New 10-year old Tequila Cask finished Irish whiskey from Killowen

Killowen Distillery in Northern Ireland has just launched a limited edition Tequila Cask finished Irish whiskey blend.

The distillery, which is located in the iconic Mourne Mountains overlooking Carlingford Lough, near Rostrevor, is creating an impressive reputation as a producer of premium whiskey blends and has just introduced a small batch of 388 bottles of  a 10-year  blend of cask strength that’s non-chill filtered and has no colouring.

Brendan Carty, the founder and managing director of Killowen Distillery, which also produces gin and Irish poitin, explains: “From the outset, the challenge was to push the boundaries of cask finishing as far as possible before the whiskey is overdone. All too often Irish whiskeys follow the same hymn sheet of rich fruity aromas, which we wanted to acknowledge in a different way.

“Killowen 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 says.

Killowen is the only producer in Ireland of whiskey distilled over flame.

Mr Carty continues: “Since the opening of Killowen Distillery, we have been carefully sourcing whiskeys that are a minimum of 10 years old from different distilleries all across Ireland. Throughout this time, we also hunted the globe for the finest casks to complement certain flavour notes in the blends. 

“Amongst the vibrant blended whiskey culture in Ireland, the Killowen series stands out with its unique ratio of malts and grain whiskeys, the blend is then finished with a dominant yet balanced cask influence. This allows the consumer to enjoy an educative experience while drinking. This experience is then enhanced by extensive production transparency info on the bottle's label,” he adds.

He continues that “Killowen hopes to be an exemplar for industry progression, with these integrity bottlings having quality spirit and transparency as core values. The packaging provides the consumer with all details regarding sourcing, blend ratio and finish. 

“The fact that it is not Killowen distilled spirit yet but rather, as the names suggest, a blended/ bonded spirit - is clearly set out. Providing the consumer with all the information allows a deeper understanding of the flavour breakdown.”

The new whiskey is the third in a set of quite different whiskeys that will be released over a two-year period. The whiskey can be slightly diluted to suit the consumer.  Finishing only 388 number of 50cl bottles, the whiskey has cask strength of 55.4% ABV.