A Transatlantic Collaboration

Today was a very exciting day here at the distillery as we have teamed up with Talnua Distillery www.talnua.com  in the Centennial State in a first of its kind Single Pot Still collaboration.

This unique initiative will examine how the Irish and American climates will influence finished, single pot still whiskey once it is botted in five years’ time.

This collaboration is very much about experimentation and we are sharing exactly the same recipe , distilled and casked at the same time in the same types of barrels . Both distilleries are using their local water and local grains in the mashbill.

Colorado has a dry climate in a high-altitude, desert environment with low humidity, as opposed to our more stable mild, wet climate.

The maturation conditions will be very different so we want to see exactly how that will influence the flavours in Single Pot Still Whiskey in five years’ time.

Talnua (an abbreviation of the Irish ‘Talamh Nua’ or new land), is steeped in Irish heritage – husband and wife owners Patrick and Meagan Miller fell in love with single pot still whiskey after tasting it in a Galway pub during their honeymoon in 2011.

Seven years later, they set up the first distillery exclusively making it in the US.

We came across Talnua while travelling through the USA on business and we kept in touch – and earlier today, at exactly the same time, and on either sides of the Atlantic , we filled casks with spirit containing 40% malt, 55% unmalted barley, 3.75% oats and 1.25% rye, our Boann house mashbill , which was awarded “Worlds Best Newmake 2021” in the World Whiskies Awards.

“These kind of projects are what distillers really get excited over,” said Patrick Miller.

“A collaboration bringing a Single Pot Still Whiskey project across the Atlantic showcasing the difference in flavour profiles between Ireland and Colorado is truly special. It’s an amazing project that highlights the Irish-American bond.”

In total we filled six 200-litre casks here at Boann, but to account for evaporative differences, Talnua filled eight, meaning around 2,800 litres will be available by the autumn of 2026.

We even made the news stateside – add in CBS clip here !

Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting collaboration.