Killowen Rum & Raisin PX Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
Killowen Distillery · Killowen Distillery
A luxurious but unshowy expression that channels the theme perfectly — direct-fire copper and mountain water translating into concentrated, mineral-edged fruit. Among the most distinctive small-batch Irish whiskeys on the US shelf.
Nose
Sultanas soaked in dark rum lead, followed by fig jam, molasses, and a curl of pipe tobacco. Beneath the sweetness sits Killowen's signature pot still oiliness — toasted brown bread, cracked black pepper, and a whisper of clove.
Palate
Rich and viscous at full strength. Christmas cake fruit, muscovado sugar, and stewed prunes give way to green cardamom, orange peel, and a mineral, almost slate-like undercurrent that keeps the sweetness in check. Water reveals baked apple and honeyed malt.
Finish
Long and warming. Raisin and dark cocoa fade into dry oak tannin, black tea, and a lingering peppery pot still spice.
- Mash Bill
- Traditional single pot still mash of malted and unmalted Irish barley (recipe undisclosed; sourced pre-distillation stock married and finished at Killowen)
- Distillation
- Triple-distilled in traditional copper pot stills (source distillate); Killowen itself operates direct-fired pot stills with worm tub condensers for its own make
- Maturation
- Initial maturation in ex-bourbon casks, followed by an extended finish in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks that previously held Caribbean dark rum
- Single Pot Still
- No
- Chill-Filtered
- No — non-chill-filtered and natural color, bottled at cask strength
Cocktail Suggestion
The Mourne Ember — 2 oz Killowen Rum & Raisin PX, 0.25 oz PX sherry, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 1 dash orange bitters. Stir over a large cube in a rocks glass; express an orange peel over the surface, char lightly with a match, and drop in.
Food Pairing
Aged Coolea (an Irish gouda-style cow's milk cheese) with a spoonful of fig chutney and toasted walnut bread.
Founded in 2019 by Brendan Carty in a converted stone cottage beneath the Mourne Mountains, Killowen is Ireland's smallest licensed distillery — one of the very few using direct-fired pot stills and worm tub condensers, reviving a 19th-century methodology all but extinct on the island.
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