Fallen Irish trees turned into whiskey barrels

A 1,000-year-old Irish oak tree has been transformed into three exceptionally rare whiskey casks.

The tree was found on land owned by the Preston family.

Descendants of the renowned Preston's of Drogheda, Co Louth - who were operators of a prominent whiskey bonding business for almost a century from 1886.

The collaboration between Drogheda-based Boann Distillery, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel and Swainstown Farm, marks the first time in over a century that complete Irish oak whiskey casks have been coopered by Irish hands on Irish soil.

A selected section of the tree was transported to the Vosges region of France, where specialist mills split the log and converted it into the shaped staves - the shaped lengths of wood that form the sides of a barrel - together with the heads required to make a cask.

The oak then underwent approximately 24 months of natural outdoor seasoning before returning to Ireland.