Nothing says “Congratulations” like Kilbeggan

By Sandra Scott

On our recent trip to Ireland John and I were heading to Roscommon and noticed a sign for “Kilbeggan.” We knew that it was the name of an Irish whiskey so we made a short detour off N6. The town was more than we expected because not only is it where Kilbeggan Whiskey is made, it is home to Locke’s Distillery Museum. Brian Quinn, the Distillery Manager, helped make our upcoming anniversary very special.

Kilbeggan is one of the spirits in the Cooley Distillery family of whiskies. Their other products are Greenore, Tyrconnell, and Connemara. Cooley is the only 100 percent Irish owned distillery and is family owned. Licensed in 1757, Kilbeggan is the oldest continuously licensed whiskey distillery in the world and the Locke's Distillery is the last remaining example of a small pot still whiskey distillery in Ireland.

Whiskey making has long been part of the Irish culture. Early Christian monks brought the art of distilling to Ireland. Working in Irish monasteries during the 6^th to 12^th century, they used the local barley to produce uisce beatha, Irish for “water of life.” The whiskey became popular worldwide until the 1900s when prohibition in the United States contributed to the decline in the popularity of whiskey. Irish whiskey was especially hurt by the fact that bootleg whiskey was smuggled into the United States as “Irish Whiskey.” It was not Irish but an inferior whiskey. However, today the popularity of whiskey is rising.

The Museum shows the traditional process of whiskey making. We were fortunate to have Mr. Quinn give us the tour, which followed the process of making triple distilled Irish Whiskey from the grinding of the grain to the casking of the final product. Most of the original machinery has been restored and is working daily, including a 19th century water wheel. They even have their own cooper on site. We saw a cask especially labeled for President Obama in honor of his recent visit.

At the end of the tour all visitors receive a complimentary sample of Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey. When we finished the tour we decided to have lunch at the distillery’s Pantry Restaurant. During our tour we had mentioned to Brian that we were in Ireland to celebrate our anniversary. When we sat down to eat Brian said, “Don’t leave until I come back” and off he went. Just as we were finishing our lunch he returned with a bottle of Kilbeggan especially labeled “Mr. and Mrs. John Scott on the occasion of their anniversary.” How cool is that? We shared it with our entire family when we gathered to celebrate our anniversary at the Abbey Hotel in Roscommon near where John’s parents were born. We ended a wonderful family meal with Kilbeggan Irish Coffee, a mix of Kilbeggan’s, coffee, brown sugar, topped with whipped cream and garnished with grated chocolate and nutmeg. Nothing beats family, Irish whiskey and Irish hospitality!

Sandra Scott is a frequent contributor to travel publications and to Creators Syndicate
and has co-authored two books on local history. She lives in Mexico, NY.

Photos by J. J. Scott.

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