Boann Distillery helps craft a landmark blended whisky to celebrate The British and Irish Lions partnership
The producers involved are Co. Meath's Boann, Echlinville (Northern Ireland), Cameronbridge (Scotland), White Peak (England) and Penderyn (Wales), each bringing a unique character to a truly unified dram.
With just 1,888 individually numbered bottles released, 1888 aims to offer fans a tangible piece of Lions and whisky history in this rare collaboration.
It was launched to mark Scottish company, Patron Saint Whisky's appointment as an Official Supplier to The British & Irish Lions Men's Team.
Patron Saint collaborates with esteemed distilleries across Ireland and Britain to create exceptional whiskies that celebrate heritage and unity.
"We are immensely proud to contribute to the creation of 1888,' said Pat Cooney, founder of family-run Boann Distillery.
'This whisky is more than a blend - it's a symbol of unity and the exceptional craftsmanship found in each of the four unions.
'The Lions represent the pinnacle of sporting achievement and tradition, and it's an honour for Boann to be part of this iconic partnership."
Crafted using an array of special casks – including Oloroso Sherry, Mourvèdre, Red Wine, and First-fill Bourbon – 1888 delivers a luxurious sensory experience.
On the nose, it reveals sweet vanilla, tangy citrus and baked fruit, followed by layers of summer berries, butterscotch and lightly toasted nuts on the palate.
The 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia began with a home fixture in Dublin on June 20, with Andy Farrell's men suffering defeat to Argentina in a thrilling tour match.
A series of high-profile matches Down Under this month will culminate in a three-Test series against the Wallabies, starting Saturday, July 19.
The release of 1888 has been supported by Lions legends John Rutherford and Craig Chalmers, both praising its craftsmanship and its connection to the spirit of the Lions.
'Just as every Lion who pulls on that jersey contributes to its enduring legacy, every dram of '1888' reflects the careful crafting and dedication that defines a Lion,' said Rutherford.
Ben Calveley, CEO of The British & Irish Lions, said, 'I am pleased to welcome Patron Saint to the Lions family and hope that our fans enjoy their unique whisky whilst they cheer on the team this summer.'
To purchase one of the limited bottles of 1888, visit patronsaintwhisky.com
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Irish Examiner
12 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Will Joe Schmidt's dice roll on Tom Lynagh define the series?
The battle of the fly-halves could just be the head-to-head that defines this series between Australia and the British & Irish Lions. Yet ahead of Saturday's first Test at Suncorp Stadium, it was the intrigue of not knowing which way it would go that made the duel between the Wallabies' rookie fly-half Tom Lynagh and Finn Russell, the Lions number 10, ready to cement his reputation as a world-class playmaker, that was so fascinating. Joe Schmidt's decision to hand 22-year-old Lynagh his first Test start in just his fourth international for Australia has to be considered a gamble. When first-choice 10 Noah Lolesio went down with a neck injury in the Wallabies' first game of 2025 against Fiji a fortnight ago, Schmidt's plans for this series needed an urgent rethink. He could have called on the more experienced Western Force fly-half/full-back Ben Donaldson to fill the breach, or even doubled down on his decision to call veteran James O'Connor out of a two-year Test exile to steady the ship. Instead, Schmidt has rolled the dice on the inexperienced son of Australian rugby royalty, Michael Lynagh, who started at 10 throughout the 1989 series against the Lions. The former Ireland boss, who is due to go up against his old defence coach and successor on the Irish job Andy Farrell in this opening rubber of the 2025 series, admitted on Tuesday he was unsure how things will turn out with Tom Lynagh at the helm, accepting it was 'probably not ideal' to hand a first international start to an untested number 10 against the Lions. Yet Schmidt sees something of the old man in Lynagh junior and that bodes well for Australia's bid to shake off the underdog tag and take this series to the Lions. 'I always felt that Michael had a real quiet control of games and a calmness about the way that he ran the game,' Schmidt said. 'And I do think there's a bit of that in Tom. 'It's always the same when you haven't seen someone at the level and they haven't been put under the pressure that's going to come, then you're not quite sure how things are going to work out. But I have real confidence in Tom and I'm sure Michael does as well.' Lions kicking coach Johnny Sexton, who made his Test debut in the famous red jersey 12 years ago on the same ground that Lynagh and Russell, 32, will do battle on Saturday morning, knows all about the pressures that are likely to come the 22-year-old Queensland Reds' way in his home stadium. It was by the side of that pitch on Friday, where the Irishman guided the Lions to victory over the Wallabies in 2013, that Sexton backed Lynagh to go well, but not too well. 'He's inexperienced in terms of the international arena, three Tests off the bench and a first start. It's a big ask for him isn't it but what a story from his point of view,' Sexton said. 'To come from the Lynagh family is a bit of pressure straight away but he seems like a calm head, I've never met the guy but seems like a mature guy. He seems like he's going to be able to manage the game well in terms of what Joe will be asking him to do. 'I hope he goes well because you never want to see any 10s go badly but hopefully not too well.' It was in stark contrast to Lynagh that Sexton assessed Russell's capabilities as the Scot readied himself for his own Lions Test start, four years on from a debut off the bench against South Africa in Cape Town and eight years past his membership of an infamous 'Geography Six' flown in by Warren Gatland for the express purpose of saving Test players' legs in midweek tour games against New Zealand Super Rugby franchises. 'He has been very stressed,' Sexton joked of the title-winning Bath fly-half. 'He has been relaxed as always, you wouldn't know it's the week of a Test match. You can see the work he does, though. You have a perception of him from the outside and I would have had the same, in terms of he is a relaxed guy and just takes things in his stride. But he does a lot of work behind the scenes, and he's been really good this week in prepping the team. As a 10, you need the guys around you prepared, you need to know what you are doing together and he has done a great job of that so far. Hopefully he'll continue his form. 'I'm sure Joe will have a plan because he'll know how integral he is to our team, and I'm sure he'll be doing everything to cut him off.' Sexton has not always been so complimentary of his former Six Nations rival, of course, and his label of Russell as 'flashy' has been difficult to live down, though the pair buried the hatchet ahead of the Lions' departure for Australia. Even so, the Lions assistant admitted he had been surprised and impressed by working with Russell on this tour. 'Like everyone, I think in the last couple of years he's really matured as a player. You can see, Bath getting to finals, winning trophies, you can't do that if you're just that kind of mercurial 10. 'You've seen that now this year. He's got his team over the line and he's won a few trophies and he's carried that form into here. We always knew, particularly when you're surrounding him with the players he's got around him, he's going to bring the best out of them and they'll bring the best out of him. So hoping that he continues that tomorrow and has a good one.' Brilliance, maturity, and steel, Sexton added. 'Well, he's been probably our best defender in the backline on this tour so far, I would say. You always knew that was in there, he's a feisty guy out there. Physically he doesn't look that big but he's fronted up big time on this tour, a lot of impact tackles and we'll need him tomorrow in that regard because they'll be coming down his channel, I'm sure.' So did that mean the term 'flashy' no longer applied? 'Oh, he's still flash, yeah! He'd hate it if I said 'no',' Sexton instantly replied. 'You see you've got to remember that I was talking about Gatland about that, I was saying what I thought he would be thinking, not what I was thinking. 'But in the last couple of years he's come into his own as a 10 and he's been able to manage a team because ultimately that's the main job that he's got tomorrow, is to manage all the guys around him. 'And then his brilliance will come out, once he's into the game.'
Irish Examiner
43 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
'Good' won't cut it for Sexton, Lions must be 'great' to beat Wallabies
It is 31 years ago since Andy Farrell the player, raided Brisbane with his mighty Wigan Warriors and left Suncorp Stadium for Lancashire with a World Club Challenge Final victory over the Queensland city's premier Rugby League club, the Broncos. What the 13-man code's archetypal 'Man of Steel' award winner would give to stage a similar success in 2025, as head coach of the British & Irish Lions against an Australia side being written off by many as rank outsiders on home soil, despite the presence of Farrell's old boss Joe Schmidt at the helm and a wrecking ball centre partnership of Len Ikitau and Joseph Suaalii. That bookmakers' odds were an immediate red flag to Farrell as he discussed Saturday's first Test back at Suncorp. 'I haven't played against many Australian sides that, as you guys have pointed out to me, are underdogs,' the Lions boss said. 'I'm sure they'll want to prove a point in terms of that type of thing.' Farrell bumped into an old Broncos sparring partner, Gorden 'Raging Bull' Tallis on Thursday as he took a stroll through Brisbane, and their 20-minute conversation underlined there was no such thing as an Aussie underdog. "I actually saw him in the street, walking down the street. I went, 'Gordie, what are you doing here?' So we had a good 20 minutes in the street. It was great to catch up again... "Talking to Gorden Tallis today, he used to say that everyone used to talk about Queensland being underdogs. He said, 'we never, ever saw it that way,' and Australia will be exactly the same. 'It's something that we've talked about from day one. If you're in a position where it comes down to this every 12 years and you get to pull the shirt on for the Wallabies and the privilege that goes with that, representing your country, they'll be fighting tooth and nail, won't they.' The loss to injury of powerhouse forwards Will Skelton and Rob Valetini has been another boost to the Lions' favouritism for this Test series opener but Farrell's kicking coach Johnny Sexton was similarly dismissive of such outside noise when he spoke to the media on Friday, inside the stadium where he had made his debut as a Test Lions in 2013. 'We don't pay too much attention to the bookies odds or what people are saying,' the former fly-half said. 'We're just concentrating on tomorrow and trying to put a great performance out there. 'That's what will be needed: a great performance, not a good performance, to beat this Australian team. They're a proud nation, they're a top class team, they're well-coached, and we need to get the best version of ourselves out there.' Asked to elaborate on what 'great… not good' actually looked like from a Lions point of view, Sexton said: 'We have a game plan, we have all sorts of things we want to achieve in terms of the rugby side of things, good or okay is not going to be good enough. 'We need to do it really, really well to impose our game on Australia and I think that is where all the focus is for the players now, really zoning in on the plan and if that is clear in your mind it allows you to bring in the other things in rugby which are important, which is your physicality, showing how much it means to play for the Lions.' The tourists will be tested, this is a Joe Schmidt team after all, and one desperate to take their once every dozen years' shot at the Lions. The Wallabies will be thoroughly cheesed off by being dismissed as a threat to Farrell's squad but they may find themselves outgunned physically by an all-singing, all-dancing forward pack that could seriously limit the amount of go-forward ball the likes of Ikitau, Suaalii and full-back Tom Wright need to thrive in broken field play. Farrell made that clear when he issued his demands for the Lions in Brisbane. 'You've got to stamp your authority on the game and understand that it's not going to go swimmingly well all the time. How you react to that sort of stuff, to make sure that you stay on point because that's the nature when two sides in a Test match that means so much, that's how it's going to go. 'So how we're physically and mentally in control, that's going to be key.' AUSTRALIA: T Wright; M Jorgensen, J-A Suaalii, L Ikitau, H Potter; T Lynagh, J Gordon; J Slipper, M Faessler, A Alaalatoa; N Frost, J Williams; N Champion de Crespigny, F McReight, H Wilson - captain. Replacements: B Pollard, A Bell, T Robertson, T Hooper, C Tizzano, T McDermott, B Donaldson, A Kellaway. BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: H Keenan (Ireland); T Freeman (England), H Jones (Scotland), S Tuipulotu (Scotland), J Lowe (Ireland); F Russell (Scotland), J Gibson-Park (Ireland); E Genge (England), D Sheehan (Ireland), T Furlong (Ireland); M Itoje (England) – captain, J McCarthy (Ireland); T Beirne (Ireland), T Curry (England), J Conan (Ireland). Replacements: R Kelleher (Ireland), A Porter (Ireland), W Stuart (England), O Chessum (England), B Earl (England), A Mitchell (England), M Smith (England), B Aki (Ireland). Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Pete Samu absence to provide extra motivation against Lions, says Toutai Kefu
The British and Irish Lions have been accused of preventing Pete Samu from appearing for the First Nations and Pasifika XV because they were scared of defeat in Tuesday's final midweek fixture. Samu has been withdrawn from the side comprising of players with First Nations or Pacific Island heritage after it emerged that he did not fulfil strict eligibility criteria having only recently signed for the NSW Waratahs. The composite team replaced the Melbourne Rebels in the Lions' touring schedule after they entered administration and the terms of agreement for the game state only those currently attached to Super Rugby franchises can be selected. Australia number 8 Samu, who has spent the last two seasons at French club Bordeaux, was able to play for the AUNZ Invitational XV that faced the Lions in Adelaide last Saturday because that match operated under different terms. The Lions say they did not object to Samu's selection for Tuesday's showdown at Marvel Stadium but Rugby Australia are understood to dispute this. On the eve of the first Test in Brisbane, First Nations and Pasifika head coach Toutai Kefu said the row would provide his players with ammunition to cause a famous upset. "I'm absolutely gutted, I still can't believe that they would do it, complain about it, I suppose it is what it is, but it's extra motivation for our boys," Kefu said. "We're a team that's just been put together, we're facing a massive challenge as it is, so he (Samu) would have definitely strengthened us, there's no doubt about that. "They must have been worried we were going to win. I don't know why they would do it." RA is disappointed that Samu will not be in action in the fixture that takes place between the first and second Tests. "Pete Samu is a valued member of the Waratahs and has added greatly to the First Nations & Pasifika squad since entering camp. We had naturally hoped he would be playing in this fixture," an RA spokesperson said.
