This historic Irish whiskey brand was born from the heroics of a legendary horse, who won the iconic National Produce Stakes in 1876, against fierce odds. Its victory captured the imaginations of the crowd, which included A. A. Watt, a local gentlemen distiller (God that sounds like an amazing title - doesn’t it?). To commemorate the victory and joyous occasion he created a limited edition, small batch whiskey at Watt Distillery, and bestowed it with the name of the local champion.
The resulting whiskey proved to be so popular, however, that Watt, who had intended for it be a single cask affair, was required to make it part of his core range. Such was the success, that some claim that Tyrconnell was the best selling Irish whiskey before Prohibition.
Unfortunately, the brand disappeared post-Prohibition, until it was thankfully revived by the Kilbeggan Distilling Company, who now distill the version you see here, Tyrconnell Irish Whiskey, at Cooley Distillery, with the same passion for traditional distillation methods and classic Irish brands that also be seen in Connemara too, a brand also owned by the Kilbeggan Distilling Company.
That loyalty to the heritage of Irish whiskey-making has meant that even A. A. Watt would recognise the modern version of Tyrconnell; the bottle still bears the same commemorative label celebrating fateful stallions's triumph in 1876, and spirit makes for an absolutely smashing dram, like I'm sure it did then... A real dark horse, if you will?*
*You probably won’t, but still it’s really good whiskey.