A well-known journalist, honorary member of the jury of international competitions of alcoholic beverages and author of the annual edition of the Whiskey Bible, Jim Murray, in his Irish Whiskey Almanac (Irish Whiskey Almanac) called Kilbeggan a drink “with a burning and seductive taste.” Whiskey “Kilbeggen” is produced in a limited edition and, despite a three-century history, until recently was known only in Ireland and the United States.
Historical reference. Kilbeggen is the name of an old Irish village located near a medieval monastery, in which the farmer Matthias McManus built a small distillery in 1757. McManus, and then his son Robert, were farmers, and did not intend to produce the drink on an industrial scale. They had enough customers in the area to keep the business running for a small profit.
But everything changed when in 1838 the grandchildren of Matthias McManus, who were not interested in the alcohol business, sold the distillery to John Locke. A whiskey aficionado with extensive experience at the Tullamore distillery (a Tullamore Dew brand) dreamed of turning the home-based distillery into a distillery known far beyond Ireland. His dream came true only partially. Trade wars with England, which regularly raises taxes and does not allow Irish products on the market, feuds within the country, lack of funding did not allow the brand to develop to international standards.
But the grandchildren of John Locke still modernized the distillery at the end of the 45th century, and at the beginning of the XNUMXth century they even began to supply their product to the United States. But then the First World War broke out, then Prohibition in the United States deprived the distillery of customers, and the company was closed for a long XNUMX years.
Only in 1987, Cooley Distillers bought the Kilbeggan brand and the distillery. The new owners did not consider it necessary to modernize the enterprise or increase capacity, although the drinks were produced for export to American customers. Cooley Distillers distributors initially used Kilbeggan spirits to create blends of other brands, and warehouses to store different types of whiskey.
But in 2006, after a long downtime, Cooley Distillers released a new small batch of blended Kilbeggan whiskey at its old facilities. The British and Americans liked the fruity aroma and creamy taste, and the former glory returned to the drink.
When Kilbeggen was awarded gold at the London World Spirits Competition in 2007, distillery manager Jack Tilling said: “We are proud of the success of the oldest brand in Irish whiskey’s golden era. It is significant that this happens on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the Kilbeggan distillery, which is reborn and ready to conquer new heights.”
In the same 2007, the Locke`s Distillery Museum was opened at the distillery, which is visited annually by about two hundred thousand tourists from all over the world. And the drink itself appeared on the markets of Europe in 2008.
Types of whiskey “Kilbeggen”
Kilbeggan (40%). Bright golden blend with caramel-vanilla aroma. The blend of the Irish drink consists of 95% spirits with a five-year aging in oak barrels from American whiskey, and 5% are spirits matured in sherry casks. The taste of whiskey is creamy and spicy, with hints of almonds, dried fruits, nutmeg. Blended whiskey “Kilbeggen” in 2007 received a gold award at the London World Spirits Competition, in 2010 – silver from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, in 2011 two silver awards at once – World Spirits Competition in San Francisco and IWSC, and in 2012 gold at the World Spirits Competition in San Francisco and silver from IWSC.
Kilbeggan 15 years Blend (40%). Created in 2007 in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Kilbeggan distillery and released in a limited edition of 30 bottles. 000% of the blend is the Single Malt of this distillery. Blended whiskey rich honey color pleasantly smells of honey and heather. The taste is soft, creamy, with fruity notes. The aftertaste is long, vanilla, with a touch of honey.
Bartenders willingly use Kilbeggan to make cocktails – this whiskey goes well with apple, lemon and orange juice, as well as dry red wines.
As a digestif, whiskey is served clean, sometimes ice is added. They also make Irish coffee:
- in a preheated coffee glass put 2 cubes of brown sugar;
- pour 40 grams of Kilbeggan whiskey and 170 grams of strong coffee;
- gently stir the sugar with a spoon;
- cover the drink with a cap of whipped cream.