The bonded Irish whiskey brand J.J. Corry has announced the launch of its blend The Gael in the U.S.
J.J. Corry The Gael is made with 5% 26-year-old single malt, 27.5% 11-year-old single malt, 27.5% 15-year-old single malt and the remaining 40% is 7-year-old single grain whiskey.
The whiskey is 46% ABV. The first batch includes 7,500 bottles and is imported by CompassPoint Imports. The suggested retail price is $75 per 750-ml. bottle.
The Gael has an Irish whiskey profile with white stone fruit flavors, notes of lime with a hint of pink peppercorns and a dried grapefruit and apple finish, the company says. J.J. Corry launches in Connecticut and Tennessee in March and will roll out across the U.S.A. over 2018.
Irish Whiskey bonding is the practice of sourcing whiskey from third party distilleries, maturing it onsite and then finishing or blending to create stand-alone product. Bonding was a once common in Ireland; bonders were often publicans and grocers in local towns creating whiskey for local clientele. The practice died out in the early 20th century when the Irish whiskey industry collapsed.
Brand founder Louise McGuane and her company are maturing whiskey on the McGuane family farm in Cooraclare, County Clare, on the West Coast of Ireland. As the company waits for their own whiskey to come of age, they have sourced mature whiskey from existing stocks in Ireland. “We feel it is important to be 100% transparent about what we are doing,” says McGuane. “The Gael is the beginning for us, a tribute to what has gone before us and a taste of what is to come.”
The Gael is named after a bicycle that whiskey wonder J.J. Corry invented in the 1890s. J.J. Corry was born in the parish of Cooraclare, where the business is based, and bonded and blended whiskey in his shop and pub at 63 Henry Street, Kilrush from the 1890s until his death in 1932, the company says.
