As someone who grew up in a “Powers house” - that is, a house that stocked a bottle of Powers “just in case” (in case of what was never made clear) I have come to understand the enduring love that people have not just for Powers whiskey, but for the Powers brand.

It is a storied brand, a beloved brand, a part of Irish history and an integral part of Irish whiskey past, present and hopefully future.

This enduring love for Powers started with the Powers family, the decisions they made, the way they treated their employees and the large imprint they left on their communities and country.

It may be more than 220 years since James Power first distilled his eponymous whiskey in John’s Lane in Dublin, and though his whiskey and the entire industry saw their fair share of ups and downs since then, demand for Powers is growing globally and I wager that the reason for this growth is bigger than the whiskey alone.

In this episode of Stories & Sips I share some of the stories I learned from my day with Carol Quinn, Irish Distillers Archivist at the Midleton Distillery where we pored over Powers memorabilia and whiskeys dating back more than 100 years to understand why we are still fascinated and excited by a brand and a whiskey that could have been left in the annals of history, yet today is going from strength to strength.

Sláinte.