Connemara is rare amongst Irish whiskey, its smokiness usually associated with the malts produced by Scotland. This style of whiskey slowly died away in Ireland after the 19th century. When Cooley Distillery (where Connemara is produced) started up in the late 1980s, there were no plans to make smoky whisky. But almost a decade later they released a peated whisky, much to many people’s surprise.
