As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, a distillery in County Down is marking the milestone with a tribute rooted in shared history.
The award-winning Hinch Distillery has unveiled The Irish Signatories - a strictly limited private barrel bottling of 10-year-old triple-distilled single malt Irish whiskey. Each cask yields 250 individually numbered bottles, created to honor the Irish influence woven into America’s foundation.
Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration in 1776, at least eight were of Irish descent - pioneers, visionaries and patriots whose legacy helped shape a new nation. The Irish Signatories programme honors that connection with a release that, the distillery says, is "as rare as the moment it commemorates". TIMELY RELEASE: Dr. Terry Cross in the Hinch Distillery bonded warehouse
“This is about more than whiskey,” said Terry Cross, Chairman of Hinch Distillery and recipient of the prestigious Cúchulainn Award from the Ireland-U.S. Council in New York in 2023. “It is about recognizing the bold thinking and determination that defined both Ireland’s emigrants and America’s founders. The Irish Signatories is our way of marking 250 years of shared independence.”
Each cask in the programme is presented with a commemorative 250th anniversary label and may be personalized - allowing families, organizations and collectors to create a bespoke legacy release. Priced at $25,000 per cask, each allocation also includes a $1,000 donation to a U.S. charity, reinforcing the programme’s transatlantic spirit.
Matured and hand-finished in County Down, the release arrives at a time when demand for Irish whiskey in the United States is at historic highs.
Only 250 casks will be released.
More information on the historic release is available on the distillery website or by email.
