Dublin Liberties Copper Alley an Irish Whiskey Finished in Old Sherry Casks

Quintessential Brands is a company we first wrote about when they unveiled The Dubliner 10 Year Old Irish whiskey. The Dubliner brand, along with some others owned by Dublin Whiskey Company, were recently acquired by Quintessential. Now, they are launching their second expression under another one of these brands – The Dublin Liberties –  in the form of a 10-year-old single malt finished in very old ex-Oloroso sherry casks.

The new The Dublin Liberties Copper Alley, according to Quintessential, is double barreled. It first spent a decade in former American oak casks before being transferred for an additional six month maturation period in 30-year-old Oloroso casks. That in of itself does not make the whiskey 40 years old in total – rather the fact the casks were so old to begin with simply means this expression will have an extra rich helping of flavor characteristics typical of this style of barrel aging.

“My inspiration for Copper Alley was going back to the original methods of Irish whiskey making,” said Quintessential Brands master distiller Darryl McNally in a prepared statement. “Having rested for 10 years in Bourbon casks, I felt it just needed something extra to really bring it to life. Working with our cask partners, I came across some 30 year old Sherry casks of exceptional quality which I knew would give the whiskey an edge. This is a one off – there are only 31 casks, so this is a whiskey which will be little repeated.”

The Dublin Liberties Copper Alley, in case you were wondering, is said to be “named after one of the oldest and most raucous streets in Dublin, where tanners, tradesmen and taverns traded alongside whiskey distilleries of old.” It eventually will be produced at the new The Dublin Liberties Distillery, which will be located in the Irish capital’s historic distilling district. For now, it remains sourced.

Quintessential noted of this release it is limited in its global push out, with the equivalent of 31 sherry casks’ worth being available. It is non chill-filtered, bottled at 46% and prices at €50, or about $60 USD.