A CO Down spirits company has announced the launch of its first whiskey as it prepares to open the doors on a new £600,000 distillery.
Copeland Spirits, known for its range of flavoured gins, has confirmed its diversification into the whiskey market with the launch of 'The 125’ Single Cask Reserve'.
The name has been inspired by the 125-year lease agreed on Copeland's new Donaghadee distillery, which will open this summer.
The 6,500 sq ft distillery and visitor centre will be housed at the former community centre and picture-house on Manor Street in the town.
The new whiskey will be made at the Copeland distillery later this year with head distiller, William Stafford, and company founder, Gareth Irvine, overseeing all elements from grain selection to maturation.
The 125' reserve will also provide private investors with the opportunity to own one of 125 casks of the first release.
Following distillation later this year, each cask will be filled and ‘put to sleep’ to mature for the next five years minimum in hand-selected casks.
Once matured the owners will have the option to have their single cask whiskey bottled to take home, they can sell it back to the distillery or alternatively leave it to mature for a longer period.
Copeland Spirits founder, Gareth Irvine believes the company's whiskey can rival the success of the brand's gin.
"The interest we’ve already had in ‘The 125’ Reserve details to us that our excitement is shared and there is a palpable confidence in our skill and ability to create quality, unique spirits," he said.
“Having achieved so much in such a short space of time with our gin, which is now exported across the world to territories such as Australia and Europe, we’re confident that our whiskey will rise to the same success and further cement Copeland’s reputation as an impressive Northern Irish brand on the international stage. Our whiskey is the perfect marriage of traditional techniques and modern experimentation, each bottle of the whiskey will push creative boundaries and bring new flavours and character to the category."
“Our whiskey, and our wider spirits portfolio will be unrivalled, from the ingredients we source, to the production methods we choose and the final cuts we distill. Being a smaller distillery we have greater potential to experiment with different distillates and create spirits of exceptional quality – and ultimately make a big difference to the spirits world," Mr Irvine added.
