This Beautiful New Whiskey Was Unveiled In Dublin Today

If there's one thing we love and have an intense appreciation for, it's whiskey.

And we are over the moon to have just learned of the latest Irish whiskey to hit the market...

Feast your eyes on Roe & Co – a new, premium, Blended Irish Whiskey

Slick, right?

Diageo's move into the premium Irish Whiskey category was announced with the launch of Roe & Co today along with plans for investment in a whiskey distillery in the once Power Station at St. James’s Gate.

Which really is nothing short of revolutionary.

The total project investment comes to €25 million over three years.

So when can you get your hands on some Roe & Co?

The first blend of the premium whiskey will be available in key European cities from March 1, 2017 as part of Diageo’s growing Reserve portfolio.

Roe & Co is named in honour of George Roe, the once world-famous whiskey maker who helped build the golden era of Irish Whiskey in the 19th century.

His distillery, George Roe and Co extended over 17 acres on Thomas Street in Dublin and was once Ireland's largest distillery.

As neighbours for hundreds of years, George Roe and Co and Guinness were the two biggest names at the heart of Dublin’s historic brewing and distilling quarter. Diageo will now build on this rich heritage with the creation of a new distillery by converting the historic former Guinness Power House on Thomas Street.

The new St. James’s Gate distillery, will be situated just a stone's throw away from where the George Roe and Co distillery once stood and, subject to planning approval, will begin production in the first half of 2019.

Very exciting stuff.

“It is great to see Diageo continue to invest in and further enhance the historical Dublin 8 area to create a fantastic attraction for tourists and locals alike. The proposed distillery will play a major role in the overall regeneration of the Liberties through the repurposing of the St James’ Gate Power House."
Mary Mitchell O’Connor, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovations

But back to the whiskey...

Using her 30 years of experience, Diageo’s Master Blender Caroline Martin and her team set about meticulously sourcing and selecting stocks of the very finest Irish whiskies.

Having trialled over 100 prototype blends since December 2014, Caroline has created an extraordinary expression of Irish Whiskey.

The Roe & Co brand has been created to reflect modern, contemporary luxury, in everything from pack to liquid, and with a focus of making Irish Whiskey more prominent in Europe’s booming cocktail culture.

From the fluid shape of the bottle and beaut blue branding to the gold accents and wooden topped cork – it's very easy on the eyes

And the whiskey itself looks like liquid gold.

Roe & Co is made from the finest hand-selected stocks of Irish malt and grain whiskies and aged in bourbon casks. It has the signature smoothness of Irish Whiskey with a truly remarkable depth of flavour – a luxuriously smooth blend, with a perfect harmony between the intense fruitiness of the malt and the mellow creaminess of the grain whiskies.

Tasting notes:

On the nose Roe & Co is creamy, extraordinarily fragrant and remarkably rounded. You'll experience first-hand notes of soft spice and mellow spun sugar along with warm hits of woody vanilla.

Sounds like a total dream.

The quality and perfect balance of the blend is immediately apparent on the palate through its velvety texture and sweet flavours including spiced pears and vanilla.

The finish is lingering and gentle, ending with a light creaminess.

The sweet pear notes readily apparent in Roe & Co are a wonderfully apt tribute to the once-great Dublin whisky distillery of George Roe & Co.

Among the remnants of George Roe’s distillery are its old windmill tower, known as St. Patrick’s, and a magnificent pear tree dating from 1850.

"The planned distillery will provide employment in the coming years – both at construction and operation stages. It will complement what is already the country’s most popular tourism offering, The Guinness Storehouse. This investment further demonstrates Diageo’s commitment to the growing vibrancy of The Liberties, one of the City’s most dynamic districts and the home of Irish Whiskey during the original golden age of Irish distilling. We are excited that the planned distillery will help revive the proud tradition of distilling in the Liberties.”
Colin O’Brien, Operations Director of Diageo

We cannot wait to get our hands on a bottle in March.

The countdown is on.