How It's Made : Single Malt

Crafting an authentically Irish whiskey is about preserving culture and honoring tradition, capturing the spirit of Ireland, the heritage of the land and the character of the people.

  • 1. Local Ingredients

    Each batch begins with the finest of ingredients; soft and pure fresh spring water from the mountainside of Slieve na gCloc and locally harvested Spring barley.

  • 2. Malted Barley

    Barley is the key to Irish whiskey. For the crafting of a truly authentic Irish whiskey—full of complex aromas and flavors—all the barley in Michael Collins Whiskeys is malted using the traditional method.

  • 3. Peated Malted Barley

    To create the unique flavor profile of Michael Collins Single
    Malt, a portion of the malted barley is dried over peat
    fires—an ancient practice revived by Cooley,
    which is the only distillery in Ireland
    using this technique today.

  • 4. Double Distillation

    Michael Collins Whiskeys are unique among Irish whiskeys as the malted barley is distilled twice—and only twice—in small, long-necked copper pot stills, allowing for considerably more contact between the copper and the spirit. This process, combined with longer distillation time, removes impurities while preserving the flavors and aromas of the premium ingredients, resulting in a more refined whiskey.

  • 5. TIME IN A BOURBON-SEASONED CASK

    It takes three years of aging for a whiskey to be authentically Irish.
    Michael Collins Single Malt is aged in small bourbon-seasoned casks for a
    minimum of 10 years to develop their distinctive, more flavorful and complex characteristics. Through the cool summers and mild winters of Ireland, the
    casks rest in an 18th century granite warehouse to allow the whiskeys
    to age evenly as they develop their smoothly interesting style.

  • 6. THE ART OF BLENDING

    Truly a liquid art form, whiskey blending requires skill, knowledge and experience. Michael Collins Whiskeys
    are the work of a world-renowned, award-winning
    Master Blender who marries malt Irish whiskeys with
    peated malt Irish whiskeys to create the lightly peated
    style of Michael Collins 10 Year Old Single Malt.