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.”

Finish: The finish was shorter than I'd hoped for. It was a lovely blend of toasted oak, vanilla, pink peppercorn, and date. 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. We may, but are not under any obligation, to release new functionalities and tools or other features for the Service every now and then. Any new functionalities, tools and features shall be part of and governed by the Terms from the moment they are launched and/or available. Further, we reserve the right to modify, change, discontinue the Service, add or remove features, update the Service, change its appearance, temporarily and permanently, at any time, in whole or any part thereof. Whiskybase B.V. is the Dutch private limited liability company, having its statutory seat in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and its office at Zwaanshals 530, 3035 KS Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Whiskybase B.V. is registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under no. 52072819.

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Instead, Inis Tine Uisce Teoranta took the interesting step of creating an exclusive partnership with Great Northern Distillery. It’s a case of Irish whiskey’s secret giant teaming up with its greatest secret weapon, as the distillery is a superb and consistent producer without its own named brand. In fact, the name people will associate with most is that of its founder, John Teeling, the man who made history in 1987 with Cooley, the first new Irish whiskey distillery in a century, before selling it to Beam Suntory. Underpinning everything is an increasingly robust maltiness and this adds depth and structure. This again has a biscuit-like quality and grips the tastebuds. A late note of toasted nuts (imagine hazelnut but also a suggestion of walnut) accentuates this. Some even later baking and wood spices add to the initial peppery warmth - think of cinnamon and a pinch of powdered ginger especially. Before I tell you if Grace O'Malley is the queen of Irish Whiskey or not, I'd like to thank them for sending me a bottle in exchange for a no-strings-attached, honest review. And now, it is time to #DrinkCurious.

Grace O'Malley is an blended Irish whiskey that has recently been introduced to the UK market. This follows successful launches in Ireland and the USA. The whiskey is named after Grace O'Malley, a legendary Pirate Queen from Ireland in the 16th century. The blend contains whiskeys with age statements ranging from three to ten years old. There is a relatively high percentage of single malt included (both double and triple distilled malt, and 46% of the recipe), along with single grain and pot still whiskeys. These have been matured in ex-bourbon and ex-rum casks plus some French Oak barrels, before being blended together by Paul Caris the Master Blender. It joins the Dark Char Cask and Rum Cask, plus a gin in the Grace O'Malley range. 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. 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. This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. Each and every Member must be of legal drinking age in its country of residence to be allowed to use the Service. If no such law exists in a Member’s country of residence, the Member has to be over 21 years old to use the Service. We have the right to ask you to provide proof of your age and/or to provide further identification to prevent underage usage and/or for any other legal or legitimate purpose. By using the Service, and by creating an account you represent, warrant and confirm that you are of legal age.

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No partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship is created as a result of your use of the Service. 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.