Many congratulations to Bernard Walsh and The Irishman Walsh Whiskey Team who were awarded the Irish Whiskey of the Year Award in the annual Irish Whiskey Awards hosted last night by Dingle Distillery in County Kerry.

Their winning expression was The Irishman 17 Year Old Single Malt. The Irishman 17 Year Old also won the award for Best Irish Single Cask Whiskey at the same event.

Irish Whiskey Awards The Irishman Irish Whiskey Blogger Stuart McNamara

The Irishman 17-Year-Old Single Malt is an extremely limited release, with just three casks of 600 bottles per cask produced each year. The Single Malt Whiskey underwent 17 years of maturation in a 500 litre, first-fill Sherry Butt.  Walsh Whiskey say that

“the signet of this exceptional 17-Year-Old is its rich deep flavour and great warmth.”

Originally released in 2016 to mark Walsh Whiskey’s 17th year in business, this super-premium, triple distilled Irish whiskey is bottled at 56% ABV and non-chill filtered. It has previously won an Irish Whiskey Masters medal and was named Irish Single Cask Whiskey of the Year in Jim Murray’s 2019 Whisky Bible.

Other expressions from the Walsh Whiskey portfolio that received Irish Whiskey Awards for 2019 were the newly released Writers’ Tears Copper Pot Japanese Mizunara Oak Finish and Writers’ Tears Cask Strength 2019 Release, both of which received Gold Medals.

Speaking after the award, Bernard said

“The quality of competition across all categories is testament to the fantastic industry we have here in Ireland. The Irish Whiskey Awards are the equivalent of the Oscars for the industry and we are honoured to hold the title of Best Irish Whiskey 2019”.

The timing could not be better for The Irishman as the Walsh Whiskey Team are currently enjoying running a tongue in cheek video marketing campaign exploiting the serendipitous timing of the release last month of Martin Scorcese’s latest movie, also called The Irishman starring Robert de Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.

Rosanna Goswell of Tuath Glass presenting the overall award for Irish Whiskey of the Year 2019 for The Irishman 17 Year Old Single Malt to Bernard Walsh (Walsh Whiskey) with Colm Egan (Irish Whiskey Association). Irish Whiskey Blogger Stuart McNamara

Rosanna Goswell of Tuath Glass presenting the overall award for Irish Whiskey of the Year 2019 for The Irishman 17 Year Old Single Malt to Bernard Walsh (Walsh Whiskey) with Colm Egan (Irish Whiskey Association).

It has been an eventful year for Bernard Walsh who is not only one of the most influential people in the Irish Whiskey World, but also one of the most decent.

As I have often said before, it is always nice when you see nice things happen to nice people.

The Irish Whiskey Awards were founded by the Celtic Whiskey Shop in Dublin and are co-sponsored this year by Tuath Glass.

 

Whiskey Blogger
Whiskey Blogger

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.

International Whiskey Reviews by Irish Whiskey Blogger Stuart McNamara
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