Irish legend revived after a century.

The Limavady region, 15 miles east of Londonderry Derry, got its distilling license in 1608 from King James VI. You know, the one almost blown up by Guy Fawkes. In 1750, one John Alexander decided to set up his own Whiskey-making operation on his family land, right next to River Roe. Rivers of Whiskey flowed, owners changed, a brewery was added, and by 1890, their annual production surpassed one million liters of pure alcohol. Also, the distillery was mothballed in 1915 due to some scheming. Fast-forward a hundred years and cut to WhistlePig and former Bushmills distiller Darryl McNally, resurrecting the sleeping beauty. Hurrah!

Now, the Vermont-based wizards of innovation and thinking outside the box didn’t call Darryl just for fun - he’s a descendant of John Alexander! Their first expression is this magnificent small-batch single barrel 100% malted Irish Whiskey. It was matured in ex-Bourbon American Oak barrels before it got a lovely finish in casks that used to hold Pedro Ximénez Sherry. Limavady means “leap of the dog,” but in this case, the Hog made a leap across the Atlantic, and it’s a wonderful one.

Limavady Single Malt Irish Whiskey guided tasting: Brad Japhe takes us on a tasting adventure through the Whiskeyverse of Advent Calendar 2021.