McConnell’s

It all began way back in 1776 for McConnell’s Irish Whisky. It was then that the McConnell brothers John and James started selling whisky that quickly found its footing and came to be extremely sought-after in Ireland. This prompted the family to build a sprawling distillery on the banks of the River Lagan. The distillery thrived for more than 150 years until disaster struck in 1909. A fire destroyed the compound, consuming more than 500,000 gallons of whisky. The distillery was rebuilt, but just as things were starting to return to normal, Prohibition outlawed the sale of spirits in America. The largest international market for Irish whisky was gone, and McConnell’s disappeared in the process ― together with the majority of Irish whisky producers.

Nearly a century later, J+J McConnell’s was reborn as both one of the oldest and newest names in Irish whisky. Note the lack of “e” in whisky ― this comes down to the “e” finding its way into the word in the 1900s. By that time, McConnell’s was an established brand and they decided to keep with tradition. Resurrected in 2020, McConnell’s began constructing a new distillery in Belfast that would take care of the production and aging of whisky. In the meantime, the brand has partnered with the Great Northern Distillery. Together, they designed a spirit in the vein of the original McConnell’s ― “creamy, citrus, floral, fruity & smoky.” It’s a blend of malt (30%) and grain (70%) spirit that matures for 5 years in ex-bourbon casks before being bottled at 84 proof.