It's National Irish Coffee Day on January 25th and we couldn't have asked for a better guest to celebrate the occasion. We're joined by Alex Conyngham from Slane Distillery in Ireland. Slane Irish Whiskey is the perfect accompaniment to the classic Irish Coffee and they've put their own spin on the cocktail to celebrate. Partnering with Red Bay Coffee, they've developed their own roast which pairs perfectly with Slane Irish Whiskey. Be sure to check out the full recipe below and be sure to let us know if you try it.

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Slane Irish Coffee Cocktail:

• 1 part Slane Irish Whiskey
• ⅔ parts vanilla-infused demerara syrup
• Freshly Brewed Double Espresso
• Boiling water
• Double Cream (lightly whisked)
• Dark Chocolate Orange Shavings
• INSTRUCTIONS
  • Preheat your glass
  • Brew your espresso. Make it a double!
  • Half fill your glass with boiling water
  • Add syrup, double espresso and whiskey, then stir it up
  • Top with double cream float
  • Sprinkle on a little chocolate
  • ENJOY!

About the Distillery and Slane Castle

• Alex Conyngham who, together with his father Henry Mount Charles – the man behind the legendary Slane Castle concerts – decided to set up the Slane Distillery in 2015.
• Slane Castle first got into the whiskey business in 2009. At the time, it sourced liquid from Cooley, a nearby distillery, for what it called "Slane Castle Whiskey". When Cooley was acquired by Beam in 2012, the castle's supply of whiskey was cut off.
• 2012, Slane Castle Whiskey went off the market, and Conyngham went to the drawing board to design the future distillery—and to search for a partner, one he eventually found in Brown-Forman. The company—owner of brands such as Jack Daniel's and Woodford Reserve—acquired the business in 2015, before its first drop of whiskey was made, and the distillery's construction began in January 2016.
• "Triple cask," in this instance, means that the whiskey is aged in three distinctively different barrels:
  • virgin oak barrel that has never contained whiskey,
  • seasoned barrel that once contained Tennessee whiskey or bourbon, and
  • a sherry cask.
• Slane Irish Whiskey, as it exists now, officially launched in 2017 with that triple-casked liquid bought from another distillery and aged in those triple casks for two years. Around the same time that the whiskey hit the market, Slane started producing its own liquid at the new, operational distillery on the Slane Castle grounds, using barley it grows on a family-owned farm across the river.
• Slane Irish Whiskey is now available across the U.S., and the distillery is open to visitors, along with the castle.

Links:

• Slane Irish Whiskey Official Irish Coffee Cocktail Recipe
• Slane Irish Whiskey - The Story
• RedBayCoffee.com
• Fortune.com Featuring Slane Irish Whiskey
• HotPress.com - Rock n Roll at Slane Castle
• A Hotel Life Feature on Slane Distillery
• CocktailsDistilled.com Feature