Brendan casks successful rare Irish whiskey blends in the Mournes

Craft distiller Brendan Carty is busy creating a unique Irish whiskey matured in a rare cask as a show stopper for an exciting event in Belfast later this month which is set to be Ireland’s biggest-ever festival to celebrate the historic Irish spirit.

Brendan runs Killowen Distillery, near Rostrevor in the Mournes, which has won international acclaim as a producer of small batch whiskeys matured in fine and

specially selected casks for different flavours and hues.

The whiskeys he’s already developed have been sold out to lovers of the brown spirit often before their release to the wider public. Each of the distillery’s whiskeys is limited to around 400 flask-shaped bottles and launched within its Bonded Experimental series to subscribers.

While the latest whiskey remains a closely guarded secret, it too has already sold out and is a further measure of the small distillery’s remarkable success in a dynamic industry. All Brendan will admit is that the latest whiskey has been matured in a special cask from Scotland.

“We are clearly doing something which whiskey lovers value,” says Brendan. “We’ve chosen not to follow the conventional path of putting all our efforts into developing single malts. Instead, we source premium 10-year old blended spirit from other small distilleries and then mature it in different casks sourced from around the world. This produces distinctive flavours and different colours.”

Killowen is also currently maturing its own unique whiskey distillation. But it will be years before it can be consumed. The distillery is also the only one using historic Irish techniques including distilling the spirit over flame. The whiskeys are double distilled instead of the traditional tripled distilled spirits. In addition, the brown spirits are unfiltered and without colourings.

Nestling high in the Mournes and with spectacular views over Carlingford Lough, Killowen Distillery will have pride of place at the upcoming week-long Belfast Whiskey Festival. The event will also launch Connacht Irish Whiskey, the first of its kind in over 100 years in Co Mayo. The obligatory festival special bottling will showcase Killowen. The small distillery will also headline the start of what promises to be an exceptional event in the city.

Two recent successes from Killowen which demonstrate its novel business model were a Tequila cask finished blend from Mexico and a Txakolina Acacia Cask from Spain’s Basque Country, a small batch that’s cask strength, non-chill filtered and without any colouring.

Brendan, a qualified architect who build much of the small distillery himself, explains: “Since the formation of Killowen Distillery in 2016, we have been carefully sourcing whiskeys that are a minimum of 10 years old from different distilleries all across island. Throughout this time, we also hunted the globe for the finest casks to complement certain flavour notes in the blends.

“Our aim is to be an exemplar for industry progression, with integrity bottlings, quality spirit and transparency at our core. Our unique packaging provides the consumer with all the details regarding sourcing, production, blend ratio and finish of the whiskey.”

The reference to transparency reflects the strength of the pioneering company’s commitment to provide consumers with accurate information about the whiskey they are drinking.

“The fact that it is not currently Killowen distilled spirit but rather, as the names suggests, a blended/ bonded spirit - is clearly set out on the label. Providing the consumer with all the information about the spirit encourages a deeper understanding of the flavour breakdown and of the whiskey in general. So, the consumer knows where all our blends have been sourced and how they are produced from the label on each bottle. It’s blockchain technology in the Irish whiskey industry,” he adds.

The blockchain influence comes from Liam Brogan and Shane McCarthy, two directors of the distillery who developed Downstream beer for Irish Craft Beverages, their company. This is the first beer using this pioneering technology that fosters trust between producers and consumers. Brendan continues that the distillery, which also produces gin and Irish poitin, is “pushing the boundaries of cask finishing as far as possible”.

“Killowen, I believe, has pushed the relationship of wood and spirit to create a more balanced flavour profile where ripe fruits meet nuts, herbs and earthiness with a tiny kiss of smoke,” he explains.

“Amongst the now vibrant whiskey culture in Ireland, Killowen’s experimental series stands out with its unique ratio of malts and grain whiskeys, the blend is then

finished with a dominant yet balanced cask influence and with a sharp consumer focus in terms of information on the label. Consumers, especially since the Covid-19 outbreak, are increasingly seeking detailed information about the food and drink they purchase and bring into their homes.”

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