The newly-launched Pot Still Irish Whiskey from Glendalough Distillery has won gold at the 2020 World Whiskies Awards.
The global awards select the best in all the internationally-recognised styles, while acknowledging and promoting the world’s best whiskies to consumers and the trade across the globe.
Having only launched back in October 2019, this is Glendalough’s first Pot Still release. The liquid was first matured in ‘alligator charred’ ex-bourbon casks for three years before being transferred into the virgin Irish oak casks, to reflect the fact that it is a quintessential Irish style of whiskey.
These casks were made from trees that the team at Glendalough Distillery sustainably harvested in the Wicklow Mountains surrounding the distillery.
Irish oak provides a unique flavour profile versus American or European oak, which are the most common varieties used for aging.
Variety of Flavours
Irish oak grows differently due to Ireland’s climate and long growing season, which gives it a more open structure, allowing for a deeper exchange of liquid in and out of the wood.
This packs in the variety of flavours that complement the pot still spices.
Kevin Keenan, Glendalough Distillery’s co-founder and creative director, notes that the only other brand awarded in the category was the iconic pot still, Redbreast, “so we're delighted to be in such esteemed company.
Because of the unique taste of Irish oak…we have numbered each bottle individually, and have also gone to the effort to number it by batch, cask it and even back to the number on the tree we felled to make that cask”.
Glendalough Pot Still Irish Whiskey is available with a suggested retail price of €55 from Glendaloughdistillery.com, Celtic Whiskey Shop and O’Brien’s and various independent off-licences.
© 2020 Checkout – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Maev Martin. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
