In Time For Halloween, Dingle Turns To Samhain
Ireland’s Dingle Distillery has announced the U.S. launch of Samhain Single Malt Whiskey, the first expression to come from the brand’s new Wheel of the Year Series. With 10,000 bottles of Dingle Samhain Single Malt Whiskey set to be released worldwide, only 1,500 of those bottles are allocated to the U.S., making for a very special and exclusive debut.
Celebrating the beginning of winter and the Celtic new year, Samhain coincides with the first release from the Dingle Distillery’s new Wheel of The Year series. Inspired by this ancient Irish celebration, the Dingle Samhain Single Malt Whiskey release is a tribute to those time-honored traditions and the heritage of Dingle Distillery.
“We are excited to reveal the Dingle Samhain Single Malt Whiskey to the U.S. market,” says Elliot Hughes, Managing Director at Dingle Distillery. “As Samhain has been celebrated in Ireland for over 2,000 years as well as annually in Dingle and across the land, this release distills a core part of our heritage. This is the first whiskey in our new Wheel of The Year Series and is steeped in the traditions of times past that we intend to honor and pay tribute. We are proud to introduce this latest edition to our Dingle family and believe this limited-edition is one that whiskey lovers and collectors won’t want to miss.”
As the Celtic Wheel of the Year is divided into eight periods, the new Dingle Wheel of The Year series is set to launch eight editions, following the rhythm of the seasons, equinoxes, and solstices. Samhain is one of the four main seasonal fire festivals, named after the belief in the cleansing powers of fire. Traditionally, after sunset, Samhain commenced with towering bonfires set ablaze in pairs and livestock were driven between them, believing that the smoke possessed cleansing powers. In ancient Ireland, farming was the epicenter of people’s lives and hugely dependent on the seasons, thus the turn of each season was celebrated with great reverence – and still is to this day. Dingle Distillery carefully selects the finest malt and barley for its whiskey and truly understands the value of a rich and bountiful harvest.
“Hotaling & Co. is excited to kick off a truly extraordinary new series from the Dingle team,” says Brian Radics, Chief Marketing Officer at Dingle Importer, Hotaling & Co. “This exclusive expression brings together Irish heritage and world-class single malt whiskey. We are proud to be paving the way for fine Irish Whiskey in the U.S.”
Marking the beginning of winter and the Celtic new year, Samhain is also the origin of Halloween, observed from sunset on October 31 to November 1. First observed by Celtic Pagans, Samhain was believed to be the day the veil between the living and the dead was especially thin allowing spirits of the dead to visit the living. During this time costumes and masks were worn to ward off harmful spirits, and these traditions have survived as Halloween customs to this day.
Matured in first fill bourbon casks before a long two-year finish in first fill Muscatel casks, the Dingle Samhain Single Malt Whiskey is bottled at 50.5% ABV and available at suggested retail price $150 per 700ml bottle.