A conference on Irish Whiskey will be held in the historic Port of Youghal on the 29th./30th. September next ( 10 lectures
programme). The names of a lot of the speakers are well recognizable. This is the 11th. annual conference of 'Youghal Celebrates History'
a voluntary group of which I am part. Youghal was one of the earliest areas where whiskey was produced in the early 1600’s
as mentioned in a diary entry of Richard Boyle whose myriad of industries in the area were the subject of a previous conference. (His direct
ancestor the Duke of Devonshire still retains Lismore Castle and the Lismore Estate a few miles upriver as well as amongst other things the
bed of the River Blackwater down to the sea at Youghal.)
1617 : Richard Boyle the 1st. Earl of Cork ( and friend of Sir Walter Raleigh ) notes in his diary for 20th March, 1617 what is in all probability
the first recorded export of whiskey to America ( not just any whiskey but ‘Choice Aquavite’). The entry occurs in a sequence of entries which
show that he was in Youghal at the time.
"Sent by fforest servant to Mr. Nicholas galwaye, 32 gallons of choice Aquavite, to my cozen Barsie of Plymouth, to be presented to Sir Walter
Raleigh for his Guiana voyadge."
(The entry occurs in a sequence of entries which show that he was in Youghal at the time which also means that the whiskey was from
Youghal where the vast bulk of his various business interests were concentrated. Boyle was noted to always record gifts particularly to
Sir Walter Raleigh from whom he had bought his Youghal Estates.)
Our website is http://www.youghalcelebrateshistory.com and a PDF of our brochure is downloadable. One can also view details of our
previous conferences and speakers. Paypal is the payment method which everyone is well familiar with.In any event for Irish Whiskey
buffs who also appreciate the history aspects keep the dates free. Some members of IWS already probably got hard copies of the brochure
from the night of the June tasting, so this post is just a reminder for those who may like to attend.