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The two are fascinated by the story of this great woman – not only a buccaneer (as the English see it), but also a navigator, clan leader, businesswoman and – above all – a survivor! The story sounds like it was written for our time. Grace (or Gráinne) O’Malley is known as the pirate queen of Ireland, a woman born into Irish nobility around 1530 but became, as Chambers described her, a “fearless leader, by land and by sea, a political pragmatist and politician, a ruthless plunderer, a mercenary, a rebel, a shrewd and able negotiator, the protective matriarch of her family and tribe…” as well as a “woman who broke the mould and thereby played a unique role in history”. As far as figures you could a brand around go, O’Malley is about as compelling as it gets. One particular story tells of her sailing up the Thames with a bottle of whiskey to negotiate the release of her son with Queen Elizabeth I. “We like to say it’s the first export of Irish whiskey,” Clancy remarks. A whiskey for everyone This has put Inis Tine Uisce Teoranta in pole position to take advantage. The only thing it doesn’t have right now, however, is a distillery. “You can go one of two ways when setting up a whiskey company,” Clancy explains. “You put huge investment into a distillery, but to get your brand up and running you’re still going to source whiskey in the initial phase, or you can go to an external supplier and start that way.” Inis Tine Uisce Teoranta did the latter, with a distillery and visitor centre to come further down the line. “We’ll set up in Mayo with this great story of Grace O’Malley behind it, but that will take some time I’m afraid,” Clancy says. The palate finds just a bit more going on, with an initial rush of honey grahams tempered by smoldering earth, some fresh-cut grass, and a light note of milk chocolate. Bready with notes of brown sugar, what lingers on the finish is a touch of butterscotch and baking spice — but, as with everything with Grace O’Malley, it’s only a touch.Nose: My whiskey library filled with aromas of malt and fruit. As I brought the glass to my face, I sniffed out honey, vanilla, citrus, apple, and pear. When I inhaled the vapor through my mouth, I was able to narrow down the apples to Granny Smith. No partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship is created as a result of your use of the Service. The whiskey has a deep golden colour and the nose has an instant freshness and sweetness to it. Aromas of green apple, heather honey and milk chocolate are followed by those of toffee, caramel and vanilla. Underneath are further aromas of malted cereal biscuit and hints of cinnamon and toasted hazelnut.

You might be familiar with Grace O’Malley whiskey, but the scale of the brand will surprise you The Great Northern partnership The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein.

Read Matt on Ape To Gentleman

Now I wish I could say that men foolhardy enough to underestimate me existed only beyond our Emerald shores, but alas there are many here in Ireland that have lived to regret doing so. One such confrontation occurred on the road home from one of my visits to the Lord Deputy in Dublin. I had stopped at the port of Howth to replenish provisions before returning to Mayo, and thought it only polite to call on the Earl St. Lawrence for dinner. The other brand within the range is Proclamation, a dedication to the 1916 Proclamation which was the document that declared Ireland a republic. Cope took pains to recreate the feel of the original document on the label. “The whole concept was for the Irish-American diaspora market, making a liquid that’s as close to bourbon as possible,” Clancy explains. “It’s predominately a grain liquid using whiskey matured in virgin American oak with a little bit of sherry-finished malt at the end”. Lots of whiskey is not much use if you don’t know how to sell it, however. In this case, the story actually became before the spirit. Cope is from County Mayo himself and grew up on the stories of Grace O’Malley. After reading Ann Chambers’ book, he knew he had to make a whiskey brand that told her story. His aim was to root his marketing in Irish history and stories, bringing them into the 21st century with some authenticity. “When you create a brand you could spend hours within a marketing room coming up with a concept, but within Irish history, there are all these amazing tales not known by the wider world that we can bring to a larger audience that’s not the eye-diddly-eye Irish story.”

Caris blended the Grace O’Malley Blended Irish Whiskey using whiskeys ranging in age from three to ten years old. The blend includes a wide array of vessels, including French oak, ex-bourbon casks, and ex-rum barrels. It contains 46% malt, 40% double distilled and 6% triple distilled, which the producer describes as “one of the highest malt contents in the blended whiskey category.” Caris took inspiration from the diversity of flavor available in the various cask types to create the profile, according to the producer’s promotional video. The resulting blend is well balanced and harmonious, with no sharp elbows or disjointedness. Grace O’Malley, formally Grainne Ní Mháille, was born in 1530 and became known as the “pirate queen of Ireland,” though that seems to be more in the sense of leading maritime vessels against the English navy, not the whole raping and pillaging side of things. And so the gates to the Castle remain open and an extra place is always set in the dining room for anyone seeking hospitality to this very day. Whiskybase B.V. (“Whiskybase”, “we” or “us”, company details below) offers a whisky enthusiasts online platform that provides its members access to the most comprehensive, transparent and trusted resource of whisky bottles and allows and stimulates its members to contribute information about whisky bottles to the platform (“Service”). It was only then I could grieve Dónal and returned to Clare Island with our three children. Although, we were far from alone – practically half the O’Flahertys tailed along with us. I suppose I must have made an impression.If we decide not to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms, such decision shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. He is, however, very attached to Grace O’Malley Spirits, producers of gin and whiskey here in Ireland. It is owned by managing director Stephen Cope and two German investors. “My brief is to make great whiskey,” says Caris. For us, it was really important it wasn’t just a brand-slapping exercise, it was actually working together with a team and creating a partner,” Clancy says. “John Teeling is perfect as he knows everything there is to know about Irish whiskey. Once we get the spirit we have our own set-up and master blender to bring together the whole thing and put our stamp on it.” A French master blender in Ireland Grace O'Malley would be a lovely introduction to Irish whiskey for anyone wanting to try it for the first time. She is not the most complicated whiskey, and nor would you expect it to be for the price, but it is well blended and flavoursome. It offers plenty for the drinker and presents a great entry level experience.