What you need to know:

• Irish Distillers' Powers is launching the first ever 100% Irish rye whiskey, matured in a combination of virgin oak, first-fill and refill American oak casks.

• Expect flavors such as maraschino cherry, orange peel and toffee banana, alongside candied ginger, clove, burnt orange and peppermint, with a finish that is long and with a prickle of chilli oil.

• The result of research from Irish Distillers' archivist Carol Quinn who looked into old mash bills and discovered Powers had previously experimented with rye.

• The new expression will retail for an RRP of 40 EUR (or US$32), bottled at 43.2% ABV, available from 20th February 2023 in the US, Ireland and via The Whisky Exchange in the UK.

Irish Distillers is the largest producer of Irish whiskies. (Image Source: Difford's Guide)

Irish Distillers-owned Powers is about to launch the first ever 100% Irish rye whiskey after successful trials at the Midleton Distillery.

The new expression was devised to shake up the rye whiskey category and is said to balance the earthy, peppery character of rye with the sweetness from American oak cask maturation - a combination of virgin oak, first-fill and refills.

Be ready to expect flavors such as maraschino cherry, orange peel and toffee banana, alongside candied ginger, clove, burnt orange and peppermint, with a finish that is long and with a prickle of chilli oil.

The innovation came from Irish Distillers' archivist Carol Quinn who discovered through old mash bills and recipes that Powers had experimented with rye in the past. A real shocker! 

Carol Quinn, archivist at Irish Distillers. (Image Source: Irish Whiskey Magazine)

“Throughout the history of the famous Powers John’s Lane Distillery there was a willingness to challenge the old ways of doing things and experiment with new ideas, from urban farming on the distillery roof in the 1940s, to bottling in-house and the introduction of the world’s first miniature Irish whiskey, the ‘baby Power’.

This has fed very much into the DNA of Powers Irish Rye today, both in the use of rye and in the method of distillation.”

- Carol Quinn, Archivist at Irish Distilllers

The new expression will retail for an RRP of 40 EUR (or US$32), bottled at 43.2% ABV, available from 20th February 2023 in the US, Ireland and via The Whisky Exchange in the UK.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team