Drogheda's Boann Distillery launches vintage Preston's mashbill

A whiskey recipe dating back to the late 19th century has been revived by a Drogheda-based distillery.

Boann has bottled a 140-year-old ‘vintage mashbill’ once used by the famous Preston’s whiskey bonders, based on Boyneside.

The new spirit, Winter Solstice Preston’s Vintage Mashbill, was fully matured in an Oloroso hogshead cask of 250ltr and was bottled to coincide with the Winter Solstice.

“This is, effectively, the ghost of whiskeys past,” said founder of Boann Distillery, Pat Cooney, at an exclusive tasting event at the Platin Road distillery just before Christmas

“Preston’s was world famous and synonymous with Drogheda and it is incredible to think we have resurrected and distilled, to the letter, one of their mashbills to make our new spirit.

“Ireland has such a rich history and relationship with whiskey and it’s great to have the opportunity to keep these old recipes alive. Every mashbill tastes different, depending on whether there’s more barley, less malt, more wheat, less rye.”

This single cask release is Boann’s third cask to be bottled and comes on the fourth anniversary of the distillery laying down its first spirit in 2019. 

Its first was bottled on the Winter Solstice 2022, six months before the Summer Solstice Single Cask was bottled in June this year.

Whiskey historian Fionnan O’Connor has worked with the distillery in recent years to revive the old mashbills.

Bottles, retailing at €150, are on sale online for delivery in January and are available directly from www.boanndistillery.ie.