Irish Whiskey Notes Home

Whiskey Explorer: Knappogue Castle

Key Data

  1. The owner is the company that owns the whiskey brand. This may or may not be the same company that actually makes the whiskey.

  2. Only three distilleries produce whiskey at the moment: Cooley, Midleton (operated by Irish Distillers) and Bushmills. To be called Irish whiskey, the spirit must have been distilled on the island of Ireland and thus must be the product of one or more of these distilleries. A very old whiskey might have been made at a distillery that has since closed, of course.

  3. Alcohol By Volume (%). The percentage alcohol figures are those that apply in Ireland and the UK. A whiskey might be bottled at a different strength for sale in another jurisdiction. For example, whiskey must have a minimum strength of 43% to be sold in South Africa.

NameKnappogue Castle
Owner1Castle Brands
Distillery2Bushmills
TypeSingle Malt
Age
PeatedNo
ABV340%
Tasting Notes

Whisky Magazine

Notes

Knappogue Castle whiskey was developed in 1998 to complement Knappogue Castle 1951. The brand was owned by the Great Spirits Company of the US, originally formed by Mark Andrews to import and sell Knappogue Castle 1951. Great Spirits merged with the Roaring Water Bay Company, owners of Clontarf Whiskey in 2003 to form Castle Brands.

Bottled as a vintage, the 1990, 1991 and 1992 vintages were distilled at Cooley. Production was taken over by Irish Distillers, then owners of Bushmills, during their attempted takeover of Cooley.

The name comes from a castle in Ireland, formerly owned by Mark Edwin Andrews, the original developer of Knappogue Castle 1951 and the father of Mark Andrews.

Subscribe in your favourite feed reader

Copyright © 2007-2008 Irish Whiskey Notes