Rare Irish whiskey forms centrepiece of new Boann collector’s item

The unprecedented collaboration is between Ireland’s Boann Distillery and Portugal’s winery Justino’s Madeira

A rare, 21-year-old single malt Irish whiskey forms the centrepiece of a limited-edition collector’s item launching this week.

The whiskey and wine duo is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between Ireland’s Boann Distillery and Portugal’s winery Justino’s Madeira.

After acquiring an expensive parcel of 21-year-old Single Malt, Peter Cooney of Boann Distillery in Co Meath reached out to a number of Madeira wine producers to come up with a special project, eventually connecting with Justino’s Madeira – a renowned Madeira wine producer steeped in centuries of tradition.

Using two exceptional 20-year-old Malvasia Madeira casks – originally Cognac casks crafted from Quercus Robur French Oak – the two producers agreed to first fill them with fortified wine made from the Malvasia grape grown on the volcanic slopes of North Madeira Island.

Under the traditional Canteiro process, the wine underwent maturation, replicating the historical maritime aging process on Portuguese galleons of the Middle Ages.

The casks were later emptied and the wine was stored until bottling as stage two of the project took shape.

Arriving at Boann Distillery, the casks were then filled with the rare single malt whiskey for 18 months, infusing it with distinctive flavours and character.

To complement this exceptional pairing, a renowned Portuguese cork producer, Amorim, crafted wooden stoppers for the bottles using staves from the Madeira casks.

This world-first project by Amorim showcased the dyeline on the corks, where the Madeira impregnated the wood over two decades.

“One of the issues with Irish Whiskey is that old mature stock is very rare and hard to find, when a parcel of mature stock becomes available the prices are exceptionally high.

“The established distilleries that have been in existence for decades do not sell stock, so stock can only be purchased on the secondary market.

“We managed to come upon a nice parcel of what was then a 20-year-old Single Malt that had been matured exclusively in Bourbon barrels. This whiskey was so expensive that we had to come up with a special project.”

“This collaboration was tailor-made for Boann Distillery’s 21-year-old single malt Irish whiskey and the 20-year-old Malvasia Colheita 1999 Madeira Single Cask wine,” said Juan Teixeira of Justino’s Madeira.

“The pairing of two noble products recognised around the world demonstrates the best that each of them has to offer and represents a harmonious blend of tradition, innovation, and a shared passion for craftsmanship.”

Both bottles are packaged in a luxurious wooden box accompanied by a booklet narrating the story of both the whiskey and wine. Cask 26 and Cask 27 have produced a total of 1,000 bottles of both wine and whiskey, each numbered by cask and bottle number.

The recommended retail price for The Whistler 21-year-old Single Malt Whiskey and 20-year-old Madeira Wine duo (2 x 500ml) is €1,000 in the Republic of Ireland, and it can be purchased online at Boann Distillery: https://boanndistillery.ie/shop/