This prestigious title is accompanied by an additional triumph: The Donn also earned Gold in the Whisky category, a recognition that underscores its exceptional craftsmanship and the meticulous detail that goes into every bottle. As a Single Malt born from a dedication to both tradition and innovation, The Donn continues to distinguish itself as a whiskey that resonates with judges, collectors, and connoisseurs alike.

A Celebration of Craft and Excellence

The Asia Spirits Ratings are renowned for their rigorous judging criteria, evaluating spirits across three key pillars: quality, value, and presentation. This holistic approach ensures that only the finest expressions—those that deliver excellence at every touchpoint—earn top marks.

A Golden Moment for The Taoscán

We are equally delighted to announce that The Taoscán, was also awarded Gold at the 2025 Asia Spirits Ratings. This dual recognition reinforces our position among the world’s leading whiskey producers and highlights the breadth and consistency of our range.

The Taoscán, the world’s first Tawny Port and Chestnut finished whiskey, exemplifies the spirit of exploration that defines Craft Irish Whiskey. Its Gold medal confirms that our commitment to pushing boundaries continues to be recognised and celebrated on the international stage.

A Growing Legacy of Global Recognition

In recent years, Craft Irish Whiskey has steadily earned acclaim from some of the world’s most respected competitions, organisations, and experts.

Being acknowledged by the Asia Spirits Ratings carries particular significance. As one of the fastest-growing and most influential spirits markets in the world, Asia represents a dynamic intersection of tradition, innovation, and discerning taste. To have our whiskeys recognised so prominently within this region signals not only our international reach but also the universal appeal of our approach to craft.

We look forward to sharing more remarkable moments with you as our story continues—and as our whiskeys earn their place among the world’s finest, one award at a time.

This recognition isn’t simply a nod of approval; it’s an industry-defining acknowledgement of mastery, precision, and innovation in the global whiskey world.

Forbes notes that the individuals named are those whose work consistently rises to the top across multiple international competitions, judged against global standards of quality, depth and refinement.

To stand among this calibre of talent underscores Jay’s unwavering dedication to flavour-first innovation and meticulous blending philosophy, honed over years of obsessive whiskey perfection.

Forbes Recognises Jay Bradley’s Uncompromising Approach to Modern Irish Whiskey

Since founding Craft Irish Whiskey, Jay has challenged convention, refusing to accept that Irish whiskey should be confined by traditional parameters. Instead, he has pushed its boundaries – exploring rare cask finishes, pioneering micro-blending techniques, and reimagining time-honoured processes through a contemporary, elevated lens.

His results speak for themselves:
59 international taste awards, 38 Gold medals, and multiple category wins at the world’s most respected spirits competitions.

Formerly an award-winning chef, Jay approaches blending through a lens of culinary precision and molecular-level sensory analysis. Every variable is considered – from cask provenance to finishing profiles to the rigour of sensory evaluation behind each release.

This acute attention to detail paid dividends from the very beginning. In 2022, our inaugural release, The Devil’s Keep, was named World’s Best Irish Single Malt at the prestigious World Whiskies Awards — the first time an inaugural expression had ever received this honour.

Since then, Jay has continued to build an extraordinary competition record, with award-winning releases praised for their structure, complexity, and length of finish.

Check out the full article in Forbes:

In an exciting development, The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. has been recognised by our industry with two important achievements.

This month, we obtained Master and Gold Medals at the Drinks Business & Spirits Business Autumn Tasting 2023, and the Spirits Business Luxury Masters 2023.

Capturing the Master Medal

The Donn collected the Master Medal, the highest honour achievable, in the Irish Whiskey category. Both The Donn and The Taoscán collected a Gold Medal in the Irish Whisky Single Malt – Ultra Premium class. Master and Gold are the highest accolades, with the Master Medal reserved for whiskeys achieving near-perfection.

These prizes traditionally set the standards for forthcoming innovations within the industry. They underscore the importance of consistency in a whiskey’s quality and presentation, celebrate time-honoured brands and future visionaries, and allow brands to gauge themselves against global standards.

Acquiring Media Attention

The DB and SB Autumn Tasting, moreover, is a momentous event in the industry calendar, earning significant media engagement – with this partnership between The Drinks Business and The Spirits Business heightening the award’s significance.

Both publications are prized specialists in the drinks industry. And their mutual expertise guarantees a comprehensive evaluation process, with every awards admission being scrupulously tested and appraised.

A Measurement of Luxury

Competition was intense owing to the robust reputation of both awarding organisations. These accolades have a legacy of recognising and honouring true craftsmanship of the very finest spirts, with former winners frequently becoming yardsticks against which the luxury sector measures itself. Many aspire but just a few attain these titles.

To be presented with such significant wins at both ceremonies emphasises the exceptional eminence and appeal of our whiskeys, showcasing their distinction. It is an honour, and an additional stamp of approval for our brand.

The Adjudication Process

This is in no small part due to the exactitude of the adjudicating and assessment process. At both organisations, the judging panels encompass industry specialists, celebrated critics, and whiskey authorities, enhancing the integrity of the judging process. Adjudicators from both The Drinks Business & The Spirits Business publications contribute.

Additionally, at the Drinks Business & Spirits Business Autumn Tasting 2023, the process comprised a blind tasting to guarantee impartial decisions and ensure neutrality and even-handedness.

Every whiskey is appraised based on an established criterion including bouquet, palate, and texture. Scoring is measurable, based on a point system. Gold Medals denote astonishing quality.

Ascending New Heights

However, the chief medal at the Autumn Tasting is the Master Medal, symbolising the pinnacle of quality and distinction in the ultra-premium spirits sector. Only the finest spirits can aspire to a Luxury Master award, which highlights how privileged we feel to have received such an honour in the half-decade since our formation.

Established in 2018 by Jay Bradley with the purpose of re-establishing Ireland’s status for creating the world’s finest whiskeys, The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. has continually focused on reimagining the whiskey development process.

We respect traditional whiskey crafting practices, but constantly question convention, integrating scientific data into our maturation techniques while never taking shortcuts. Every stage in our whiskey creation method is thorough.

A Legacy of Medals

This explains why in 2021, we obtained a total of 12 honours for taste and design, becoming the most awarded new business of the year.

In 2022, we continued our award-winning streak with 22 accolades, winning Best Irish Single Malt for The Devil’s Keep at the World Whiskies Awards and achieving Platinum at the A’Design Awards for The Emerald Isle.

This year, we were recognised for both IWSC Taste and Design at the World Whiskies Awards for The Taoscán, in response to the way we continually push boundaries.

Commending Our ‘Divine’ Whiskey

We were however delighted and humbled by the notes we received on The Donn from panel chair Bryan Rodriguez-Curtis, who lionised the whiskey’s rich aroma, the attendance of Port-like red fruit notes, suggestion of spices, hints of vanilla, pronouncing The Donn a “divine whiskey; one to be sipped slowly; ideal for savouring with good company.”

Equally, the feedback we received for The Taoscán saw the judges applaud its distinct “ripe peach” aroma, conspicuous fruity nuances, its prevailing “jammy” essence, and suggestions of juicy pears, presenting complexity in every sip – a must-try for whiskey fanatics.

Where Tradition Meets Ambition

Our vision is to craft a legacy, not simply a brand, returning exceptional Irish whiskey to its earlier glories, while celebrating centuries of Irish whiskey-making traditions.

We are committed to becoming the torchbearers of Irish whiskey culture and pay thorough notice to every infinitesimal aspect of the whiskey-making process. We champion the ‘craft’ in The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.

These latest accolades affirm our dedication to becoming the beacon of Irish whiskey artistry worldwide.

Thank you for being part of our award-winning journey.

The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. made monumental design history this week by winning three of the highest awards from the toughest design competition in the world. The A’Design Awards are highly prestigious and influential design awards, attracting thousands of entries each year from every corner of the globe. Last year, we made history with our first entry, The Devil’s Keep, when it won the highest Gold for Packaging, missing Platinum by 0.1 point and becoming the only whiskey to have ever won such an award. But this year we rewrote that history, becoming the only company in the award’s history to win all four entries with a 100% success rate across subsequent years, when the judging becomes more challenging as you are considered against your previous entries.

The A’Design Awards

The A’Design Awards are the pinnacle of the design world. No other award body brings the same level of recognition and prestige for a designer or company. They attract thousands of entries every year from across the world, and judging is carried out by an illustrious body of 250 industry professionals worldwide. The awards available are Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron, A’Design Award and Runner up Status so achieving Platinum, Gold and Bronze places us in a minority of top winners. 

Taking home a medal for every entry would be historic, but The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and Tiago Russo have done what no other whiskey company in the history of The A’Design Awards has ever achieved. We were the only Single Malt whisk(e)y producer to win in this year’s awards, with The Emerald Isle winning the highest possible award – Platinum – The Taoscán winning Gold, and The Aodh gaining the honour of becoming the only whiskey in history to ever win a Limited Edition Award. 

These wins cement the reputation of Tiago Russo, The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s Chief Design Officer, as the world’s #1 luxury product designer. 

Unlike many awards, The A’Design Awards judge an entry against the company’s previous products, looking for innovation and an elevation of design. So winning in subsequent competitions becomes increasingly difficult. In 2021, The Devil’s Keep became the highest scoring spirit of all time, achieving Gold and missing out on Platinum by just 0.1 points. Entering in 2022 demanded products of an even more exceptional and innovative design. But of course, we’re not a company to rest on our laurels. The technological innovation of the soon-to-be released The Aodh, the exquisite beauty of The Emerald Isle, and the immersive, experiential quality of The Taoscán meant we not only equalled our 2021 win, but went far beyond. 

The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. A’Design Awards

The Emerald Isle: Platinum A’ Design Award Winner for Packaging Design Category

The Emerald Isle, already the world’s most expensive whiskey, can now add another accolade – achieving the maximum score possible to win Platinum from the world’s premier design awards. This score makes The Emerald Isle the No.1 design of the year, and the  highest scoring luxury product of all time.

In the last 13 years of The A’Design Awards, only 50 Platinums have been awarded and in the past few years they’ve become increasingly rare. Not only is The Emerald Isle one of those 50, but it is the only spirit in the history of The A’Design Awards to have ever been awarded the highest honour. 

The Taoscán: Golden A’ Design Award Winner for Packaging Design Category

The Taoscán is the first whiskey to be available to purchase on our website and by the glass in Michelin-starred and Triple A bars and restaurants. Entering the category previously won by The Devil’s Keep was a longshot, given the judges of The A’Design Awards look at previous products and judge entries against those. We needn’t have worried; The Taoscán won the same award as The Devil’s Keep, a high Gold. While it’s a very different design to The Devil’s Keep, the innovative and experiential nature of The Taoscán marks it out as unlike any other whiskey or spirit to be found at the bar. 

The Taoscán was designed and conceived to offer the perfect single serve to the connoisseur of luxury. Visible from 360˚, it includes an expertly designed glass that draws on science and years of research to remove the ethanol vapours that inhibit the appreciation of every layer of flavour. It also includes a metal coaster, copper-handled serving tray, water carafe and pipette, and Obsidian whiskey stones. This concept of an entire elevated whiskey experience in one design has never been attempted before with any spirit, and a sought-after Gold award is testament to the innovative design. Only 1,000 Collector’s Editions of The Taoscán exist, and at just €1200 we don’t expect them to be around for long when news breaks of this award.

The Aodh; Bronze A’ Design Award Winner for Limited Edition and Custom Design Category

Winning Bronze in this exclusive award category places The Aodh in the history books as one of just 35 products in the award’s 13 years of registration to win such an honour. This rare award is often given to dramatic pieces of sculpture or artistic expressions, and has never been awarded to a whiskey. No Platinum or Gold awards were given this year so The Aodh can claim the title as one of the top three ultimate designs of 2022. 

With thousands of entries from across the world, this is an exceptional achievement for our fifth rare release. Even more so when you consider that this whiskey hasn’t even launched yet. It’s currently being offered to The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and Whiskey & Wealth Club clients, but if any of the 88 bottles remain it will then be released to the public. So stay tuned. 

A hat trick of historic wins

With these monumental wins, The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. has entered the history books as the only whiskey company on earth to win two Golds, the only whiskey company to achieve the perfect score and Platinum, and the only whiskey company to win a rare Limited Edition award. 

It is a truly historic moment, the importance of which can’t be overstated. This is a level of recognition established whiskey companies dream of, but which we’ve achieved in just two years. Not only did we become the only whiskey company in history to win those awards, we were the only Single malt whiskey company deemed worthy of an award in this year’s competition. There can be no doubt that, with these awards, Tiago Russo and The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. have created design history that will be remembered for centuries to come. 

Winning Best Innovation, and Disruptor of the Year for The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and Outstanding Entrepreneur for Jay Bradley at the UK’s highest profile awards, the Best Business Awards, is an outstanding achievement for the young company. Jay founded The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and sister company Whiskey & Wealth Club in 2018 and has been winning awards ever since. These latest awards are recognition of the innovative approach Jay Bradley takes when crafting whiskeys such as The Devil’s Keep.

The article touches on  The Devil’s Keep’s recent success at the World Whiskies Awards where it was judged Best Irish Single Malt across all categories, while our later releases, The Taoscán and The Brollach were awarded Silver and Bronze.

The Chairman of the Best Business Awards celebrated our success, noting that we were “reviving the whiskey-making art by elevating it with science”… to create “expertly crafted rare whiskeys with their own unique flavour and aroma”. As he says “This is a brilliant start for The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and a real boost for the Irish whiskey industry. Sláinte! to entrepreneur Jay Bradley for putting mass production in its place and reviving the art of crafting superb Irish whiskey the old-fashioned way with a bit of help from science! In the 19th century, Irish whiskey dominated the market, and Jay has brought the spirit back to its former glory.” 

We’re exceptionally proud to have won these awards and the accompanying recognition from business leaders of our innovative methods. Starting out during the Covid-19 pandemic and building the business at a time of great logistical difficulties hasn’t been without its challenges, but awards such as this are proof that the company is creating something special.

Read more.

While the ultimate crown of the event is to take home the title of ‘World’s Best Whiskey’, as an Irish company we had our hearts set on ‘Best Irish Single Malt’. But then so did many others, and competition was fierce. The Devil’s Keep was up against five other Irish Single Malt whiskeys across five different categories including Knappogue Castle 12 Years Old, Teeling Whiskey Brabazon Series 4, Teeling Whiskey 30 Years Old Single Malt, Clonakilty Distillery O’Hara’s Cask Finish Special Limited Edition and The Irishman 17 Years Old. 

Round One of the World Whiskies Awards

A previous round of the awards had seen The Devil’s Keep beat off competition from Teeling Whiskey Single Malt, Method and Madness Single Malt, The Whistler P.X. I Love You and Writers’ Tears Red Head to win the category of Ireland’s Best Single Malt with no age statement in Round One. As a company which champions the ‘no age statement’ concept with every one of our single malts, this award was an important one. Our belief that age statements have no bearing on a whiskey’s quality isn’t one held by all in the industry. Which is why so many bottles on the shelf or behind the bar will have an age on the label. And while we never hide the age of a bottle – we give the date it was distilled and the date it was bottled – we don’t rely on an age statement as an indicator of quality. 

Why no age statement?

Our research has shown that the journey a whiskey takes is far more important than the time it spends in a barrel. Relying on an age statement makes it easier for a company to simply put a spirit in a barrel and leave it for a set amount of time. But taking a more personalised, intuitive approach means we have to pay closer attention – regular tasting ensures that a whiskey is moved when needed, either into a new barrel or a different area where the humidity is higher or lower, thereby affecting how much flavour is extracted from the barrel. And it’s then bottled when it’s ready – our research has shown that a whiskey’s flavour fluctuates in peaks and troughs during its time in the barrel. It doesn’t simply improve with age, but changes throughout the year. One whiskey we tasted during our research tasted better in January than it did later on in June. Only by paying close attention and tasting regularly are we able to catch the whiskey at the fleeting moment of perfection. 

Crafting The Devil’s Keep

As part of this personalised, tailored approach, our Master Blender, Jay Bradley, is able to build layers of flavour into a whiskey by selecting specific barrels that he knows will deliver the flavour profile he wants. For instance, when creating The Devil’s Keep, he knew he wanted chocolate, leather, tobacco and campfire smoke so set about creating these; he took a whiskey that had been in Bourbon casks, and put it into French Oak casks that had previously held a specific Tawny Port for over seven years. These were from a specific bodega and chosen for the perfect level of sweetness The Devil’s Keep needed. It was tasted regularly during this time and moved to Pedro Ximenez casks for a short while to add the notes of chocolate, raisins, and leather but it was missing the campfire smoke to round out the raisins and chocolate on the mid-palate.Two virgin Hungarian Oak barrels were custom-made and shipped to Ireland to be deep-stave toasted for 59 minutes. To do this, the fire must be at a certain distance to allow it to caramelise the wood sugars and bring a sweet smokiness to the whiskey. 

Daily tasting allowed Jay to catch it at the moment it was ready, after just 14 days. Of course, pulling The Devil’s Keep from its barrels two weeks shy of 30 years isn’t in keeping with the common notion of age statements as an indicator of quality. But when a whiskey is ready, it’s ready. Leaving The Devil’s Keep in the barrel for two more weeks would have meant the smoky notes of the Hungarian Oak would have begun to overpower the other flavours. Waiting for an age statement risks ruining all that time, expense and work, not to mention its chances of becoming the world’s Best Irish Whiskey. 

The Final of the World Whiskies Awards 2022

But the real test of this theory of age statements as having no bearing on quality was to go up against Irish single malts with age statements, including a 30 year old. As the recipient of eight awards since its release in November 2020, we knew The Devil’s Keep was an award-winning Irish whiskey, but with so many expert judges and whiskey aficionados to convince, and such strong competition, it was never going to be easy. We know this rare triple distilled, single malt whiskey is one of the finest whiskeys Ireland has ever created, and our clients know the same. With just 333 bottles released in 2020, The Devil’s Keep sold out in record time and became the most expensive inaugural release to sell at auction when it reached USD $60,000 (almost £46,000 and €51,000 Euros). It was also the oldest triple distilled Irish whiskey in existence, only to be topped by our second release in February 2021 of The Emerald Isle Collection. 

And it’s no stranger to winning the highest honours. Amongst its other awards is a Gold from the world-renowned International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) 2021 and a Gold from the Global Luxury Spirit Masters 2021. The Devil’s Keep also scooped the highest scoring Gold award in the ‘Packaging Design Category’ of the A’ Design Award, Bronze at the Pentawards 2021 and an iLuxury award. It followed a further two awards from 2020; winner of the Luxury Drinks Secondary Pack award at the 2020 Luxury Packaging Awards and Highly Commended under the category of Luxury Drinks Primary Pack at the 2020 Luxury Packaging Awards.

The Devil’s Keep is the World’s Best Irish Single Malt

But to hear The Devil’s Keep announced as the overall winner of Best Irish Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards 2022 was still a momentous honour. Becoming the world’s best Irish single malt is a true validation of our methods, methods which have ruffled feathers in the more conventional areas of the industry but which have gained staggering results since we launched The Devil’s Keep in 2020.

Speaking after the event, Jay Bradley said “While we didn’t win the World’s Best Whiskey I am ecstatic and equally humbled that The Devil’s Keep was crowned Best Single Malt in Ireland, seeing off some fantastic whiskeys including two from the Teeling stable. For the first whiskey that I’ve ever created to go on to be crowned best whiskey to come out of Ireland that year, that’s unheard of and an amazing achievement. It just reinforces to me that what we are doing is working and that the critics and experts are enjoying what we are creating. We have so much more to do and winning this award makes me hungrier than ever to forge on and keep making phenomenal whiskeys.” 

While the first release has sold out, a limited number of bottles are due to be released in due course – we can’t say when of course, the whiskey will tell us when it’s ready. But there’s no need to wait until then, we’ve now been able to make a select number of the original edition of The Devil’s Keep available exclusively at Selfridges. With only 12 in existence, these will sell out soon, so head to Selfridges now to secure your own bottle of the world’s Best Irish Single Malt. 

Speak with a Craft Specialist to find out more.

To have won such a well-regarded and highly sought-after award with our inaugural release, and to take two further awards with our other two entries is an exceptional achievement, but one to be expected for a whiskey of such rich complexity and depth. In fact, The Devil’s Keep missed being entered into the last awards as The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s founder, Jay Bradley, felt it needed an extra week in virgin Hungarian oak to perfect the flavour profile.

Great Drams points out that The Devil’s Keep has a short but illustrious history, launching in November 2020 and selling at auction shortly after for $60,000, making it the most expensive inaugural release whiskey to sell at auction. Its record-breaking prowess was only topped by our second release in February 2021 of the 30-year-old The Emerald Isle Collection which became the most expensive whiskey in the world when it sold for $2,000,000. 

A second release of The Devil’s Keep is coming soon but in limited quantities. The first release sold out in record time and we expect this release to be as quick out of the blocks. To find out more about securing a bottle, speak to a Craft Specialist today.

Read More.

Since the early days, our founder, Jay Bradley, has set his sights on the World Whiskies Awards. He was confident that all of our whiskeys could be forerunners to take the title of the Best Whiskey in the World, and to take three awards is proof that he was right. The Devil’s Keep will now go forward to fly the flag for Ireland at the finals of The World Whiskies Awards on 24th March where it will be up against gold standard single malts from over 17 countries worldwide, all looking to take the title as the world’s best whiskey. 

This is a phenomenal achievement for such a young company, founded just four years ago in 2018. The competition was fierce, with Ireland proudly represented by some exceptional whiskeys. To become the category winner, The Devil’s Keep saw off competition from Teeling Whiskey Single Malt, Method and Madness Single Malt, The Whistler P.X. I Love You and Writers’ Tears Red Head.  

But then this is the eighth award for The Devil’s Keep, a rare triple distilled, single malt whiskey and one of the finest whiskies that Ireland has ever created. The launch of The Devil’s Keep in November 2020 saw just 333 bottles released. It was the most expensive inaugural first release in history, and sold at auction for USD $60,000 (almost £46,000 and €51,000 Euros), and the oldest triple distilled Irish whiskey in existence, only to be topped by our second release in February 2021 of the 30-year-old The Emerald Isle Collection. 

Amongst its other accolades is a Gold award from the world-renowned International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) 2021 and a Gold from the Global Luxury Spirit Masters 2021. The Devil’s Keep also scooped the highest scoring Gold award in the ‘Packaging Design Category’ of the A’ Design Award, Bronze at the Pentawards 2021 and an iLuxury award. It follows a further two awards from 2020; winner of the Luxury Drinks Secondary Pack award at the 2020 Luxury Packaging Awards and Highly Commended under the category of Luxury Drinks Primary Pack at the 2020 Luxury Packaging Awards.

While the first release of The Devil’s Keep sold out in record time, a second release of a limited number of bottles is due in the coming months. However, this release will only be available to Whiskey & Wealth Club members. 

Commenting on the award, Jay Bradley said: “I couldn’t be prouder of the impact The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. is having on the whiskey industry and of how our whiskeys are speaking for themselves on the world stage. We spared no expense with The Devil’s Keep, from the liquid to the design to the accompaniments. At The Craft Irish Whiskey Co., we believe age is just one tiny factor of what makes a whiskey great which is why we make no age statements and why we entered this specific category. We missed last year’s awards deadline for that very reason; I felt the whiskey needed another week in virgin Hungarian oak and I was tasting it daily. I didn’t compromise and I only released when I knew it was absolutely perfect. It’s all the sweeter to be recognised this year by the highly regarded World Whiskies Awards and we look forward very much to representing Ireland on the 24th March for the world title!”

The judging panel of the World Whiskies Awards includes international leading journalists, specialist drinks retailers and industry experts. Each whiskey goes through a rigorous three-round judging process at The World Whiskies Awards.

For the first round, each whisky is tasted in its relevant style to identify and select the style winners. For the second round, the Style winners are tasted against each other to identify the ‘Best’ whisky in each category and for the final round the ‘Best’ whisky in each category are then tasted against each other one last time to select the World’s Best whisky. Judges at this stage include those in Round 1 and 2 as well as a panel of leading distillers and experts from the whisky industry. 

The World Whiskies Awards will take place on Thursday 24th March and we’re counting down the days already…

This independent body judges food and drink of the finest quality, awarding 1, 2 or 3 stars. To receive two stars places The Devil’s Keep in the ‘outstanding’ category, a rating less than 10% of all entries will achieve. With only around 35% of all entries being deemed worthy of any award, to gain two stars is an exceptional accolade for our inaugural release.

But then this is no ordinary whiskey. Crafted from the finest distillate and matured for 29 years in American, French and Hungarian Oak barrels, The Devil’s Keep is the rarest and oldest triple distilled and triple casked single malt Irish whiskey. The judges described it as “by far the most talked about drink so far, not just because it is interesting in its aroma, but because it is transportive and evocative.” They went on to praise its smokey character, rich vanilla notes and unique taste, remarking that it is “surprisingly spirituous for its triple distillation and long sojourn in cask, but amply rewarding on the palate, with honeyed notes mingling with wood and grain.”

Joining Gold awards for taste from the IWSC Competition and The Spirit Business Awards, as well as Golds for its design from the A’Design Awards and the Luxury Packaging Awards, this is the latest top award but we have no doubt it won’t be the last.

So we’re delighted to announce that The Brollach was awarded a Master medal in the Irish Whiskey – Single Malt – Ultra Premium category. Despite the outstanding competition, The Brollach was awarded the highest accolade in this category, while our inaugural release,The Devil’s Keep, scooped a Gold. The award was judged in a blind tasting by a panel of expert judges and spirit specialists who remarked on its “silky texture, raisins, hint of furniture polish” notes and felt it was “nicely complex and well balanced”.

While we know how special The Brollach is, it’s hugely important for us that this is recognised independently. Another award from an influential and well-regarded awards body is confirmation that The Brollach is set to follow in the footsteps of The Devil’s Keep and The Emerald Isle in making history. The Spirits Business has also put The Brollach in their Top Ten Award-winning Irish Whiskeys, amongst such stalwarts as Redbreast, Tullamore Dew and Midleton.

The Brollach’s win holds special personal significance for founder Jay Bradley, who created the release in honour of his father, master craftsman Shay. Crafted to honour both his own heritage and that of Irish whiskey, The Brollach harks back to the era in which Irish whiskey was considered the pinnacle of luxury, asserting its potential to achieve the same status today. White Oak American Bourbon and French Oak Madeira casks imparted a rich, balanced palate and a mellow finish of caramelised banana, fully realised through the double distillation process. With just a handful of its 661 bottles remaining, The Brollach is well on its way to joining the Devil’s Keep as a sought-after rarity.