Head cooper Ian Leonard works on one of the Irish oak casks to prepare for the head fitting at Newbridge’s Kentucky Bourbon Barrel. Picture: Brian Connolly/Bang Bang Visual.
A 1,000-year-old oak tree from Swainstown Farm in County Meath has been turned into three exceptionally rare Irish whiskey casks for Drogheda-based Boann Distillery.
The project brings together the Preston family’s long connection with Drogheda’s whiskey trade, Boann’s work reviving historic recipes and traditional cooperage skills carried out in Ireland.
The giant oak stood on Preston’s Estate at Swainstown Farm until it was brought down by Storm Elin in December 2023.
Rather than allow the story of the tree to end there, sections of the oak were selected for a collaboration involving Boann Distillery, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ireland and Swainstown Farm.
The finished 225-litre casks are believed to be the first complete Irish oak whiskey barrels in more than a century to be made by Irish coopers on Irish soil.
The Preston family are descendants of the Preston family of Drogheda, who operated a prominent whiskey bonding business in the town for almost 100 years from 1886.
Oak seasoned before returning to Ireland
A section of the fallen tree was transported to the Vosges region of France, where specialist mills split the wood into staves and cask heads.
The oak was then naturally seasoned outdoors for around 24 months before being returned to Ireland.
At the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel cooperage in Newbridge, the seasoned wood was shaped and assembled into three complete Irish oak casks for Boann Distillery.
The casks will now be filled with matured whiskey based on Boann’s Preston’s Vintage Mashbill XI recipe.
The late 19th-century recipe was uncovered through the distillery’s Vintage Mashbill programme, which researches and revives historic Irish whiskey recipes.
The finished whiskey is due to be bottled and released next year.
Rare Irish oak
Irish oak casks are extremely uncommon because only a limited amount of native oak is suitable for barrel making.
Most barrels used in the Irish whiskey industry are made from American oak and have previously been used to mature bourbon.
Peter Cooney of Boann said the project had given the fallen tree a new purpose.
“This oak stood at Preston’s Estate for around 1,000 years, and its story could easily have ended when it fell during Storm Elin,” he said.
“Instead, it has returned to Ireland to begin a new life as three extraordinarily rare whiskey casks.
“Using the wood to mature Preston’s Irish Whiskey creates a direct connection between the Preston family’s land, its historic whiskey-bonding legacy and Boann’s work to revive old Irish whiskey recipes.”
‘An enormous privilege’
Mark Quick, Managing Director of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ireland, said working with native Irish oak of such age and provenance was a rare opportunity for the cooperage.
“Every stave must be carefully examined and shaped before the cask is raised, secured with hoops and prepared to hold spirit,” he said.
“How we season, shape, toast and assemble the oak will influence the way the whiskey interacts with the wood throughout maturation.”
He said the finished barrels would be among the rarest Irish whiskey casks ever made.
Arthur Preston of Swainstown Farm said the loss of the tree had been deeply felt, but its transformation had created a new link between the family’s history and the future of Preston’s Whiskey.
“This tree was part of the landscape at Swainstown for longer than any of us can comprehend,” he said.
“While it was deeply saddening to see it fall, transforming it into whiskey casks creates a new connection between our family’s history, the land and the future of Preston’s Whiskey.”
