Craft Irish Whiskey was founded in 2018 to redefine Irish whiskey, with a mission to restore Ireland’s place as a global leader in whiskey craftsmanship. Our approach blends tradition with innovative, scientific methods of maturation.

From the beginning, we have made whiskey with a flavour-first mindset, in the belief that age alone does not define quality.

At the start of 2026, we decided to put that belief to the test. We chose to enter The Donn, the youngest whiskey in our portfolio, bottled at just 6.9 years into ten international competitions, with a single entry in one category at each.

Eight have now published their results. Across them, The Donn has received thirteen awards, making this the strongest run of recognition in Craft Irish Whiskey’s history.

International Recognition in 2026

What makes this run particularly meaningful is that the recognition has come from independent competitions and judging panels across different international markets.

Among the major accolades, The Donn was named Single Malt Whiskey of the Year at the London Spirits Competition and Single Malt Irish Whiskey of the Year at USA Spirits Ratings.

It received 98 points and Gold Outstanding at the International Wine and Spirit Competition, a Master medal at The Spirits Business Irish Whiskey Masters, and Double Gold at San Francisco, New York and Asia World Spirits Competitions.

The recognition in Asia went even further. After receiving Double Gold, The Donn progressed through additional rounds of judging to be named Best of Class Single Malt Irish Whiskey, Best of Class Irish Whiskey and ultimately Best in Show Whiskey.

Across international panels, judges have reached the same conclusion: at just 6.9 years old, The Donn stands among the leading whiskeys in its category.

Built for Flavour, Not for an Age Statement

The Donn is the youngest expression in the Craft Irish Whiskey portfolio, but it is also perhaps the clearest demonstration of our approach to maturation.

Rather than putting spirit into a cask and allowing a predetermined number of years to dictate when it is ready, we use wood, cask size, fill level, oxygen and time as tools to build flavour.

The Donn was matured across six casks over just under seven years, beginning in ex-Bourbon before moving through Tawny Port, deep-stave toasted virgin Hungarian oak and a progression of three different sizes of Pedro Ximénez casks.

As the whiskey develops, it is tasted and assessed to determine what it needs next. Different woods introduce different flavour compounds. Smaller casks increase the interaction between whiskey and wood. Fill levels alter the volume of oxygen within the barrel. Moving through progressively sized casks changes that relationship again.

The objective is not to accelerate maturation for the sake of making a younger whiskey. It is to use every element available to us to build the best flavour possible, and to bottle the whiskey when that flavour reaches its peak.

In The Donn, that has produced aromas of toasted pecan, digestive biscuit and orange zest, followed by walnut, dark chocolate, raisins and rich caramel across a creamy, full-bodied palate.

From the Warehouse to the Glass

Awards have never been the reason we make whiskey this way, but they give us an independent way to test whether the decisions being made in the warehouse ultimately translate into the glass.

That is why this run matters. When Craft Irish Whiskey was established, we set out to challenge the idea that age should be the defining measure of quality in whiskey and to help restore Irish whiskey to the standing it once held.

The Donn asks to be judged on exactly that basis.For us, the significance is not simply in adding another medal to the cabinet. It is in seeing the philosophy behind the whiskey tested independently, again and again, and recognised in the glass.