The Sazerac Firm debuts its first Irish whiskey from Hawk’s Rock Distillery with Garavogue 20 Yr Outdated Single Malt Irish Whiskey, marking a big milestone for the spirits large. Grasp Blender Helen Mulholland, the primary feminine Grasp Blender in Irish whiskey historical past, crafted this inaugural launch that showcases progressive maturation strategies.
The whiskey takes its title from the river flowing previous the distillery by Sligo city into the Atlantic Ocean. Sazerac positions Garavogue as a bridge between custom and innovation, with each small-batch launch designed to be restricted and experimental in nature.
Garavogue 20 Yr Outdated Irish Single Malt
Garavogue 20 Yr Outdated Irish Single Malt undergoes an intricate getting older course of that units it other than conventional Irish whiskeys. The double-distilled spirit initially ages for at least 14 years in ex-bourbon American oak casks earlier than transferring to numerous ending casks.
The ending course of makes use of French Muscat, French Sauternes, Spanish Pedro Ximénez Sherry, and Barbadian Rum casks for extra maturation. This multi-cask method creates a 94-proof whiskey with distinctive flavors. In keeping with official tasting notes, the Sauternes cask affect contributes vanilla, heat peach, and spun sugar aromas, whereas Muscat and Sherry casks add floral and raisin notes on the nostril.
The palate delivers vanilla and citrus sweetness complemented by buttery ripe apples. Recent fruit flavors from the rum cask create a outstanding candy end that distinguishes this expression from typical sherry-finished whiskeys.
“The present development is for whiskey to have a wealthy sherry end, however Garavogue is purposefully completely different,” says Grasp Blender Helen Mulholland. “We imagine that complexity and subtlety can work hand in hand. It’s uncommon for a whiskey to be blended with this quantity and number of casks, however simply because the river ebbs and flows, the flavors create an exquisite mix as they weave collectively on this 20-year-old single malt.”
Availability and Hawk’s Rock Distillery Rebrand
Garavogue Whiskey begins rolling out in restricted portions beginning June 2025 at a prompt retail value of $199 for a 700ml bottle throughout the USA, Eire, United Kingdom, and Obligation-Free places by Sazerac’s distributor networks. Restricted provides will even be accessible by Legacy de Forge, Sazerac’s new world platform powered by Blockbar for premium bottle purchases.
The discharge represents the primary whiskey from Sazerac’s just lately rebranded Hawk’s Rock Distillery, previously referred to as Lough Gill Distillery. The distillery takes its new title from a outstanding outcrop within the Ox Mountains that impressed Nobel Prize-winning poet William Butler Yeats, who referred to as Sligo his “non secular dwelling.” Sazerac introduced the rebrand in April 2025 as a mirrored image of the corporate’s imaginative and prescient mixing curiosity, innovation, and respect for Sligo’s heritage.
“We hope that Garavogue Whiskey invitations Irish Whiskey followers to linger, discover and uncover the hidden tales of Sligo,” remarks Jess Scheerhorn, Vice President at Sazerac. “The Garavogue River formed this stunning panorama for millenniums, and Garavogue Irish Whiskey goals to form new experiences, connections and traditions – one sip at a time.”
The distinctive bottle encompasses a reversed crescent form with a blue label reflecting the Garavogue River’s affect, together with refined wave patterns and imagery of the historic Hazelwood Home Windmill positioned on the distillery grounds.
