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J.J Corry and Cliffs of Moher Irish Whiskey
JJ Corry Whiskey in O'Brien's Barrels

O’Brien’s Barrels

Brought to you by local JJ Corry’s Whiskey Bonders and Cliffs of Moher Experience
O’Brien's Barrels
Ageing well at the Cliffs of Moher

Sir Cornelius O’Brien would no doubt approve of the collaboration between JJ Corry, local whiskey bonders, and the Cliffs of Moher Experience that has seen nine 50 litre barrels of whiskey placed in his purpose-built tower.

Known to enjoy a tipple himself, it is said O’Brien would bring guests to the tower for entertainment. It is easy to imagine the parliamentarian tapping the barrel and pouring the ‘water of life’ for his fellow lord and lady friends while showing them the finest of County Clare.

Cliffs of Moher Whiskey
JJ Corry

JJ Corry

Atop a windswept hill, here in County Clare you will find Ireland’s first modern whiskey bonders, J.J. Corry Irish Whiskey. Located just outside the small village of Cooraclare, with views of the river Shannon to the south and of the Atlantic to the north, you will find our blending room and rackhouse, home to our vast library of whiskey flavours.

This library of flavours is a collection of Ireland’s most diverse whiskies from distilleries all over the country and casks from all over the world, ranging in age from zero to thirty plus years old.

Aged Irish Whiskey
Uisce Beata

The Whiskey

JJ Corry has selected single malt, single grain and pot still whiskey from their library of flavours, placed them in sherry casks and are ‘finishing’ these in the O’Briens Tower at the Cliffs of Moher.

The cliffs themselves are a testament to nature’s brute force and JJ Corry whiskies are a product of the slower acting, more subtle forces of nature. They will carefully monitor the whiskey in these casks and when deemed ready, they will be disgorged and bottled as Single Cask Cliffs of Moher Whiskey, each cask will yield approximately 100 bottles of whiskey.

Bringing you Single Cask Cliffs of Moher Whiskey

The Process

For whiskey bonders, maturation is key. The casks and environment in which they are stored are just as important to the final product as the distillate that goes into them. For this reason, Louise hand picks the casks she brings back to Cooraclare.

The cooper in Montilla, located in the south of Spain, works with bodegas sourcing the best sherries the country has to offer in order to season his casks. Sherry wine is rested in the casks for up to two years before being emptied. These casks are transferred to J.J. Corry filled with whiskey and laid down for maturation. The rackhouse provides the perfect conditions for whiskey to mature, maintaining the correct levels of temperature and humidity through clever building design choices and traditional knowledge.

JJ Corry and the Cliffs of Moher Experience are delighted to offer you the experience of tasting the effects the cliffs of Moher’s environment will have on our maturing, sherry-influenced whiskies.

As part of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark Cliffs of Moher are proud to support local suppliers

The Creator

Local Clare woman Louise McGuane resurrected the lost Irish art of whiskey bonding in 2015, inspired by J.J. Corry, a whiskey bonder in the 1900s. Whiskey bonding used to be a thriving business model in the Irish whiskey industry. Merchants would buy whiskey from their local distillery, mature it in casks on their premises and then sell this whiskey onto the consumer. J.J. Corry had his shop in Kilrush town, a prosperous port at the time, providing J.J. with a variety of casks, rum, brandy, Bordeaux wine and sherry to name just a few.