky smooth whiskey with a touch of sea salt, rich umami flavours often giving meaty, BBQ type notes and a lovely peppery finish.

Origin Spirits create other innovative drinks with their Kalak Vodka

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and Ornabrack Gin range.

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Well worth a try.

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All bottle images courtesy Celtic Whiskey Shop here.

Other images courtesy Currach Whiskey twitter site here,  and facebook page here.