THE CRAFT IRISH WHISKEY CO. WINS THE CATEGORY FOR

BEST IRISH SINGLE MALT AT THE WORLD WHISKIES AWARDS

(London/Dublin – 21 February 2022) The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. has won Best Single Malt whiskey in Ireland under the no age statement category from The World Whiskies Awards with its inaugural release The Devil’s Keep. This is the first time The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. has entered the prestigious World Whiskies Awards after narrowly missing the deadline last year in order to allow The Devil’s Keep an extra week in virgin Hungarian oak. This year the company entered three of its four releases, and not only topped the category with The Devil’s Keep but it dominated it too, receiving a Silver for its latest release The Taoscán, and a Bronze for its third release, The Brollach.

The Devil’s Keep will now go forward to fly the flag for Ireland at the finals of The World Whiskies Awards on 24th March where it will be up against gold standard single malts from over 17 countries worldwide.

It’s a phenomenal achievement for the young Irish company which was founded just four years ago in 2018. The Devil’s Keep saw off competition in the category from Teeling Whiskey Single Malt, Method and Madness Single Malt, The Whistler P.X. I Love You and Writers’ Tears Red Head.

This is the eighth award for The Devil’s Keep, a rare triple distilled, single malt whiskey and one of the finest whiskies that Ireland has ever created. The launch of The Devil’s Keep in November 2020 saw just 333 bottles released. It was the most expensive inaugural first release in history, and sold at auction for USD $60,000 (almost £46,000 and €51,000 Euros), and the oldest triple distilled Irish whiskey in existence, only to be topped by The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s second release in February 2021 of the 30-year-old The Emerald Isle Collection.

Amongst its other accolades is a Gold award from the world-renowned International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) 2021 and a Gold from the Global Luxury Spirit Masters 2021. The Devil’s Keep also scooped the highest scoring Gold award in the ‘Packaging Design Category’ of the A’ Design Award, Bronze at the Pentawards 2021 and an iLuxury award. It follows a further two awards from 2020; winner of the Luxury Drinks Secondary Pack award at the 2020 Luxury Packaging Awards and Highly Commended under the category of Luxury Drinks Primary Pack at the 2020 Luxury Packaging Awards.

A second release of The Devil’s Keep is due in the coming months.

Commenting on the award, Jay Bradley, founder and CEO of The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. said: “I couldn’t be prouder of the impact The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. is having on the whiskey industry and of how our whiskeys are speaking for themselves on the world stage. We spared no expense with The Devil’s Keep, from the liquid to the design to the accompaniments. At The Craft Irish Whiskey Co., we believe age is just one tiny factor of what makes a whiskey great which is why we make no age statements and why we entered this specific category. We missed last year’s awards deadline for that very reason; I felt the whiskey needed another week in virgin Hungarian oak and I was tasting it daily. I didn’t compromise and I only released when I knew it was absolutely perfect. It’s all the sweeter to be recognised this year by the highly regarded World Whiskies Awards and we look forward very much to representing Ireland on the 24^th March for the world title!” 

Judges making up the World Whiskies Awards panel include international leading journalists, specialist drinks retailers and industry experts. Each whiskey goes through a rigorous three-round judging process at The World Whiskies Awards.

For the first round, each whisky is tasted in its relevant style to identify and select the style winners. For the second round, the Style winners are tasted against each other to identify the ‘Best’ whisky in each category and for the final round the ‘Best’ whisky in each category are then tasted against each other one last time to select the World’s Best whisky. Judges at this stage include those in Round 1 and 2 as well as a panel of leading distillers and experts from the whisky industry.

The World Whiskies Awards will take place on Thursday 24th March.

Video: https://vimeo.com/520874271

About The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.

The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. is on a mission to reinvent Irish whiskey, elevating its potential as a luxury product and restoring Ireland’s reputation for crafting the finest whiskeys in the world.

Formed in 2018 by Irish entrepreneur Jay Bradley, The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. was born from a desire to return Irish whiskey to the heights it once enjoyed. To achieve such a goal has taken a complete reimagining of the craft; honouring centuries of tradition but questioning convention and adding scientific understanding to reinvent the maturation of the whiskey. No expense is spared, no corners are cut.

To elevate Irish whiskey’s potential, The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. has looked to the past, revisiting the art of whiskey-making perfected by the country’s master distillers. While the rise of mass production and blends has pushed this art to one side, the company is invested in restoring it by adding scientific knowledge and a willingness to push boundaries. Underfilling the barrels allows maturation to start at once. Adding water before maturation, or before finishing, allows the water and whiskey to marry over time and avoids the need to dilute the single malt before bottling. The whiskeys are bottled at cask strength to preserve the complex flavour profiles and rich viscosity. Using ultra-premium finishing barrels to mature the single malt delivers rich, rounded notes, while a deep understanding of barrel craft ensures the barrels are moved, rotated and the whiskey disgorged into new ones to create a bespoke journey. The whiskeys are accompanied by skilfully designed and scientifically-perfected accessories that deliver a whiskey experience worthy of the liquid.

In 2021, The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. became the most awarded new company of the year amassing a total of seventeen awards across both Taste and Design for four of its ultra-rare whiskey releases.

The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. is the exclusive Michelin Plaque Distribution Partner for The Michelin Guide Star Revelation Great Britain and Ireland 2022.

For more information visit www.craftirishwhiskey.com 

The Devil’s Keep – Tasting Notes 

Colour:

1.4 Tawny

Characterised by its distinctive tawny, amber colour 

Nose:

The Devil’s Keep opens with a nose of the rich aromas of a traditional Christmas cake and Vermont maple syrup, followed by powerful notes of ripe banana, sherry-soaked raisins and hints of 70% dark chocolate adding depth. 

Palate:

The sweetness of golden honey combines with Amarone and accents of dark cherries to add a velvet softness balanced beautifully by a dusting of rich dark chocolate to round off the palate. Rich and warming yet fresh and well-balanced, with supple sweetness and a rich texture. 

Finish:

Beautifully constructed, long and viscous with remanence of maple syrup and chocolate which opens up the liquid to a fine balance of smooth and rich flavours. Rich and oily on the palate, but not overwhelmingly so, and underpinned with a slightly dry finish, providing an indulgent and inimitable taste that will remain on the taste buds.