J.J. Corry Expands Distribution to Massachusetts

COORACLARE, Ireland — Ireland’s first modern whiskey Bonder, has announced the launch of its award winning blended Irish Whiskey in Massachusetts with distribution partner Martignetti Companies. J.J. Corry ‘The Gael’ is made with 5% 26-year-old single malt, 27.5% 11-year-old single malt, 27.5% 15-year-old single malt and the remaining 40% is 7-year-old single grain whiskey. The whiskey is available in 750ml bottled at 46% ABV and is non-chill filtered with no artificial colour added. The first batch is comprised of 7500 bottles and is imported by CompassPoint Imports for an on shelf SRP of $75. The whiskey has recently won a Gold Medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Awards and a Gold Medal in the Irish Whiskey Awards, in addition to scoring 90 points in Whisky Advocate. The company has a full-time sales & marketing manager dedicated to rolling out the brand in the U.S.A. in 2018.

Irish Whiskey Bonding is the practice of sourcing whiskey from third party distilleries, maturing it onsite until it is ready and then finishing or blending to create a unique stand-alone Whiskey. Bonding was a once common way of producing whiskey in Ireland and bonders were often publicans and grocers in local towns creating whiskey for their local clientele. The practice died out in the early 20th Century when the Irish Whiskey Industry collapsed. Instead of selling to Bonders, the few remaining distilleries in Ireland then chose to control their route to market and cut off supply to the Bonders.

Tom Tesauro, partner at CompassPoint Imports, commented that he is looking forward to fronting the rollout in Massachusetts, given his familiarity with the market from his previous role as co-owner of large volume MA retail chain Yankee Spirits.

The business was founded by Louise McGuane in 2015 and is the only All-Female Irish Whiskey Company in existence. Louise has resurrected the lost art of Irish Whiskey bonding under the JJ Corry brand name. The company is maturing whiskey in a purpose built bonded rackhouse on the McGuane family farm in Cooraclare, County Clare, on the West Coast of Ireland.

Louise McGuane commented “Bonding Irish Whiskey was a lost art and business model which we have brought back to life. We are the first whiskey Bonder in Ireland in 50 years and are proud to have brought this way of making Irish Whiskey back. Our first release, The Gael, has been greeted with great acclaim winning a Gold Medal in the Irish Whiskey Awards and the San Francisco Spirits Competition.

As the company waits for their own Irish Whiskey casks to come of age on the McGuane Family farm, they have sourced mature Irish Whiskey from existing stocks in Ireland. With these casks, we have created a series of unique and complex blends to build a future house style and flavour profile. J.J. Corry, ‘The Gael’ is a clearly definable Irish Whiskey with those fruit forward flavours that whiskey lovers look for in Irish Whiskey.

McGuane added “Our farm has its own coastal micro-climate. We rack our casks in the traditional style and our purpose built Rackhouse has a clay floor for optimum humidity conditions. We are meticulous about the quality of new make spirit we buy and I personally source all of our casks. We have excellent quality spirit going into Grade A casks and those casks are maturing in a unique microclimate on the Wild Atlantic Way. We feel it is important to be 100% transparent about what we are doing. ‘The Gael’ is the beginning for us, a tribute to what has gone before us and a taste of what is to come.”

‘The Gael’ is named after a bicycle that whiskey Bonder J.J. Corry invented in the 1890s. J.J. Corry was born in the parish of Cooraclare, where the business is based, and bonded and blended whiskey in his shop and pub at 63 Henry Street, Kilrush from the 1890’s until his death in 1932.

‘The Gael’ has a classic Irish whiskey profile with full white stone fruit flavours, notes of lime with a hint of pink peppercorns and a dried grapefruit and apple finish. J.J. Corry is now live in NY, CT, GA, TN, CA, and will roll out across the rest of the U.S.A. over 2018 and 2019.

About J.J. Corry

Founded in 2015 by Louise McGuane, The Chapel Gate Irish Whiskey Co. is Ireland’s first modern whiskey Bonder and the makers of award winning J.J. Corry Irish Whiskey. The company sources new make spirit from Irish distilleries and matures it in a purpose built bonded rack house on the McGuane Family farm in Cooraclare, Co. Clare, right along the Wild Atlantic Way. Whilst waiting for the whiskey to come of age, they blend sourced mature whiskey to begin to create their own unique house style. The whiskey has won a Gold Medal in the Irish Whiskey Awards, A Gold Medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Awards and a Medal in the World Whiskies Awards.

About CompassPoint Imports

CompassPoint Imports is a national importer of fine wines and spirits. Launched in 2017 by seasoned veterans of the industry – Gary Clayton & Tom Tesauro. CompassPoint Imports is dedicated to working hand-in-hand with producers, distributors, and retailers to drive sustainable value & growth for the long term. With their extensive knowledge and industry relationships, CPI’s focus is on building strong brand equity through highly targeted & fully integrated marketing & sales initiatives. Currently, CPI’s portfolio consists of J.J. Corry Irish Whiskey, Hepple Gin – England, Kingston Wine Estates – Australia, Mooiplaas Wine Estate – South Africa, and Forever Blend – Chile.