An Irish whiskey, specially commissioned to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, has been presented to US President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton by a Belfast spirits company.
Kirker Greer Spirits produced the 25-year-old Irish whiskey ‘The Spirit of Agreement’ for just six dignitaries who visited Belfast in recent days.
The former US senator George Mitchell, former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and the US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, Joe Kennedy were also presented with a bottle alongside the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The six presentation boxes were presented by the team at Hasting Hotels while the six political figures were in Belfast to attend events marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
The spirit is a special edition of Kirker Greer’s Shamrock Irish whiskey, which is a blend of whiskeys sourced from each of Ireland’s four provinces.
In this case, the four malt whiskeys, which were aged 25 years, were rested in bourbon, Port, oloroso and marsala casks before they were blended in Belfast.
“This is a monumental occasion in Northern Ireland and it made sense as a Belfast-based blending company to celebrate this 25th anniversary with our own unique release of a 25-year-old blended malt Irish whiskey,” said Kirker Irish whiskey curator Richard Ryan.
“We’re proud that our whiskey emulates the principles of the Good Friday Agreement - each expression has its own history but together they harmonise to create something even more wonderful.”
Kirker Greer Spirits is part of the Belfast-based Drinksology Group. Its portfolio of spirit brands include Jawbox Irish Gin, Ukiyo Japanese Spirits, Ginato Italian Gin and Kirker Shamrock Whiskey.
The group also includes a design and branding division, Drinksology Creative, which has designed The Dead Rabbit pub in New York and Diageo’s new Roe & Co Distillery in Dublin.