Walsh Whiskey
About the distillery
Walsh Whiskey is based in Carlow and is an Irish family-owned house that, since 1999, has worked with Writers’ Tears and The Irishman. The name is closely linked to the Irish whiskey renaissance, and the portfolio ranges from classic triple-distilled blended expressions to more distinctive single cask and cask strength releases. It is a place for whisky lovers who want both tradition, detail, and clearly defined cask signatures.
History
Walsh Whiskey was established in 1999 by Bernard and Rosemary Walsh as a family-run business with the ambition of helping drive the revival of Irish whiskey. The couple drew inspiration from Ireland’s golden whiskey period in the 1800s and used it as a foundation for both Writers’ Tears and The Irishman. In 2006, The Irishman became an important part of the story, and in 2008 the company created Irish whiskey’s first cask strength whiskey in the modern era.
Another major milestone followed later, when Walsh Whiskey built Ireland’s largest manually driven distillery and began distilling all three Irish whiskey types under one roof. The distillery has since been sold off, but it remains a central part of the narrative. Along the way, Bernard and Rosemary continued working on new expressions, including the world’s first distillation of Organic Single Pot Still and a series of unusual cask finishes. Throughout, the family has stuck to the motto ‘Never Say Die’ and an approach where experimenting and improving go hand in hand.
Raw materials and production
Walsh Whiskey uses Irish barley as the basis for its whiskies, and several of the expressions are made from both malted and unmalted barley. The company describes itself as whiskey creators, working with carefully selected partners to explore how different grains, whiskey styles, and wood types affect the taste over time. Triple distillation appears throughout the portfolio, and several products are non-chill filtered.
A hallmark is the deliberate search for casks with exceptionally good wood and strong prior contents. This can be seen in bourbon casks made from American oak, cognac casks from France, sherry butts from Spain, Marsala hogsheads from Sicily, mizunara casks from Japan, and rum casks from Saint Lucia. The products also demonstrate concrete choices such as single cask, cask strength, and longer finish periods, and the company itself highlights that it seeks both classic and innovative expressions that can take Irish whiskey into a new era.
Maturation and cask types
Maturation is largely driven by bourbon, sherry, and special casks. Writers’ Tears Copper Pot rests in flame-charred American oak bourbon casks, The Irishman Single Malt gets its character from a double maturation in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks, and The Irishman 12 Year Old matures for a minimum of 12 years in first fill, flame-charred Bourbon casks. Writers’ Tears Red Head uses handpicked Spanish sherry butts, which previously held Oloroso sherry.
The portfolio also includes clear finish experiments. Writers’ Tears Double Oak combines American bourbon barrels and French cognac casks, Writers’ Tears Marsala Cask gets 12 months in Marsala hogsheads, Writers’ Tears Inniskillin Icewine Cask gets 12 months in icewine hogsheads, and The Irishman Caribbean Cask Finish gets an additional six months in Chairman’s Reserve rum casks. Such choices clearly shape the house style: not just age, but also wood, prior contents, and extra finish are central tools.
Whiskies
The portfolio is divided between Writers’ Tears and The Irishman. Writers’ Tears includes, among others, Copper Pot, Double Oak, Red Head, Single Pot Still, Cask Strength, Japanese Cask, Marsala Cask, and Inniskillin Icewine Cask. The Irishman spans The Harvest, Single Malt, Caribbean Cask Finish, Single Malt 12-Year-Old, Single Malt 17-Year-Old, and Cask Strength.
Common to the range is a clear respect for Irish whiskey tradition, but also a willingness to push it. There are both classic single malt expressions, blends with single pot still, annual cask strength releases, and more exclusive limited editions. The result is a portfolio that moves between accessibility and rarity, but which consistently sticks with triple distillation and clear cask choices as the core approach.
| Whisky | Type / series | Alcohol | Age | Cask and style | Flavour profile | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writers’ Tears Copper Pot | Irish whiskey | Flame-charred American oak bourbon casks | A unique marriage of aged Single Pot Still and Single Malt Irish whiskey, distilled entirely from barley, and not-peated.; Nose: Flashes of apple with hints of vanilla.; Taste: Gently spiced, ginger & orchard fruits.; Finish: Long & elegant with dark chocolate. | Current; Core range | ||
| Writers’ Tears Double Oak | Irish whiskey | 46 % | American Oak Bourbon Barrels and French Oak Cognac Casks | A blend of Single Pot Still and Single Malt Irish whiskey aged in American bourbon casks and French cognac casks.; Nose: Dashes of sweet vanilla, notes of cinnamon, plum & poached pear.; Taste: Citrus zest, chocolate undertones and lingering spice.; Finish: Decadent and elegant. One to savour. | Current; Core range | |
| Writers’ Tears Red Head | Irish whiskey | 46 % | Spanish sherry butts | Triple-distilled single malt matured in select Spanish sherry butts seasoned with Oloroso sherry.; Nose: Orange peel, dried fruits & sherry plums.; Taste: Nutty Oloroso, spicy raisins & creamy oak.; Finish: Long & complex with a flourish of orange. | Current; Core range | |
| Writers’ Tears Single Pot Still | Irish whiskey | 46 % | Bourbon barrels, Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks and Florio Marsala Hogsheads; finish: Further matured in Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks and Florio Marsala Hogsheads | Triple-distilled single pot still whiskey with bourbon maturation and further maturation in sherry and Marsala casks.; Nose: Candied sweetness and toffee apples.; Taste: Notes of pot still spice and the velvet, dessert-like qualities of PX Sherry, finishing with a light chewiness.; Finish: A lingering finish with great warmth. | Current; Core range | |
| Writers’ Tears Cask Strength | Irish whiskey | 54.8 % | American Oak casks | Annual cask strength release with single pot still and single malt, non-chill filtered and in a total production of 8,700 bottles.; Nose: Notes of ginger and pepper spice alongside rich butterscotch.; Taste: Hints of toasted oak, biscuit and dark chocolate mingle with sweet vanilla.; Finish: An exceptional finish, bursting with character and flavour. | Current; Core range; Annual limited release; 8700 bottles | |
| Writers’ Tears Japanese Cask | Irish whiskey | 55 % | Japanese Mizunara Oak single cask | A rare single cask release with Mizunara oak from the Mount Fuji region.; Nose: Flashes of green fruits, apple and pear, and a distinctive pot still base.; Taste: Hints of vanilla and clove give way to exotic oriental notes of sandalwood, coconut and Japanese incense.; Finish: A truly unforgettable trip around the orient. | Limited | |
| Writers’ Tears Marsala Cask | Irish whiskey | 45 % | Marsala hogsheads; finish: 12 months | Limited edition finished in Marsala hogsheads from Florio in Sicily for 12 months.; Nose: Rich aroma of golden syrup, earthy notes and dried fruits.; Taste: Lingering notes of caramelised apple, nutty spices and wildflower honey.; Finish: A sea-kissed finish straight from the Sicilian shores. | Limited | |
| Writers’ Tears Inniskillin Icewine Cask | Irish whiskey | 46 % | Icewine hogsheads; finish: 12 months | Limited edition, the first in Irish whiskey with an icewine finish, created in collaboration with Inniskillin Winery.; Nose: Peach & apricot over a unique Pot Still spice.; Taste: Floral blossom & nutty oak.; Finish: A fruit compote of mango & lychee. | Limited | |
| The Irishman The Harvest | Irish whiskey | 40 % | American Oak Bourbon barrels | Formerly known as Founder’s Reserve; 70% Single Malt and 30% Single Pot Still, triple distilled and matured in bourbon casks.; Nose: Zesty spice, black pepper & peaches.; Taste: Pot Still spice, dark chocolate and bourbon oak.; Finish: Oak and butterscotch. | Current; Core range | |
| The Irishman Single Malt | Irish whiskey | 40 % | American Oak Bourbon casks and European Oak Oloroso Sherry casks | Triple-distilled single malt with double maturation in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks.; Nose: Delicate honeyed malt aromas.; Taste: Candied fruit, bursting with sweetness and notes of fig.; Finish: Sun-dried raisins and seasoned oak spices. | Current; Core range | |
| The Irishman Caribbean Cask Finish | Irish whiskey | 46 % | American oak bourbon barrels; finish: 6 months in Chairman’s Reserve rum casks | Malt and pot still whiskies, first matured in bourbon casks and then finished in rum casks from Saint Lucia.; Nose: Exotic rum, apricots and summer fruits.; Taste: Avalanche of tropical fruits and vibrant spices.; Finish: Fig, banana and oak spices intermingle in a spectacular Caribbean twist. | Current | |
| The Irishman Single Malt 12-Year-Old | Irish whiskey | 43 % | 12 years | First fill, flame-charred Bourbon casks | Triple distilled, 100% single malt and matured for a minimum of 12 years in first fill, flame-charred Bourbon casks.; Nose: Sweet spicy notes of Vanilla, Cinnamon and even a tincture of Clove. All balanced with Apples and Pears, some charred wood and freshly cut hay.; Taste: Sweet with Vanilla, bolstered by Black Peppercorns, reluctantly giving way to a succulent fruity mid-section.; Finish: Lingering succulent flavour of Barley and Oak. A touch of creamy dairy fudge and Dark Chocolate. | Current |
| The Irishman Single Malt 17-Year-Old | Irish whiskey | 56 % | 17 years | First-fill Oloroso sherry butt | Highly exclusive single malt, triple distilled and non-chill filtered, produced in three casks per year.; Nose: The influence of the sherry cask is forever present, with notes of dark chocolate.; Taste: Toasted oak and sweet sherried raisins provide a complexity that is satisfying to the palate.; Finish: A combination of nutty oloroso sherry as well as a dark chocolate that begs to continue. | Current; 3 bottles |
Style and flavour profile of the whiskies
The house moves between apple, pear and other fresh fruits, honey and candied sweetness, along with a clear trail of spice from ginger, cinnamon, clove, and black pepper. Darker tones of dark chocolate, toffee, butterscotch, and oak also come through, while several expressions also lean toward dried fruit, sherry, tropical fruit, and floral sweetness. This results in a style that can be fruity and rounded, but also spiced, cask-driven, and in certain releases distinctly sherry- or finish-driven.
Visit the distillery
The provided pages describe an office in Carlow and provide contact information, but they do not open for any public visit program, tours, tastings, or a visitor experience for guests. There is therefore no public visit information to build a genuine visit around, beyond being able to get in touch with the company by phone, email, or via the contact form at the address in Deerpark Business Park in Carlow.
Philosophy and craftsmanship
Walsh Whiskey works from the family motto ‘Never Say Die’ and sees perseverance, creativity, progress, authenticity, integrity, and consideration as its core values. The company wants to experiment, challenge, and improve, but at the same time to maintain respect for Irish whiskey heritage. The philosophy is clearly rooted in the family and combines ambition with long-term choices and a clear preference for handpicked casks and considered details.
Latest news
A first for Irish Whiskey. Writers' Tears Icewine Cask Finish – 2021-10-07
Walsh Whiskey launches Writers' Tears Icewine Cask Finish, a limited edition and the first icewine-finished whiskey in Irish whiskey. The release was developed in collaboration with Inniskillin Winery in Niagara, Ontario.
Writers' Tears teams with Sprinkles for St. Patrick's Day cupcakes – 2021-03-12
Writers' Tears enters into a partnership with Sprinkles for St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes as part of a campaign surrounding the brand.