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A drink with… Michael Flatley
Known for taking over the world with Riverdance, Michael Flatley is hoping to win over the hearts of drinkers with his new Irish whiskey brand.
*This feature was originally published in the May 2024 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.
What made you decide to launch an Irish whiskey?
My father was my hero when I was a little child. He used to come home from those freezing cold Chicago winters and he always asked for a shot of whiskey, but he always insisted that it was Irish whiskey. Later on in life, about 1999, I bought a property in Ireland that was derelict. So one of the first things I decided was to put in an Irish whiskey room in my father’s honour, and so I got the first whiskey barrels delivered in 1999, and filled in 2000. So they’ll be maturing 25 years now, but they’re my own private stock. And then about eight years ago, I was getting an award in New York City, and I met a man called Jim Clerkin [ex-CEO of Moët-Hennessy North America]. And so I asked him, ‘Jim, let’s get together’. I wanted to do an Irish whiskey. So we started kind of thinking about it. Then I hired Pierrick Bouquet, of Whispering Angel fame, and found one of the great Irish whiskey blenders, Noel Sweeney, to help me create the blend.
What’s in the pipeline for the brand?
The first whiskey, The Dreamer, is a five-year-old. I don’t know of any other first offerings that are five years old. I wanted to spend the extra money, spend the extra time and do it right. And it meant the world to me to have this product be a special product. So it’s a premium product, but as I’m the sole owner of the company, I also fought to keep the price at a point where the average working man or woman can afford to have a drink. This would be the first of a whole line of whiskeys that we’re creating. As we progress, there will be older whiskeys and different blends. I’d like them to be a bit of a surprise. There’s gonna be three or four more ones that we are already working on.
Are you looking at cask finishes?
We certainly are, I spoke with Pierrick about doing some special cask finishes with some of the top five growths [Bordeaux wine makers of Premier Cru] – Château Latour, Château Mouton [Rothschild], Château Petrus. We’re looking at all different kinds of things. We’re looking at a possible blend with Bourbon and a possible blend with Japanese whisky at some point. We have a lot in the pipeline, but my first focus is to make The Dreamer a hit and to take that globally. We should be in America by August, and hopefully in the UK soon after.
What is the goal for the brand?
I’d like to see us shoulder to shoulder with all of the other great Irish whiskeys that are on sale globally. I’d like to see us being part of the Irish whiskey movement, be part of the Irish whiskey success story. I’ve been touring the world for 30 years now, promoting Ireland and Irish culture, and all things Irish, and in a sort of classic, dignified way. And I think that the whiskey is just an extension of that. I would like to think that the average person will look at a bottle of Flatley Whiskey and say yeah, there’s a touch of class there when they taste it. They certainly feel like wow, that was worth every penny. That’s my goal.
Do you see any similarities between your career as a dancer and the whiskey industry?
Yes, I do. At the end of the day, it is about bringing people together. In celebration. I like to think I’m in the joy business. Our shows travel the world and we’ve never done a show that didn’t finish with a standing ovation. People leave happy, smiling, with their hearts singing and their toes tapping, and that’s what I do. And I would like to think that the whiskey is similar and that it brings people together in celebration. People from all walks of life from all over the world can sit down and have a drink of this whiskey and talk and celebrate or just have a good time. Flatley Whiskey is about joy.
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