Drogheda’s Boann distillery to produce whiskey from casks crafted in storm-felled Irish oak

A 1,000-year-old oak tree felled by Storm Elin in 2023 has been crafted into three rare whiskey casks
The oak underwent two years of natural outdoor seasoning in France before returning to Ireland
This marks the first time in over a century that complete Irish oak whiskey casks have been coopered in Ireland
The casks will mature whiskey based on a late-19th-century Preston family recipe
The whiskey is expected to be bottled and launched in 2027

A 1,000-year-old Irish oak tree, which was brought down by a storm, has been crafted into three rare whiskey casks. The ancient tree fell during Storm Elin in December 2023 on the Preston estate in Kilmessan, Co Meath. Now, thanks to a collaboration between Drogheda-based Boann Distillery and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel in Co Kildare, it has been given a new lease of life.

The new casks will be filled with matured whiskey based on a late-19th-century recipe. It is hoped the whiskey will be bottled and launched next year.

Irish oak casks are exceptionally scarce. Most casks used by the Irish whiskey industry are made from American oak and were previously used to mature bourbon. Thousands of these barrels are piled high at the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel cooperage in Newbridge.

For head cooper Ian Leonard, working with native Irish oak of this age and provenance represented a unique opportunity. Over several hours, Mr Leonard shaped the staves and secured them with hoops using tools that are over 100 years old. Jim Leonard shared: “To be the first Irish person in over a century to rise an Irish oak cask is something else.”It’s a big privilege as not many people get to do projects like this. I love everything old-school.”

Peter Cooney shared: ” Irish people love telling stories. So, hopefully this story will go around the world. The Preston family are descendants of the renowned Prestons of Drogheda, Co Louth. They were operators of a prominent whiskey bonding business for almost a century from 1886. Using the Irish oak to mature Preston’s Irish Whiskey creates a direct connection between the Preston family’s land, its historic whiskey-bonding legacy and our work to revive old Irish whiskey recipes.”.

“Storm Elin knocked over this very large tree – it was about 10 metres in girth. We took the first piece from the base to the first branch, and we sent it to the Vosges region of France for log splitting and stave preparing. The oak then underwent around two years of natural outdoor seasoning before returning to Ireland. It is now being turned into three casks – the first time in over a century that complete Irish oak whiskey casks have been coopered by Irish hands on Irish soil.”

Boann Distillery shared “the first time in over a century that complete Irish oak whiskey casks have been coopered by Irish hands on Irish soil”

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel shared “to be the first Irish person in over a century to rise an Irish oak cask is something else”