Whiskey Notes 4.25

2025 Old Saints Keep - Talnua Distillery

Every March, during their St. Patrick's Day bash, Talnua Distillery rolls out a special whiskey called Olde Saint's Keep. Patrick Miller, the co-owner and distiller, started crafting this whiskey years back.

If you haven't heard of Talnua Distillery, they're based in Arvada, CO, and they're the first single pot still whiskey distillery in the U.S.

Single Pot Still Whiskey is an Irish Whiskey style made by one distillery using a mix of unmalted and malted whiskey, distilled three times in a pot still. Over a century ago, this type of whiskey made up almost 80% of the world's whiskey supply.

Let's dive into a bit of Irish whiskey history.

Back in 1785, Britain slapped a Malt Tax on malted barley to try and control the "unruly" Kingdom of Ireland. In true rebellious spirit, the Irish started making their whiskey with just enough malted barley to make a point but still keep the whiskey's quality and taste intact. This led to the creation of Single Pot Still whiskey, which became famous worldwide. By 1835, Ireland had 93 large distilleries, mostly in cities, and almost all of them were making Single Pot Still whiskey. But between the mid-1830s and the early 1850s, three major events started the decline of Irish whiskey.

In the 1830s, an Irishman named Aeneas Coffey came up with an invention called the Coffey Still, which was an early version of today’s column still. Unlike pot stills that work in batches, the Coffey still could distill whiskey continuously.

Even though Coffey's invention was pretty neat, Irish distillers weren't interested in buying it because they liked the taste and quality of their traditional pot stills. However, the Coffey Still found its place across the Irish Sea in Scotland and played a huge role in the rise of blended Scotch whisky, which mixes single malt whisky with column-distilled grain whisky.

Then, in 1838, the Abstinence Society popped up in Ireland. This Society was Ireland's version of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and the Anti-Saloon League in the U.S., which were big players in pushing for Prohibition.

Lastly, the Irish Famine hit in the late 1840s, causing mass starvation of the Irish people. Around a million people died, and another 1 to 1.5 million emigrated away from Ireland. These events led to most Irish distilleries shutting down.

When Prohibition hit the U.S. in 1919, and the Anglo-Irish trade wars kicked off in the 1930s, Ireland lost its main markets for exporting pot still whiskey. By the time 1960 rolled around, only three distilleries were still up and running in Ireland. Fast forward to the 1980s, and Green Spot was the only Single Pot Still brand still being produced.

Luckily for us, over the last 30 years, thanks to the comeback and growing love for whiskey, Single Pot Still Whiskey has made a strong return. Some Single Pot Still brands you probably know are Red Breast, Green Spot (and its Blue, Red, and Gold Spot versions), Middleton, and Teeling.

The Millers from Talnua Distillery discovered Single Pot Still whiskey one laid-back afternoon at a Dublin pub during their honeymoon. They were watching a rugby game when a fresh batch of the newly released Redbreast whiskey showed up. The bartender poured them a dram, and they were hooked on the whiskey's style right away.

Jump to 2025... Talnua's anniversary lands right on St. Patrick's Day. To celebrate, they throw a multi-day party. The highlight of this tradition is the release of their annual Olde Saint's Keep whiskey. 2023's release won them a World Whiskies Best American Single Pot Still Whiskey award and sells out quicker and quicker each year. Fortunately, I happened to be in Denver for this year's event and picked up a bottle to share with all of our Members.

From Talnua's whiskey release notes for their 2025 Olde Saint's Keep Whiskey.....

"This year's Old Saints Keep is an American single pot still whiskey is triple distilled from a mash of 50% unmalted barley and 50% malted barley.

This year’s release was aged for 2 1/2 years in Ex-Bourbon barrels with both French Oak and American Oak staves.

From there, the whiskey was transferred into barrels that first held Pedro Ximenez Sherry for 17 years, followed by PX Solera Brandy from 1948 for 13 years.

Our whiskey rested in those barrels for 2 years and 3 months, giving it a final age statement of 4 years and 9 months.

At 100 proof (50% ABV), this whiskey delivers a bold yet refined profile, with limited availability of fewer than 1,000 bottles, making it a must-have for collectors and connoisseurs alike."

I hope you enjoy your samples of the 2025 Olde Saint's Keep. Share your tasting notes in the comments. All who share your tasting notes will be entered into a drawing for a little something.