Matthew Kelley views himself as an envoy for Irish whiskey, after learning its rise and fall and befriending numerous bartenders and distillers all through Eire.
Matthew Kelley want to make clear that his son will not be named Dingle. In April 2019, Kelley had plans to go to Eire for the launch of Dingle’s first single malt. An avid Irish whiskey fan, he couldn’t look forward to the journey. That very same 12 months, Kelley and his spouse, Ashley, realized that they might expect their first baby collectively, with the physician’s go to that exposed the child’s intercourse occurring on the identical day his airplane was to depart.
The 2 agreed to attend till he returned to South Carolina to share the information with their household, however with a sonogram picture tucked inside his passport, Kelley needed to inform somebody. “Being impatient and desirous to share the information, 10 hours later, I’m huddled up in a pub over in Dublin, sharing this data, this information that we’re having a little bit boy, with a few of my closest associates in Eire,” he says. The journey changed into fairly the celebration, and whereas he has a bottle stashed from that occasion to share along with his son as soon as he comes of age, the couple stopped in need of utilizing the journey as inspiration for a reputation. “We didn’t determine to call our baby Dingle. We didn’t fairly go that far, but it surely was good enjoyable sufficient.”
For the Kelleys, the story represents how Irish whiskey is a real household affair. The couple collects, travels, and tastes collectively, and as Matthew talks of his pursuit of all issues Irish whiskey, he repeatedly makes use of “we” when describing his relationship with it. “It’s much more enjoyable to have somebody to share these items with, than to be sitting round ingesting it by your self,” he says. “In a single respect, the bottle goes twice as quick. Nevertheless it makes it lots simpler to buy whiskey once you’re each concerned within the ingesting of it.”
Poured Over
Kelley found his love of Irish whiskey in 2012, and at present has a group of between 250 and 300 bottles. His great-great-grandparents emigrated from Eire, so the nation has at all times held significance to him. “As I grew up, I took a really robust curiosity in historical past usually, in world historical past, but additionally historical past of this place the place my household was from, and that intersected with my eventual curiosity in Irish whiskeys,” he says.
Kelley on the Dingle Distillery in 2019.
Kelley has learn concerning the historic fall of Irish whiskey from its days as a worldwide powerhouse within the nineteenth century to its depressed state close to the tip of the twentieth, when solely three distilleries remained. He tasted and realized, looking for out consultants like Irish Distillers’ blenders Kevin O’Gorman and Billy Leighton. “I discovered myself reaching out to individuals over in Eire who’ve helped me alongside the best way, each by way of schooling and pleasure of the whiskey,” he says, noting that he’s now associates with many of those sources, citing Chris Hennessy, basic supervisor of The Dylan Whisky Bar in Kilkenny, for example. “These associates—the pub homeowners, drink business consultants, people who work at distilleries, and the historians over there—have guided me on my private journey.”
Whereas Kelley doesn’t contemplate himself an entire authority on Irish whiskey, he’s conscious of those that have mentored him—and of his position as one thing of a steward for this nice Irish contribution to the world. “It’s at all times at the back of my thoughts that I wish to do my greatest to uphold that proud custom and that heritage,” he says.
A Window By Time
Whereas he has deep respect for Irish whiskey’s historical past, Kelley enjoys seeking to the long run with maybe much more enthusiasm. The latest rise in new distilleries and the continued renaissance of single pot nonetheless Irish whiskey sign extra nice issues to come back, significantly as these newer whiskeys attain the three 12 months ageing minimal. “It looks like [it’s] by no means been extra thrilling to be into Irish whiskey, not less than in my lifetime,” he says, pointing towards the revival of historic mashbills and manufacturing methods. “That’s essentially the most thrilling factor—getting a glimpse again in historical past, whereas additionally utilizing fashionable methods.”
Not too long ago, Kelley acquired a 1940 launch of Inexperienced Spot, and tasted it alongside a present bottling. “Two utterly completely different whiskeys,” he says. This dynamic is what maybe pursuits him most: how the whiskeys and all the pieces surrounding them have modified over time, and the way he can acquire a glimpse of yesteryear. “I’m at all times looking out for historic bottles which assist inform the story of Irish whiskey,” he says. “To style among the historical past from these shuttered distilleries is a uncommon alternative.”
Kelley hasn’t but explored the rising phase of Irish-style American whiskeys; COVID-19 disrupted plans to go to Colorado’s Talnua Distillery, which is making single pot nonetheless whiskey in accordance with Irish custom. Nevertheless it pursuits him vastly to contemplate how these new arrivals will slot in with the grand scheme of Irish whiskey. “People usually have at all times felt a reference to their Irish heritage, and to now be bringing that over within the type of whiskey distillation is fairly thrilling,” he says.
Kelley will proceed embracing each the outdated and the brand new. “Making an attempt and exploring issues which can be on the forefront of what Irish whiskey will change into—that’s what retains you transferring ahead,” he says. “You deal with the previous whereas continually exploring the long run.”
Tremendous-Fan Details
Each day Drinker: Powers John’s Lane. “It’s such a very good illustration of basic Dublin pot nonetheless whiskey from the heyday of Irish distilling, and it’s typically reasonably priced too.”
The One He Goals of Making an attempt: Inish Turk Beg. “It’s only one that I needed I had bought the primary time I used to be over in Dublin and I didn’t, and now I’m kicking myself as a result of the value retains going up on it.”
Three Phrases That Greatest Describe His Relationship with Irish Whiskey: Historical past, custom, exploration
Most Memorable Irish Whiskey Second: Revealing the gender of his child to his ingesting mates in Dublin simply hours after getting the information
Most Excessive Factor He’s Completed with Irish Whiskey: Kelley combines his love of Irish whiskey and pictures on his Instagram account @vaultedbarley. On a visit to Yoho Nationwide Park within the Canadian Rockies, he and his spouse scaled down waterfalls to succeed in the riverbed. “I acquired the picture that I needed, I felt good about that, however actually, once you’re sitting again and popping open that bottle of whiskey, watching the rapids, simply sitting in nature, that’s what it was all about to me. It was completely value it.”
