Irish whiskey historian and author Fionnán O'Connor is working on his second book on the history of the spirit in Ireland.
Titled Créatúr, the new book will explore whisky as a living creature, from its raw materials to the people who distil it.
O'Connor and the team behind Créatúr are inviting members of the whisky community to support the book's creation through a fundraising an cask-share initiative, with 400 spots available.
For a contribution of 250€, supporters will receive: access to quarterly online chats and in-person events through the Poor Creature Hedge School, at which distillers and whisky professionals will discuss unusual whisky topics; a copy of Créatúr signed by the author on its publication in 2026; and, in 2028, a cask-strength bottle of An Créatúr Bocht (The Poor Creature), a single cask pot still whiskey distilled at Boann Distillery (from 40 per cent malt, 40 per cent raw barley, 15 per cent oats, and 5 per cent rye) that is maturing in an ex-oloroso sherry hogshead and will be bottled by Irish independent bottler Two Stacks at seven years old.
The whiskey was distilled as part of O'Connor's PhD research into lost Irish mash bills. The recipe is taken from a ledger found in the Locke's Collection in the National Library of Ireland that dates back to the 1940s. it will only be available as a constituent part of the Créatúr fundraiser.
O'Connor's first book was A Glass Apart, which was published in 2017 and is now considered to be one of the most comprehensive guides to Irish whiskey. Créatúr is billed as "a book about whisky and the people who make it"; it will trace the history of Irish distilling tradition, covering early manuscripts, the mash bills and production methods of closed Victorian distilleries, revered bottlings of the mid-20th century, and the distillers, bonders, blenders, and bartenders shaping the Irish whiskey world today.
More information can be found at creatur.ie.