Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/29638
BRAND PROFILE Michael Collins was featured at a recent mixologists’ event at 15 Romolo in San Francisco. Eire Apparent F by Daedalus Howell or those with any inkling of Irish history or—more likely on this side of the pond—who remember a certain mid-‘90s flick depicting the life and death of an IRA revolutionary played by Liam Neeson, the name Michael Collins might ring a bell. And that’s the point, explains Abaigeal Hendron, Marketing Brand Manager for Michael Collins Irish Whiskey. “Instead of naming it after a distiller or a place in Ireland, we decided to name it after a gentleman named Michael Collins who fought for Irish independence in the 1920s,” she elaborates. “The whole theme of the brand is independence, character and being authentically Irish.” Distilled by Cooley Distillery, the only independently-owned distill- ery in Ireland, both the Blend and 10 Year Old Single Malt, while very different in style, are complex and well-balanced whiskeys. Malted barley is double-distilled in small, long-neck stills that increase the spirit’s exposure to copper, resulting in flavors and characteristics that can stand up on their own or when mixed in a cocktail. The Blend is a combination of malted barley and corn whiskies, while the Single Malt has at least ten percent of peated malt, for quiet hints of smoke and oak. Michael Collins now sports new packaging. At a recent mixologists’ event at San Francisco’s 15 Romolo, Michael Collins made its case that, as Hendron puts it, “There’s more to life than a shot or an Irish Coffee.” Sláinte! Michael Collins, which won a Double Gold medal in this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition, is imported by Sidney Frank Importing Co. 26 / the tasting panel / april 201 1 MICHAEL COLLINS IRISH WHISKEY MEANS CHARACTER AND INDEPENDENCE PHOTO: DAEDALUS HOWELL