One of the largest drinks conglomerates in the world has chosen Blakes of The Hollow in Enniskillen to release an exclusive cask of one of their Irish whiskeys.

Pernod Ricard, headquartered in Paris, through their subsidiary Irish Distillers, have bottled and packaged a single cask of Powers 2000 19 Year Old whiskey wholly for Blakes.

This is the only Powers 19 Year Old whiskey available world-wide.

“We match our single casks to prestige outlets. Blake’s fits that bill. They have previously had access to a Midleton single cask and have been playing their part in the promotion of Irish whiskey for decades,” said a spokesperson for the company.

“This current release was the oldest cask of Powers whiskey left in our distillery in Midleton, Co Cork. It was laid down for the millennium in 2000 and bottled in 2019”, she said.

Pat Blake is the current custodian of Blakes of The Hollow and sees it as a great opportunity to promote Enniskillen.

“The response to the launch of this particular whiskey has been remarkable. There are less than 200 bottles from the cask with over half selling in the first three days.

“We have had enquiries from across Europe and the US. Where customers from abroad are planning trips to, in particular, Donegal after lockdown we are encouraging them to visit Enniskillen and collect their bottle rather than have them delivered,” said Pat.

“Many have said they will now be including Enniskillen and Fermanagh on their itineraries”.

Quality Irish whiskey is going through a phase of phenomenal growth attracting the attention of both consumers and collectors.

“Collectors are driving the value of premium Irish whiskeys to record highs” said Pat. “It’s good for the Irish whiskey industry but it is also good for those interested in an alternative investment. If all else fails” he said, “at least you can drink the whiskey”.

The exclusive availability of Powers 19 Year Old in Fermanagh compliments the success of Joe McGirr in The Boatyard gin distillery and, of course, there is the establishment of Scotts Whiskey distillery to look forward to in Garrison.

In lockdown Powers 19 Year old is available from The Crushed Grape in Derrylin.