Reviving Irish Whisk(e)y With McConnell's

Cocktails Distilled

Through the 18th and 19th Century Irish whiskey went from strength to strength, but at the beginning of the 20th century, legislation enacted across the sea in the United States practically brought the whiskey industry in Ireland to its knees.
The United States was the biggest international market for Irish whiskey, and that country's enactment of prohibition forced the steals to stop and the distilleries that housed them often to close their doors.
One such distillery was JJ McConnell's, a brand that was the darling of Belfast and had existed since 1776. In the decades that followed, the brand lived on only as a memory, a whiskey from another time. But luckily, the brand's story doesn't end there.
In 2020, the newest and yet one of the oldest names in Irish whiskey started to be seen again from across bars from Belfast to Boston.
To find out more, we talked to global brand ambassador, Sarah Kennedy, about legacy, rebirth, and what it takes to recreate a fabled brand.

Capitoli

1. Reviving Irish Whisk(e)y With McConnell's (00:00:00)

2. Tell us a little bit about the brand's popularity and its history at that time. (00:02:08)

3. Tell us a little bit about the comeback. Who is trying to bring the brand to life again? Is it a descendant? (00:08:05)

4. How difficult is it to reignite a brand like that? (00:10:59)

5. So without the, the mash bills, presumably this is not going to be the same whiskey as was originally produced. (00:12:44)

6. Has the brand actually bought some of the old bottles to sort of test out. (00:12:44)

7. Why is McConnell's the only people coming back to Belfast? (00:15:21)

8. Tell us a little bit more about the distillery that you are opening. (00:18:44)

9. As you mentioned, you've released two products so far. Why did you choose the sherry cask expression as your second release? (00:23:32)

10. Why did the McConnell's choose never to add the 'e'? (00:25:53)

11. The bottle itself is quite interesting. (00:28:24)

12. Generally, what has the reaction been to the revival? (00:30:30)

13. Can you tell us anything about the plans for the future? I mean, aside from opening the distillery (00:31:43)