Ireland’s O’Connell Whiskey Launches Caledonian Series

W.D. O’Connell Whiskey out of Ireland recently announced its latest release: the Caledonian Series whisky that is, not in fact, an Irish expression.

This release is rather Scotch whisky, and it is the first available exclusively online from their own store. The Lochindaal was distilled using a heavily peated variety of malted barley and matured in first fill ex-bourbon casks for 10 years. 

The whisky was named for an old lighthouse, which in turn was named for the inlet where Bruichladdich sits. 

This 10-year-old single malt is a single cask release of 282 bottes at its natural cask strength.

“It’s not everyday an Irish whiskey company bottles a Scotch. The Caledonian series marks a new milestone for us. We set our stall out very early when we launched in 2019 with a drive to do international whiskies at some point. To have reached this landmark so soon is really exciting! The Caledonian Series will cover the 5 regions of Scotland in single cask bottlings; hopefully we will have another one in time for Christmas,” CEO and Founder Daithí O’Connell said in a prepared statement.

The 10-year-old Islay Scotch Whisky was distilled on Dec. 1, 2010 at Bruichladdich Distillery. It’s bottled at 63.1% alcohol by volume and went on sale at the end of July.

W.D. O’Connell Whiskey Merchants is an independent whiskey bottling company from County Waterford. Its limited batches of premium whiskey reflect its values of integrity and transparency, the distillery says.