![]() After a 15-month drying process, the staves were worked into barrels and given a light toasting before returning to Ireland. Once felled, the carefully harvested trees were shipped to the Maderbar sawmills in Baralla, north-west Spain, where they were traditionally quarter sawn into staves for barrel manufacturing and transferred to the Antonio Páez Lobato cooperage in Jerez. ![]() Today, after ten years of silence, the woodpecker’s drumming can be heard throughout the forests of Wicklow and beyond thanks to the Brabazon family and the expanding oak forests. Under their guardianship, the Knockrath estate became one of the first sites where the iconic Great Spotted Woodpecker – engraved into the whiskey’s stunning wooden case – set up residence on its return to Ireland following years in exile. Since the 16 th century, the Brabazon family has watched over Knockrath Forest and continues to sustainably manage the trees from one season to the next. This, in addition to a lighter toasting of the wood and unique combination of distillates, results in subtle flavor differences between Dair Ghaelach Knockrath Forest and its and Dair Ghaelach Bluebell Forest. Known for its cool summers and heavy rainfall, the climate of County Wicklow impacts the density and porosity of the oak. The story of Midleton Very Rare Dair Ghaelach, which translates as ‘Irish oak’, began over a decade ago when the Midleton Masters, ever keen to innovate and create unique and exemplary whiskeys, decided to explore the possibility of maturing Irish whiskey in native oak. Midleton’s talented team, led by Master of Maturation Kevin O’Gorman, Master Cooper Ger Buckley and Master Blender Billy Leighton, set out to source sustainable Irish oak from estates throughout Ireland to produce a series of whiskeys, each with their own individual history and taste profile, that could be traced back to the specific tree from which the oak cask was madeįor the third edition, the Midleton team selected the Knockrath estate in the ancient Vale of Clara where the oak has grown for more than 150 years amidst the landscape of mountains and lakes. A remarkable addition to the Midleton Very Rare story, the new expression has matured in barrels made from virgin Irish oak grown in Knockrath Forest, County Wicklow, reinforcing Midleton’s provenance and its standing as a true taste of Ireland. Irish Distillers have recently introduced Midleton Very Rare Dair Ghaelach Knockrath Forest, the third release in the Dair Ghaelach collection.
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