French stills and Cognac casks
The whiskey was made in Donegal using vintage Cognac Charentais copper stills brought from France. After two distillations over direct fire, it spent its entire maturation in non-charred, 300-liter French oak casks previously used for Cognac. The casks came from Alter Oak Cooperage in Le Bouscat, Bordeaux.
Crolly uses an open flame to heat its stills, a method the distillery describes as rare in modern distilling. It says this triggers the Maillard reaction, a browning reaction that it credits with giving the spirit richness, depth and complexity.
Master distiller Julio Diana said: "The extended copper contact refines the character of our spirit, while full maturation in Cognac-seasoned French oak imparts depth and complexity. That French connection runs through a whiskey made entirely here in Donegal."
The release's tasting notes list orange peel, toasted hazelnuts, rich Cognac aromas and a touch of dried citrus fruit on the nose. Poached pear, dark honey, spiced fruitcake and warming oak are the stated palate notes.
The barley blend and the single pot still designation
While Crolly's existing single malts use only malted barley, the new bottling combines malted and unmalted barley. That combination is central to the pot still Irish whiskey category.
The Irish Whiskey technical file registered with the European Commission on March 27, 2019, requires pot still Irish whiskey to use a mash with at least 30% malted barley and at least 30% unmalted barley. It permits up to 5% other unmalted cereals, including oats or rye, and requires distillation in pot stills. The word "Single" means all the whiskey in the product was distilled at one distillery site.
For a separate offering, the Tír Chonaill Abú cask release drawn from Batch 3, Crolly specifies a mash bill of 65% malted barley, 30% unmalted barley and 5% oats, double-distilled in its direct-fired Charentais pot stills. Those proportions were provided for that cask offering, not specifically for the new Cognac-cask bottling.
A milestone for the Donegal distillery
Co-founder Conor McMenamin said: "This is Donegal's first-ever licensed single pot still whiskey. That gives this first batch a significance that reaches beyond our own distillery. It's a first for the ages, and every stage of crafting this special whiskey takes place right here in Crolly."
Crolly opened on September 24, 2020, becoming County Donegal's first licensed whiskey distillery in about 180 years. Its predecessor, William Leatham's Bohillion distillery in Burt, stopped production around 1840–1841.
Three local businessmen founded Crolly: Joe Devenney of Annagry, McMenamin of Ballybofey and Kieran Davis of Letterkenny. They established the distillery in the former Crolly Doll factory, which dates to 1902, although some sources give 1901.
A €1.3 million refurbishment supported by Údarás na Gaeltachta converted the former factory into a distillery and visitor center. Preorders for the new whiskey are available through Crolly Distillery's website ahead of the November 1 release.
