Finian Sedgwick on Launching Black Emerald Irish Whiskey

Finian Sedgwick returns to the podcast with something he’s dreamed about for years: his own Irish whiskey brand. After years in hospitality and the spirits business, he has officially launched Black Emerald Irish Whiskey with partners Ernest Cantillon and Simon Zebo.Following its debut late last year in Ireland and Australia, Black Emerald is now arriving in the United States just ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.In this special Thursday release, Finian joins David to unpack the entire journey behind Black Emerald: selecting the liquid, developing the inaugural expressions, obsessing over every element of the label design, and the surreal moment of finally seeing the finished bottles in the real world.They also explore the two debut releases—a 7-year rum-cask finish and a 15-year cognac-cask finish—along with the profile of each expression and what may come next for the brand.Sláinte!NotesBlack Emerald US websiteBlack Emerald IGBlack Emerald FBBlack Emerald X⁠⁠Bar Hacks IG⁠⁠⁠⁠David Klemt IG⁠⁠⁠⁠KRG Hospitality IG⁠⁠⁠⁠KRG Hospitality website