Wayward Irish Spirits Proudly Unveils the Coming of Age Release of the Lakeview Single Estate Whiskey

Wayward Irish Spirits Proudly Unveils the Coming of Age Release of the Lakeview Single Estate Whiskey

Wayward Irish Spirits are proud to release the Lakeview Single Estate Irish Whiskey. This first Single Pot Still Whiskey from the Lakeview Estate Barley showcases the special maturation conditions on their Estate and captures the spirit of the land, their family home of 900 years. The Coming of Age Release is limited to just 300 numbered bottles.

Made from barley harvested from the Estate’s Hilly Field in 2018, this was small-batch malted in Naas and distilled in March 2019 by Great Northern Distillery into Pot Still spirit (to their 50% malted / 50% unmalted barley mash bill and specification). It then returned to the Estate’s 300 year old stone bonded Storehouse, ‘The House of Contentment’.

Matured initially in ex-Bourbon casks for 3 months, then a further 40 months in ex-Premier Cru Bordeaux NEOC barrels with 10% finished in ex-peated casks for 3 months. The Lakeview Single Estate Whiskey was gently cut (borrowing from Cognac traditions) over 6 months to ensure integration and smoothness, with no colour added and minimally filtered (no chill filter).

Tasting notes: Expect cherries on the nose, a rich honeyed taste with a hint of smoke and a long finish.

Maurice O’Connell, Founder of Wayward Irish Spirits, says:
“Rapid maturation is a sort of Holy Grail for Whiskey makers. In Killarney we say we have 4 seasons in an hour – resulting in lots of daily variations in temperature, causing the Whiskey to move in and out of the wood, the basis of maturation. We’ve been measuring temperature and humidity in our Storehouse for the last 4 years and this has shown we have a longer ‘maturation season’ (>7C, where the Whiskey interacts with the cask) of 101⁄2 months a year, compared to the East coast where most Irish Whiskey is matured. Speyside, for comparison, has 6 months.”

“We have long believed that our microclimate should enhance maturation and we now have liquid proof of this with a Whiskey which many are saying tastes well beyond its 31⁄2 year age. We’re calling this effect ‘Maturation Terroir’ and we hope our Coming of Age Release will start a conversation on the importance of where a spirit is stored to its maturation. We think this is a specific regional effect and we look forward to seeing whether our local peers in Killarney get similar results.”

Maurice continues: “It’s been really important to us to use our own barley – as well as showcasing this land we love, this provenance gives us an undeniable authenticity. We’re one of very few Single Estate Whiskeys in Ireland, where the barley is grown and the Whiskey matured in the one place. Pot Still is Ireland’s heritage Whiskey style so it feels right to be producing it from our heritage estate here in Killarney.”

The design for the bottle draws inspiration from a family treasure, a large bottle of D’Orsay perfume that was a wedding gift to Maurice’s grandmother in 1921. The bottle became a much talked about family challenge and thwarted numerous attempts to be opened over the last 100 years.

Blended and bottled on the Estate at 46% ABV, just 300 numbered bottles of the Lakeview Single Estate Irish Whiskey Coming of Age Release are available from Celtic Whiskey Dublin, James Fox Dublin, Carry Out Killarney and Irish Malts. RRP is €195 with a 40ml miniature bottle included.

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Wayward Irish Spirits is a family-owned Irish Whiskey company based at the stunning Lakeview Estate, Killarney, County Kerry. It reconnects the founder, Maurice O’Connell, with his family’s roots of supplying spirits to the gentry of Kerry. As early as 1450 the O’Connells were based at Ballycarbery Castle near Caherciveen, importing wines and brandies from Spain. The imposition of excise duty in 1661 rendered this business taxable but didn’t stop them and they moved up the coast to Derrynane and grew the business there. By 1820, Maurice ‘Hunting Cap’ O’Connell had a fleet of 8 ships smuggling luxury items in and shipping out salt, hides and young men seeking to escape the oppression of Catholics in their homeland.

The name Wayward derives from the insult levelled at Daniel O’Connell by the British Prime Minister, Robert Peel, who called him ‘that wayward Irishman’ (Dan meanwhile referred to him as ‘orange Peel’ so maybe it was deserved). The family own the insult with pride. Maurice adds “My forebear Daniel O’Connell’s independent spirit and sometimes wayward approach inspires our determination to craft our Whiskey our way.”

For their Liberator range of Whiskeys, they commission young spirit from the best Irish distilleries to add to a growing library of flavours and styles. They mature the spirit further then finish, blend and bottle on the Estate in their 300-year-old stone Bonded Storehouse, ‘The House of Contentment’. 

The influence on maturation of the famously changeable Kerry lakeside micro-climate, their selection of the finest and freshest casks for finishing (each connecting with a part of their long family history) and skilled blending all contribute to the flavour, complexity and originality they bring to their Whiskey making. 

Maurice comments “With much of the Whiskey world historically fixated on Single Malts, we are determined to showcase through The Liberator range the benefits of blending from a range of exciting new Irish distilleries. It’s like comparing a single finely tuned instrument and an orchestra – different but both can be wonderful”.

The Liberator Irish Whiskey celebrates the legacy of Maurice’s forbear, Daniel O’Connell, born in Kerry in 1775. The original campaigner for civil rights, heedless of race, gender or creed and often hailed as the greatest ever Irishman. With powerful oratory and insistence on peaceful protest only he mobilised millions to ensure Irish voices were heard for the first time.

Alongside their Liberator range, since 2018 they’ve been growing barley for their Lakeview Single Estate Whiskey which returns to the Estate for maturation. It’s very rare in Irish Whiskey for growing and maturation to take place together but the company believes that this is the only way to showcase the effects of their special terroir – the spirit of their land.

See more about their story on www.waywardirish.com.

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