The team at Clonakilty Distillery, located at the waterfront in the heart of Clonakilty town, in beautiful West Cork, were kind enough to host us live for a tasting of three of their core whiskeys, their Minke Gin and a sample of their newly of-age single pot still Irish whiskey.

Barry was joined by newly appointed Head Distiller Oisin Mulcahy live in front of the copper pot stills and by brand ambassador Seán Scully joining from Portland Oregon. 

The core whiskeys we sampled:

1. Clonakilty Port Cask Blend: The first member of the Clonakilty Cask Series. Made with premium Irish malt and 9 year old Irish grain. Gently cut and finished in Port Casks from The Douro Valley at the distillery's Atlantic Ocean warehouse.
2. Clonakilty Single Grain: Made with 9 year old premium Irish grain and finished in carefully selected Bordeaux casks.
3. Clonakilty Double Oak Blend: A premium product matured in ex-bourbon casks, it is finished in virgin American oak; and shaved, toasted and re-charred ex-red wine European oak casks (NEOC, New Era of Cask). This makes it the world’s first Irish whiskey to be finished in a NEOC cask. NEOC are ex-red wine barrels from the Bordeaux region of France. They are hand-shaved by traditional coopers, and re-toasted according to each individual distiller’s specification.

Catch a replay of our event below for:

• A full of the history of the distillery
• The story behind each whiskey
• The detailed description of each whiskey and wood component
• Tasting notes for each whiskey
• A story of a remarkable monkey
• Oisin's distilling philosophy and hopes for his role at the distillery
• How a herd of cows give Clonakilty its gin
• Future release plans for the US