Irish and US distilleries collaborate on transatlantic project to explore role climate plays on whiskey taste

A major transatlantic project is underway to study how weather and climate conditions affect the taste of whiskey matured 7,000km apart.

An Irish distillery has teamed up with a family-run operation in Colorado, US, in a move which saw both simultaneously fill a total of 14 casks due to mature in 2026.

Boann in Co Meath and Talnua in the Centennial State are using exactly the same recipe, containing ingredients from their respective localities.

The unique initiative will examine how the Irish and American climates will influence the finished, single pot still whiskey once it is botted in five years’ time.

“This is much more about experimentation than a commercial enterprise,” said Peter Cooney, co-founder of Boann, whose World’s Best mashbill recipe is being used by both distilleries.

“We are sharing exactly the same recipe and types of barrels. But Colorado has a dry climate in a high-altitude, desert environment with low humidity, as opposed to our more stable mild, wet climate.

“The maturation conditions will be very different so we want to see exactly how that will influence the flavours in five years’ time.”

Talnua (an abbreviation of the Irish ‘Talamh Nua’ or new land), is steeped in Irish heritage – husband and wife owners Patrick and Meagan Miller fell in love with single pot still whiskey after tasting it in a Galway pub during their honeymoon in 2011.

Seven years later, they set up the first distillery exclusively making it in the US.

A relationship between both operations was formed when Boann’s Global Export Sales Manager, Matt Healy, met and interviewed the Millers in Arvada, Colorado, while on business in the US.

Both distilleries kept in touch – and earlier this month, at exactly the same time, they filled their casks with spirit containing 40% malt, 55% unmalted barley, 3.75% oats and 1.25% rye.

“These kind of projects are what distillers really get excited over,” said Patrick Miller.

“A collaboration bringing a Single Pot Still Whiskey project across the Atlantic showcasing the difference in flavour profiles between Ireland and Colorado is truly special. It’s an amazing project that highlights the Irish-American bond.”

Last year, Irish whiskey sales in the US generated almost €1billion worth of revenue for distillers here.

Data shows more than five million nine-litre cases of Irish whiskey were sold across the States.

During the Boann-Talnua project earlier this month, the Meath distillery filled six 200-litre casks at their plant outside Drogheda, but to account for evaporative differences, Talnua filled eight, meaning around 2,800 litres will be available by the autumn of 2026.

By then, whiskey enthusiasts will be able to buy two 375ml bottles – one each of the American and Irish-distilled, paired together in one pack.

Tasting sessions in the US and in Ireland are also planned after maturation.

Popular whisky subscription service Craft Whisky Club has just teamed up with Japanese whisky brand Ohishi on an exclusive offering, which is bringing whisky from Japan finished in Banyuls casks to the US shores for the first time.

Unique provenance, local ingredients, and profound savoir-faire, Ohishi is a relatively unknown distillery to even the dearest whiskey fans. Banyuls is a French appellation d’origine contrôlée fortified dessert wine made from old vines. Although the use of fortified wines to mature whisky has a long and celebrated history, including Sherry and Port casks, to see a whisky finished in a Banyuls cask is a rarity indeed. This gives this unique Japanese whisky a rounded, fruity profile with notes of jam and candy.

The release is so limited that each bottle has been hand labeled.The Ohishi Distillery was founded in 1872 and is currently operated by 6th Generation Master Distiller Kazunori Oishi. The distillery is located in the south of Japan in a small village called Mizukami-Mura in the Kuma-Gun region of Kumamoto. It is only in operation about 8 months out of the year when temperatures are right for the best fermentation.

From casks to pairings, locally-produced to the exotic, learning and exploring the world of whisky is a fundamental part of the whisky experience. Every 2 months resident experts at the Craft Whisky Club carefully select exciting and innovative distillers from across the world. The current subscription box is priced at $99 dollars and comes with accompanying Japanese food pairing and experience.

Scotch Whisky Auctions are on the road again!

Please see below for our September 2021 schedule.

To register your interest in a collection please complete the form which can be found here. Please note home collections are available to those customers sending 10+ bottles or bottles to the value of £1000 and above. Please get in touch if your area is not listed below but you would like a home collection. We will do our best to accommodate all requests.

Collections are limited and by appointment only. If you would like to attend please complete the form which can be found here. Please note dead lines apply for collection requests. In a bid to adhere to social distancing guidelines it would be appreciated if bottles could be packed for uplift with the submission form and label completed. A winner in our auction? We are now offering a delivery (to collection point) service to customers who are dropping bottles off for a future auction. This service is charged at £12 (inc VAT), optional loss and breakage cover is available.

Submission Form & Label

Old Pepper K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Barrel Proof Straight Indiana Rye Whiskey (750ml)

$49.99    View

The Pepper family is one of most historically important in American Whisky. Elijah Pepper first began distilling in Virginia during the American Revolution. His son, the famous Oscar Pepper founded a distillery on Glenn’s Creek and perfected the sour mash process with Dr. James C Crow at the site where Woodford Reserve is currently made. His early death in 1865, but 15 year old James E. Pepper in charge of the family business. His guardian, E.H. Taylor, loaned him money to expand his fathers distillery, but ultimately failed to succeed and ended up losing the distillery to Taylor. He was able to find the capital to build a second distillery near Lexington and pushed for laws allowing distillers to bottle their own whisky at the facility where it was distilled and aged. They claimed to be the first to bottle their own bourbon. The flamboyant character ended up losing everything to foreclosure. Amazingly, the highest bidder for the failed distillery and its owners assets was the owners own wife, E.O. Pepper. The distillery burned down in 1933 and was rebuilt again after prohibition, before closing in the late 60s. In 2008, Amir Peay resurrected the brand and spent the next 9 years recreating the original recipes of the famous old distillery. As those whiskies age, they’ve bottled purchased whisky from several distillers in Kentucky and Indiana. This exceptional 95% rye was distilled on May 27th 2016 at MGP before being bottled on July 7th 2021 exclusively for K&L.

The Darkness Range is a collection of intensely sherried whiskies. Every Whisky in the range has undertaken The Darkness signature maturation of six months in sherried octave casks, rewarding the drinker with an unparalleled richness and depth of flavour. The kind of flavour that can only be achieved by the liquid to wood ratio in octave cask maturation.

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CULDRAIN SINGLE CASK OCTAVE EXCLUSIVE

DUNCAN TAYLOR OCTAVE CULDRAIN

Bottled exclusively for the Inverurie Whisky Shop, this 10 Year Old started life in Oak casks before being transferred into Octaves for 9 months. Distilled at a Highland Distillery in near the Aberdeenshire town of Kennethmont, this whisky showcases the rare unpeated spirit from the distillery and is named after a hamlet situated halfway between the distillery and the bottler, Duncan Taylor, in Huntly.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Sugared almonds, white pepper, lemon zest

Palate: Milk chocolate, light citrus, fruity currants, earty, sweet spices.

Finish: Dark chocolate, orange peel, sticky toffee pudding

53.2% ABV

£75.00

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A.SMITH BOWMAN CASK STRENGTH BOURBON TAKES HOME MASTER MEDAL IN ITS INAUGURAL COMPETITION

Four A. Smith Bowman Distillery Bourbons Receive Medals at American Whiskey Masters

 FREDERICKSBURG, VA (Aug. 24, 2021) – Just a month after its release, A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon was awarded a Master medal, the highest granted, at the 2021 American Whiskey Masters. The newest addition to the Distillery’s lineup, each barrel included in A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength is hand-selected by Master Distiller Brian Prewitt and aged a minimum of 10 years. The initial release of this uncut, non chill-filtered bourbon came in at 141.1 proof and there are plans to release more each year.

Three other A. Smith Bowman Distillery bourbons also received Gold medals: Bowman Brothers Small Batch Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Isaac Bowman Port Finished Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and John J. Bowman Single Barrel Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

“We are very honored to be recognized at the American Whiskey Masters this year,” said Prewitt. “For our entire lineup of bourbons to be recognized in such a prestigious event really brings a great sense of pride with our small distillery team.”

The American Whiskey Masters is chaired by The Spirits Business and a panel of leading spirits specialists. The record-number of entries were judged by category in a blind tasting held in July. For a full list of this year’s results, visit The American Whiskey Masters 2021 results (thespiritsbusiness.com).

About A. Smith Bowman

A.Smith Bowman’s distilling roots date back to the years before Prohibition when the Bowman family had a granary and dairy farm in Sunset Hills, Virginia. They used excess grain from the family estate to distill spirits. In 1934, after the Repeal of Prohibition, Abram Smith Bowman and his sons continued the family tradition and built a more modern distillery in Fairfax County, Virginia called Sunset Hills Farm.  The Distillery was moved in 1988 and is now nestled in Spotsylvania County near the city of Fredericksburg, 60 miles away from the original location.

As a small and privately owned company, A. Smith Bowman Distillery continues the time-honored traditions on which it was founded. Considered a micro-distillery by today’s standards, A. Smith Bowman produces an assortment of hand-crafted spirits distilled from only the finest natural ingredients and using the latest technology. This micro-distillery focuses on the production of premium spirits honoring the legacy of Virginia’s first settlers. As Virginia’s oldest and most award-winning distillery, its various brands have earned numerous prestigious awards over the years, including John J. Bowman Single Barrel, which received a gold medal at the 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. For more information on A. Smith Bowman, please visit www.asmithbowman.com

Infrequent Flyers Batch #7

We have these extraordinary whiskies now in stock and available for you. This very limited release includes some fantastic cask finishes including a Peated Sherry cask and a Marsala Wine finish! We also have the UK Exclusive release, limited to just 90 bottles!

JOHN J. BOWMAN SINGLE BARREL NAMED FINALIST AT 2021 ultimate spirits challenge

Six A. Smith Bowman Distillery Spirits Recognized 

Fredericksburg, VIRGINIA (Aug. 5, 2021) The 2021 Ultimate Spirits Challenge named John J. Bowman Single Barrel Bourbon a finalist for the prestigious Chairman’s Trophy, the competition’s highest honor. John J. Bowman was also designated as “Great Value.” Six A. Smith Bowman Distillery spirits were awarded in total.

“Excellent, Highly Recommended” honors went to:

• John J. Bowman Single Barrel Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey

• Finalist for Chairman’s Trophy
• Named a “Great Value”

Awarded “Very Good, Strong Recommendation” was:

• Bowman Brothers Small Batch Virginia Straight Whiskey
• Isaac Bowman Port Barrel Finished Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey

This competition, in its 12th year, is judged by a panel of the spirit industry’s most renowned judges including award-winning authors, buyers, journalists, educators and bar owners, who rate each spirit on a 100-point scale.

Complete results for the 2021 Ultimate Spirits Challenge can be found at https://www.ultimate-beverage.com/usc-2021/2021-spirits-results.

About A. Smith Bowman

A. Smith Bowman’s distilling roots date back to the years before Prohibition when the Bowman family had a granary and dairy farm in Sunset Hills, Virginia. They used excess grain from the family estate to distill spirits. In 1934, after the Repeal of Prohibition, Abram Smith Bowman and his sons continued the family tradition and built a more modern distillery in Fairfax County, Virginia called Sunset Hills Farm.  The Distillery was moved in 1988 and is now nestled in Spotsylvania County near the city of Fredericksburg, 60 miles away from the original location.

As a small and privately owned company, A. Smith Bowman Distillery continues the time-honored traditions on which it was founded. Considered a micro-distillery by today’s standards, A. Smith Bowman produces an assortment of hand-crafted spirits distilled from only the finest natural ingredients and using the latest technology. This micro-distillery focuses on the production of premium spirits honoring the legacy of Virginia’s first settlers. As Virginia’s oldest and most award-winning distillery, its various brands have earned numerous prestigious awards over the years, including John J. Bowman Single Barrel, which received a double gold medal at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.  For more information on A. Smith Bowman, please visit www.asmithbowman.com.

THREE 1792 BOURBONS NAMED FINALISTS FOR CHAIRMAN’S TROPHY AT 2021 ULTIMATE SPIRITS CHALLENGE

10 Barton 1792 Whiskeys Recognized 

BARDSTOWN, KENTUCKY (Aug. 4, 2021) – 1792 Full Proof, 1792 Aged 12 Years and 1792 Bottled-in-Bond were each named Chairman’s Trophy Finalists at the 2021 Ultimate Spirits Challenge, which is the competition’s highest honor. 1792 Full Proof was also included in the competition’s Top 100 Spirits. In total, 10 Barton 1792 whiskeys were recognized, including four which were designated as “Great Value” and two which received the “Tried & True Award.”

Awarded the high honor of “Extraordinary, Ultimate Recommendation” was:

• 1792 Full Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon

• Finalist for Chairman’s Trophy
• Top 100 Spirits
• Named a “Great Value”
• “Tried & True” Award

“Excellent, Highly Recommended” honors went to:

• 1792 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon

• Finalist for Chairman’s Trophy
• Named a “Great Value”
• “Tried & True” Award

• 1792 Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon

• Finalist for Chairman’s Trophy
• Named a “Great Value”

• 1792 Aged 12 Years Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• 1792 Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon
• Thomas S. Moore Extended Cask Finish Cabernet Sauvignon
• Early Times Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

• “Tried & True” Award

Awarded “Very Good, Strong Recommendation” were:

• Thomas S. Moore Extended Cask Finish Chardonnay
• Thomas S. Moore Extended Cask Finish Port
• Early Times Kentucky Whisky

• • Named a “Great Value”

This competition, in its 12th year, is judged by a panel of the spirit industry’s most renowned judges including award-winning authors, buyers, journalists, educators and bar owners, who rate each spirit on a 100-point scale.

Complete results for the 2021 Ultimate Spirits Challenge can be found at https://www.ultimate-beverage.com/usc-2021/2021-spirits-results.

About Barton 1792 Distillery

Barton 1792 Distillery is part of Barton Brands.  Barton Brands has facilities in Bardstown, Ky., Carson, Calif., and Baltimore, Md. Barton Brands is owned by the Sazerac Company, an American family-owned company based in New Orleans, La. Barton 1792 Distillery was established in 1879 and continues today as the oldest fully-operating Distillery in the “Bourbon Capital of the World.” The Distillery is located on 196 acres and includes 28 warehouses, 22 other buildings, the Morton Spring and the Tom Moore Spring.  Distilling, aging and bottling fine Bourbon whiskey are hallmarks of the historic Barton 1792 Distillery. 1792 Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey is produced at Barton 1792 Distillery, and is named for the year Kentucky became a state. The Distillery has garnered a number of prestigious awards for its whiskies, including its 1792 Full Proof, which was named the World Whiskey of the Year for 2020.  To learn more visit www.1792bourbon.com.