History made in Kildare with rare Irish oak casks
Kentucky Bourbon Barrel in Newbridge
For specialist coopers in Kildare, a fallen 1,000-year-old Irish oak tree has been given an extraordinary second life after being transformed into three of the rarest whiskey casks ever produced in Ireland.
The unique project was completed by the team at Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ireland in Newbridge, where skilled coopers assembled the three 225-litre casks from native Irish oak that once stood on Preston's Estate at Swainstown Farm, Co Meath.
The giant oak was brought down during Storm Elin in December 2023. Rather than allowing the ancient tree to go to waste, a collaboration between Boann Distillery, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel and the Preston family saw part of it converted into whiskey casks - marking the first time in more than a century that complete Irish oak whiskey casks have been coopered by Irish hands on Irish soil.
After the tree was felled, a selected section was transported to France's Vosges region, where specialist mills split the timber into staves and barrel heads. The wood then spent around 24 months seasoning outdoors before returning to Kildare.
It was at Kentucky Bourbon Barrel's Newbridge cooperage that the seasoned oak was expertly shaped and assembled into the finished casks.
The barrels will now be filled with matured whiskey based on Boann Distillery's historic Preston's Vintage Mashbill XI recipe, with the finished whiskey due to be released next year.
Irish oak casks are exceptionally rare because very little native oak is suitable for barrel production, with the vast majority of Irish whiskey matured in former American bourbon barrels.
Mark Quick, Managing Director of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ireland, said working with such an ancient tree had been a privilege.
"Our team is constantly exploring new flavour possibilities," he said.
"Working with native Irish oak of this age and provenance is an enormous privilege.
"Every stave must be carefully examined and shaped before the cask is raised, secured with hoops and prepared to hold spirit.
"These will become some of the rarest Irish whiskey vessels ever made, created from native oak of extraordinary age and provenance by Irish coopers working in Ireland."
Peter Cooney of Boann Distillery said the project had given the ancient oak a remarkable new chapter, while Arthur Preston of Swainstown Farm said transforming the fallen tree into whiskey casks created a lasting link between the family's land, its whiskey heritage and the future of Preston's Irish Whiskey.