Northern Ireland-based independent bottler Two Stacks is hoping to make the whiskey category more accessible with Fruit Drops, a new range finished in brandy casks.
Two Stacks is known for launching the world’s first Irish whiskey in a can, the 100ml Dram in a Can, alongside a range of Irish whiskeys and a cream liqueur.
The new Fruit Drops line is described as a ‘fresh and innovative approach to cask-finished whiskey’.
The series come in three 50% ABV expressions: Apricot Fruity Brandy Cask, Apple Fruit Brandy Cask and Blackberry Fruit Brandy Cask.
As an Irish whiskey bonder, Two Stacks works with different distilleries across the country to produce innovative releases.
The team at Two Stacks spent 14 months creating the Fruit Drops range, which was revealed during a media visit to the brand’s facility in Newry, where the expressions were paired with local produce such as goat’s cheese.
Shane McCarthy, co-founder of Two Stacks, said the aim was to “bring more people into the whiskey community” with the new range.
“Sometimes, as a category, whiskey is not the most accessible,” he explained, but he believes Two Stacks offers whiskey that is “incredibly accessible”.
For the latest release, the casks were sourced from California, where natural fruits were used for distillation and then aged in Bourbon.
“We have found over the years that whiskey can be divisive,” says McCarthy, who hopes to encourage drinkers to enjoy the new range over ice or topped with soda water.
“As a brand, that’s where we differentiated ourselves in the market as an indie bottler and in the Irish whiskey space, we’re allowed to be experimenting,” he explained. “If you understand the nuances of all the different flavour profiles you have to work with, you can be so experimental and it should be fun. Sometimes people who like whiskey forget the fun factor.”
The Apricot offering carries flavours of ripe stone fruits, marzipan and almond. The Apple variant provides rich candied apples and sherbet notes, while the Blackberry bottling brings hints of ripple blackberry, dark fruit preserve, vanilla and oak.
Each expression is a five-part blend of grain, malt and pot still whiskeys, distilled at the Great Northern Distillery in County Louth. All three expressions are matured and bottled at the Two Stacks site in County Down.
The blend is composed of: 8% pot still whiskey aged in oloroso Sherry butts, 40% single grain aged in virgin oak casks, 40% single grain aged in Bourbon casks, 10% double malt aged in Bourbon casks and 2% peated malt aged in Bourbon casks.
Like other releases from Two Stacks, the Fruit Drops range comes in 100ml cans, which are priced at £6.50 (US$8) each.
The 700ml bottles can be purchased for RRP £45 (US$57) from the Two Stacks website from today (28 February). The Fruit Drops range will also launch in select UK and Ireland retailers, bars and whisky specialists in early 2025.
Last year, Two Stacks appointed California-based Foley Family Wines as its importer in the US.
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Author: Nicola Carruthers
