Hinch Craft & Cask Imperial Stout

Irish Whiskey from an undisclosed Distillery

Hinch Distillery was founded by Belfast businessman Terry Cross on his Killaney Estate, just outside Ballynahinch in Co. Down. The distillery officially opened in 2021 and produces Hinch Irish Whiskey and Ninth Wave Irish Gin. We became very interested in Hinch after tasting its cracking new-make at Whiskey Live in 2022. It is distilled by Aaron Flaherty who has worked in Glen Elgin Distillery, Scotland, and with Colum Egan, master distiller at Bushmill's.

At 2024s World Whisky Awards in London, Hinch won "World's Best Blended Irish Whiskey Limited Release" for this release. It's an 80/20 blend of Irish Single Grain and Irish Single Malt, matured in ex-bourbon casks for 3-4 years before finishing for just under a year in casks that had previously held Imperial Stout from the local Whitewater Brewery in Castlewellen in Co. Down. It is bottled at 46.4% abv.