Replay: Meet The Maker – Donal O’Gallachoir, Co-founder of Glendalough Distillery
Glendalough Distillery was the first to release an Irish whiskey finished in a Mizunara (Japanese Oak) cask when they released their celebrated 13 year old Single Malt.
Extremely rare and expensive, the virgin Mizunara oak used in this release was grown in the rugged northerly island of Japan, Hokkaido and coopered 1,000 miles south in Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan's only independent cooperage by Japan's oldest cooper.
Glendalough Distillery has followed this Japanese collaboration with the recent release of a 7 year old Single Malt, again finished in rare Mizunara casks.
Watch the replay of our Meet The Maker event as we sat down with Glendalough Distillery co-founder Donal O'Gallachoir who shared Glendalough's journey to Japan, the sourcing of casks and what they learned from the ancient Japanese approach to coopering as the team sought out the casks needed to finish their award-winning whiskeys.
Mizunara is notoriously difficult to work with yet the payoff comes from the rich, chocolate, sweet coconut and vanilla notes found in whiskeys that utilize its wood.