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Thomond Gate Whiskey: Bringing Irish Whiskey Back To Limerick

Irish Whiskey: Stories and Sips

Release Date: 01/25/2020

Darryl McNally: Master of The Liberties show art Darryl McNally: Master of The Liberties

Irish Whiskey: Stories and Sips

In fact as I marveled at the return of distilling to Ireland’s capital, right on cue, a truck full of barley arrived, ready for Master Distiller Darryl McNally to turn it into single malt irish whiskey and I watched as its contents were magically emptied from the truck straight in through the wall of the Dublin Liberties Distillery.

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Ernest Cantillon: Cork’s Bar, Restaurant and Whiskey Entrepreneur show art Ernest Cantillon: Cork’s Bar, Restaurant and Whiskey Entrepreneur

Irish Whiskey: Stories and Sips

Irish whiskey has a fascinating past - we’ve had many great conversations about the rise and fall and rise again of Irish whiskey on this podcast. One of the most fascinating aspects to me of Irish whiskeys past is the role of whiskey bonders and bottlers - those middlemen who purchased casks of whiskey from the distilleries and bottled under their own label or matured the whiskeys further, selling the whiskeys on in their own pub or distributing to others to sell.

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Alex Loudon – Ireland’s Rainwater Whiskey Maker show art Alex Loudon – Ireland’s Rainwater Whiskey Maker

Irish Whiskey: Stories and Sips

In October this year, Ireland had 34 operating Irish whiskey distilleries. As we settle in to November, we now find ourselves with 36 distilleries on the island of Ireland producing Irish whiskey. 

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Dave Mulligan: Ireland’s Proud Poitín Purveyor show art Dave Mulligan: Ireland’s Proud Poitín Purveyor

Irish Whiskey: Stories and Sips

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John O'Donovan – Irish Whiskey's Global Retailer  show art John O'Donovan – Irish Whiskey's Global Retailer

Irish Whiskey: Stories and Sips

For every whiskey business, there are hundreds of ancillary businesses that, working together, help us get the whiskey into our glass wherever we are in the world. 

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Fionnán O’Connor – Ireland’s Pot Still Whiskey Historian – Part 2 show art Fionnán O’Connor – Ireland’s Pot Still Whiskey Historian – Part 2

Irish Whiskey: Stories and Sips

Before the available choices of single pot still whiskey stretched beyond two – Green Spot and Redbreast 12, one man had fallen in love with both the spirit and its history. Today, Fionnán O’Connor, my guest on the podcast, is recognized as one of the foremost experts on the history of single pot still whiskey.

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Fionnán O’Connor - Ireland’s Pot Still Whiskey Historian - Part 1 show art Fionnán O’Connor - Ireland’s Pot Still Whiskey Historian - Part 1

Irish Whiskey: Stories and Sips

Before the available choices of single post still whiskey stretched beyond two - Green Spot and Redbreast 12, one man had fallen in love with both the spirit and its history. Today, Fionnán O’Connor, my guest on the podcast, is recognized as one of the foremost experts on the history of single pot still whiskey.

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Jarlath Watson: Blending Echlinville's Innovation with Belfast's Whiskey Traditions show art Jarlath Watson: Blending Echlinville's Innovation with Belfast's Whiskey Traditions

Irish Whiskey: Stories and Sips

In this episode of Stories & Sips I spent a very enjoyable afternoon chatting with Jarlath Watson, global brand ambassador and part of the founding team of the extraordinary Echlinville distillery. We sipped on some Dunville's Irish whiskey and I learned more about the history of this storied brand and Echlinville’s impressive approach to growing, malting and distilling.

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James Doherty: A Return to Donegal Distilling show art James Doherty: A Return to Donegal Distilling

Irish Whiskey: Stories and Sips

It’s been 175 years since legal distilling has happened in Ireland’s North Western-most county of Donegal. That changed with the establishment of Sliabh Liag Distillers - founded by husband and wife team James and Moira Doherty who uprooted their family from Hong Kong to pursue a passion.

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Kieran Folliard: 2 Gingers, Many Irish Pubs & No All-Ireland Football Medals show art Kieran Folliard: 2 Gingers, Many Irish Pubs & No All-Ireland Football Medals

Irish Whiskey: Stories and Sips

He built an Irish pub group, he became the world’s biggest seller of Jameson, he launched his own Irish whiskey, he sold the pubs, he sold the whiskey and he’s still not done.

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More Episodes

In the 1800s, the city of Limerick on the banks of the River Shannon, played a prominent role in the production and eventual export of Irish whiskey to the four corners of the world.

It’s been 101 years since the last distillery in Limerick went silent but one man is determined to restore the city to its former whiskey distilling glory. Building on the rich distilling heritage of this important Irish port city, Limerick native Nick Ryan has a plan to bring distilling back to the city that gave so much to Irish distilling yet is often overlooked when the story of Irish whiskey is told.

His ambitious plan is not just a dream; the first steps have already been taken with the launch of his whiskey brand Thomond Gate Whiskey. In this episode of Stories & Sips, I make the most of the joys of video conferencing to ask Nick how he intends to make his dream a reality and what he can share about Thomond Gate Whiskey and his current Single Pot Still Whiskey.

This is the first in a series of interviews I’ll conduct over the coming months, featuring the people and passion behind the independent whiskey projects that are in the works in Ireland. I’m a firm believer in supporting those who are risking their time, money and even more to do something big and to fulfill lifelong ambitions. After all, didn’t the success of Jameson globally start with one man in Dublin in 1780 taking a risk?