West Cork

Smoke and Peat rise in Ireland
 
In the rugged and picturesque peninsulas of West Cork in southern Ireland, a terrific trio of best friends set up an artisanal distillery in 2003 and gave it a no-B.S. name: West Cork Distillers. Two of them used to be deep sea fishermen, and one used to work for a beverage firm as a scientists. So, these guys know a thing about hard work and profound knowledge. Their love for Irish heritage, tradition – and, of course, booze, was is the cornerstone for their venture. And the fact, that the microclimate of West Cork is perfect for maturing Irish Whiskey, is obviously a cool advantage.
 
Now, we usually associate smoke and peat with Scotch, and Irish Whisky is famously non-peated. But status quo is boring, so the tercet got their hands on peat and bog oak from the Glengarriff Forest in Southern Ireland, but (!) they didn't use it to smoke the barley. What they did with it was char the barrels used in the last stages of maturing (before that, Whiskey spent some time in Sherry casks). What came out of that bold experiment is a wonderful experience of new and unique flavors. It's like playing your electric guitar with a bow: old ingredients, new tricks.