New 27 Year Old Irish Whiskey Drops In At Close To $8,500

The world of more expensive Irish whiskey releases is normally dominated by the likes of Teeling, known for pulling 20+ year old bottlings now and again from its stocks for prices that can dip into the hundreds and thousands of dollars. Ireland’s first modern Whiskey Bonder, J.J. Corry, recently joined this party as well, releasing late last year a limited run of a 27 year old expression known as The Chosen.

The new J.J. Corry The Chosen, according to those behind it, is a 27 year old, single cask Irish whiskey that was designed in collaboration with contemporary Irish design houses, J. Hill’s Standard and John Galvin Design. These two firms put together the rather expensive packaging for this bottling, presented in 100 individually hand cut J. Hill’s Standard crystal decanters and hand carved ash wood cabinets fashioned by John Galvin Design.

“The Chosen is a celebration of excellence in Irish Whiskey and contemporary Irish design, said Founder of J.J. Corry Irish Whiskey Louise McGuane in a prepared statement. “Irish Whiskey has not been celebrated for its quality and rarity, as perhaps other categories have. We have some of the finest mature stock of whiskey in the world and yet I feel the industry undersells itself. I wanted to change that. Our approach to making Irish Whiskey celebrates tradition, embraces change and has the modern whiskey drinker front of mind.  All of this is reflected in The Chosen.

“We are curators of casks and creators of individual whiskey flavours. We constantly source and taste, knowing the personality of each cask that we own. Every cask in our custom built rackhouse has a different story and destiny. Occasionally we come across such an exceptional cask that it merits its own unique release and this was the case with The Chosen. We waited until the cask reached its absolute peak of maturation before we released it.

“The rugged landscape of Co. Clare where J.J. Corry matures and blends whiskey also boasts many important grasslands and is an internationally recognised habitat for wildlife. The bespoke grass-cut on the decanters and cabinets reflects the close bond between this special whiskey house and the environment in which it is perfected. It has been a great pleasure to be part of its realisation.”

As it stands now this whiskey is already out on the market, having a cask strength of 52% and pricing at £6,500, or around $8,500 USD. Official tasting notes speak of “rich and superbly elegant with notes of toffee, rancio, dried mango and chestnut. This palate of intensely ripe fruits is complimented by incense and a luscious oily texture. The finish is long with just a touch of smoke.”