My lightbulb moment: Drinks entrepreneur reveals the inspiration behind her Irish whiskey brand

Louise McGuane, 42, is the founder of whiskey bonding company J. J.Corry. She lives in London and in Ireland with her husband, Dominic McCarthy, and their dog, Ruby.

I fell into the drinks industry by chance in my early 20s. I grew up in Ireland, and after college, moved to America, where I met someone at Moët Hennessy who invited me for an interview. 

I started in marketing, but moved around departments in different multi-national drinks companies, always in the luxury high-end sector.

Louise McGuane (pictured), 42, is the founder of whiskey bonding company J. J.Corry. She lives in London and in Ireland with her husband, Dominic McCarthy, and their dog, Ruby

Getting married, in 2012, changed things. Working for global corporations you’re expected to live all over the world, but my husband ran a business in London. 

After our honeymoon, I returned to Singapore, where I was living, and he to London. After two years something had to give.

I’d noticed the Irish whiskey industry — which had collapsed in the 1930s — starting to grow. So, in 2015, I decided to start a whiskey business on my father’s dairy farm in County Clare. 

My dad is nearly 80 and as neither I nor my brother are farmers, I wanted to give the farm a future.

She realised it was a lost art and decided to bring it back, under the brand name J. J.Corry — a piece of heritage from her community

The first thing I did was research the local history of distillation. I found an antique dealer on eBay selling whiskey labels from the 1890s in my town, so I drove to his house and asked about them.

He had a shed full of receipts, telegrams, wrapping and adverts from J. J.Corry, a local whiskey bonder from the 19th century.

I’d never heard the term ‘whiskey bonding’, but it was once the prevalent way whiskey was sold. A bonder sources whiskey from distilleries then matures, blends, bottles and brands it.

I realised it was a lost art and decided to bring it back, under the brand name J. J.Corry — a piece of heritage from my community.

I built a warehouse and, in 2016, I bought my first casks, of young whiskeys to mature and older ones ready for blending.

I was in a state of terror leading up to the launch in 2017: I needed that first whiskey to prove I could make something special through bonding. Incredibly, it won a prestigious Gold Medal award at the Irish Whiskey Awards.

Today, we are stocked at clubs and restaurants worldwide including Annabel’s and J. Sheekey in London. But I still keep innovating.