Roy Danis, President & C.E.O. of Conecuh Brands, LLC, proudly announces that after 90 years, Conecuh Brands is returning McConnell’s Irish Whisky to North America.
“We’re resurrecting one of the greatest global brands of all time, McConnell’s Irish Whisky,” Danis said.
Originally established in Belfast, Ireland in 1776 by two brothers, John & James McConnell; McConnell’s is the oldest whisky brand ever to come from Ireland.
McConnell’s enjoyed great popularity in the U.S. from the late 1800’s right through the early part of the 20th Century, when McConnell’s, like many Irish Distilleries ran into hard times as a result of U.S. Prohibition. Ultimately closing its Belfast Distillery in 1958, the brand went dormant, until now recovered by Conecuh Brands.
“The opportunity to recreate a brand with such rich and deep history has been incredibly rewarding,” Danis said. “My entire team is so excited and humbled at the same time.”
The brand worked with Great Northern Distillery to recreate the whisky, while work is being done on its new distillery, in the historic, Crumlin Road Jail, in Belfast, Ireland. The Crumlin Rd. Jail is not far from the original distillery site on Cromac St. The “Crum” is well known for housing political prisoners from the 1840’s to 1996, before being converted into an iconic tourist attraction. Once the building is complete, the new distillery will house production, aging, a visitors’ center and a retail area.
McConnell’s Irish Whisky (spelled without the ‘e’ as originally spelled), is a robust, smooth, whisky with hints of vanilla, nutmeg and other spices, aged in American Oak barrels. It is a 42% ABV, 5-Year-old blend with a suggested retail price of $32.99.
The new package features a bottle shape inspired by a simple pill capsule, which harkens back to the original label, featuring three references from Doctors, who recommended the whisky and used to prescribe it for medicinal purposes. The label is signature green with a handsome metal plaque that reads J.&J. McConnell’s, Est. Belfast 1776, Ireland.
About Conecuh Brands, LLC
Founded in 2014, Conecuh Brands is a fully integrated, marketing and sales company, focused on developing, high quality, super premium spirits brands. Brands created by Conecuh Brands have authentic brand stories and delivered in world-class packaging at an outstanding value. In addition to J.& J. McConnell’s Irish Whisky, the company also owns the Clyde May’s whiskey portfolio as well as the award-winning Prospero Tequila portfolio in partnership with global superstar Rita Ora.
