Trio on mission to revive traditions of Ireland’s whiskey distilling

Business partners and long-time friends Shane McCarthy, Liam Brogan and Donal McLynn are on a mission to revive the great traditions of Irish Whiskey distilling and marketing.

They are the directors of Ireland Craft Beverages (ICB), a small business now focused on regenerating independent bonding, blending and bottling in Irish whiskey which was once commonplace across the island of Ireland.

They’ve turned to Irish whiskey on the back of successfully developing and marketing internationally Downstream India Pale Ale (IPA), the world’s first beer with leading-edge blockchain digital technology. Blockchain uses barcodes scanned from the label to provide unprecedented transparency and product integrity for consumers.

It’s a successful approach they are now bringing to whiskey distilling, an industry which is experiencing remarkable growth driven partly by small distillers across the island. Irish whiskey continues to be the world’s fastest growing brown spirit.

“Independent bonding, blending, and bottling is a dying art in Irish whiskey,” says Donal. “Where once many towns and cities across the island had merchants,

grocers, and public houses developing their own unique expressions of bonded and bottled whiskey very few now have.

“The craft of whiskey bonding and blending in Ireland generally disappeared as the artisan industry declined throughout the 20th century. We aim to revive this tradition and showcase how uniquely brilliant Irish whiskey can be through our blends, finishes and cask strength offerings. There’s also been an encouraging resurgence in small scale whiskey distilling over the past decade.”

Donal and his colleagues formed Two Stacks in Belfast, a specialist business creating limited edition and exclusive whiskey blends for lovers of the historic spirit worldwide. Two whiskeys have been already developed and launched as the start of series of independently distilled hand crafted beverages. One also has currently the highest alcohol content on the Irish whiskey market. To emphasise the exclusivity of the beverages, all bottles are individually numbered in specially designed bottles that “evoke the golden age of Irish whiskey production”, he adds.

ICB plans to work with smaller distilleries to develop and help in the marketing of uniquely different whiskeys. The first two whiskeys, for instance, have been bonded and bottled in association with Killowen Distillery, near Rostrevor in Co Down, that’s run by former architect Brendan Carty and was established in 2017 with support from Shane McCarthy and Liam Brogan.

Donal explains: “Every Two Stacks release will be different to the one before. Each handcrafted expression will be carefully sourced, managed, finished, blended or matured from different locations across Ireland. In an age of increasing automation in the drinks industry, Two Stacks will rely on traditional techniques that have earmarked high-quality whiskey distilling for more than 100 years – from determining timing through taste and nose while in cask to manually disgorging casks and hand labelling each bottle.”

Inspired by Irish distilleries and merchants of old, Two Stacks aims to develop ”a premium brand recognised for quality rather than quantity, as well as attention to detail and integrity”.

The first two whiskeys will each have 200 bottles at premium prices for enthusiasts and collectors. Two Stacks, in addition, has launched the first canned Irish whiskey - Dram In A Can - designed to be an environmentally friendly take on the classic whiskey miniatures favoured, for instance, by airlines.

“We have taken a bold step in trying to offer premium Irish whiskey in more accessible packaging formats, leading us to be the first in packaging Two Stacks blend in 100ml cans,” Donal says.

Two Stacks whiskey will be available in can format, alongside conventional bottling, exclusively for the US market, now the fastest growing marketplace for Irish whiskey.

The talented trio will also help plug the gap in branding and especially marketing expertise common among the smaller distilleries now developing across the island. In addition, ICB has revamped its unique Downstream IPA beer at Whitewater Brewery in Castlewellan in cans to provide drinkers with total transparency about its core ingredients and its brewing methods.

Downstream is the world’s first beer that enables every stage of the production process - and the people involved in it - to be recorded for consumers to check on their mobile phones through a special barcode.

Donal continues: “Blockchain technology allows us to reveal the authenticity behind the brew, so consumers know for certain that what they are drinking doesn’t just taste fantastic, but is real, honest to goodness craft beer.”

It’s the world’s first barley to bottle and can beer with fully traceable ingredients. ICB has already exported local beers and spirits, especially gin, to the Middle East, Scandinavia and Italy and is now targeting other international markets.

Downstream is described as “a radical mix of artisanal brewing methods honed by generations and the powerful spirit of today’s digital technology. Age-old techniques define the characteristics of the beer, while every aspect of its development has been carefully recorded and written to the blockchain as a guarantee of transparency and authenticity.”

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