Ahascragh Distillers announce 7 Year Old Single Grain Release
AHASCRAGH DISTILLERS EXPAND THEIR FAMILY BOND SERIES WITH A SINGLE GRAIN RELEASE
Ahascragh Distillery expand their Family Bond series with their first Single Grain Irish Whiskey release. Clan Colla 7 Year Old Single Grain is a fine Irish whiskey, aged in ex-Bourbon casks and finished in Panamanian Rum all the way from Central America.
Ahascragh Distillers are completing the build of their new Irish Whiskey distillery in Ahascragh Village in East County Galway, Ireland. The brand was founded a few years ago by Gareth and Michelle MacAllister who have have extensive prior business experience in China and Asia. I understand that they hope to have their new distillery at full operational capacity next year. This is a new distillery build that I am looking forward to visiting in due course, not least because they are incorporating some very innovative and cutting edge technology to make the whole distillery carbon neutral.
With so many small and medium distilleries in Ireland and Scotland facing increased energy cost challenges, Ahascragh’s design foresight may well prove to be a bench mark for other planned distilleries to examine closely and follow.
Ahascragh’s Clan Colla Irish whiskey brand launched in 2021 and now comprises a variety of aged Irish Whiskey releases including 19 yesr old Single Malts, 11 year old Blends and now a Single Grain. They tell me that they continue to experiment with a variety of finishing casks including Pedro Ximénez, Amarone, Oloroso, Peated and now a seven year old Panamanian Rum Cask finished Single Grain..
Gareth McAllister, Ahascragh Distillery’s Co-Founder said
“We have hand-selected some of the highest quality whiskeys available and finished them in unique and interesting casks from all over the world. Our newest adventure involved finishing our first Single Grain whiskey release in a Panamanian Rum cask from Central America. The cask was used to mature pure sugar cane rum for 8 years before reaching our home in the West of Ireland. This exceptional whiskey is sweet and light but full of flavour. We are delighted to release another unique Irish whiskey and just in time for Christmas”
While waiting for the completion of the distillery in County Galway and the first drop of Ahascragh spirit, Gareth and Michelle McAllister launched their Family Bond series of sourced-releases including Clan Colla Irish Whiskey, UAIS Irish Whiskey and Xin Gin. These special releases, although not distilled by Ahascragh Distillers’, are partly matured, finished, blended and bottled in their home in the West of Ireland.
I haven’t had an opportunity to taste this interesting looking Single Grain yet, but here are the official tasting notes from Ahascragh.
CLAN COLLA
SINGLE GRAIN IRISH WHISKEY 7 YEAR OLD PANAMANIAN RUM 700ml Bottling @46% ABV
Nose: Christmas in a glass with vanilla and banana
Taste: Light and buttery with dried fruits and baking spices like nutmeg and cinnamon
Finish: Smooth and warming with spicy cereal
Clan Colla 7 Year Old Single Grain is available now from Celtic Whiskey Shop at a special launch price of €65.00
For more information see clancollawhiskey.com or follow them on social media @ahascraghspirit #ClanColla #FamilyBond
Stuart McNamara (@WhiskeyBlogger) is an international Whiskey Blogger who edits several International Whisk(e)y and Whiskey Tourism sites including IrishWhiskey.com and WhiskeyBlogger.com. He is Chair of the Irish Craft And Artisan Distilleries Association (ICADA) and is an elected member of the National Council of ISME, the Irish SME Association. He is also the creator and editor of International Irish Whiskey Day which is celebrated on 3/3 or 3rd March each year and had a global social media reach in 2021 of over 20 Million. He is a Director of Portmagee Whiskey and has also acted as both a brand and product development consultant to several other Irish Whiskey and other spirits producers.
