Connemara distillery was founded in 1832 by John Power and his son, Michael. The Powers were originally from County Cork, but they moved to Connemara in order to set up their distillery. The distillery quickly became popular, and it wasn't long before other distilleries began to spring up in the area.
Today, Connemara is one of the most popular distilleries in Ireland. It produces a wide range of whiskies, including single malt, blended, and even peated whisky.
Connemara whisky is actually distilled at the Cooley Distillery. During his studies at Harvard in the early 1970's, John Teeling first identified the decline of Irish whiskey and recognised an opportunity to resolve this situation. His solution was to buy the former State owned potato alcohol plant in the Cooley peninsula in 1987. In less than two years, it was converted into two distilleries, with a pot still and a patent still operation.
The Cooley Distillery is most notable for being the producer of Connemara Peated, named after one of the most famous regions in Ireland. When it was released, it was a most rare and original find among Irish whiskeys: a single malt. This formed a huge part of its identity, along with the manner in which distilled, using the traditional Irish method of drying malted barley over peat fires to create a signature peated whiskey. This technique was resurrected by Managing Director of Cooley Distillery, David Hynes and the chairman, a certain John Teeling.
Now part of the Kilbeggan Distilling Company, Connemara still typifies the belief in the brilliance of traditional Irish brands and classic distillations that prompted its foundation, a fact that can be witnessed in editions such as Connemara Turf Mór and Connemara Distillers Edition, as well as sister company Tyrconnell too!