You know Conor McGregor.
Revered (and feared) MMA champion. Prolific trash-talker. All-around crazy Irishman. Maker of bicycles...
Well, add to that growing list of descriptors "guy who makes whiskey." Indeed, McGregor has just launched his own Irish whiskey, Proper No. Twelve, so named for the district in which the fighter grew up. It's available nationwide and online now, as well as in Ireland, if happen to be in Ireland.
It should be said that, as one of his country's most famous exports, McGregor has been approached to endorse an Irish whiskey before. But, the passionate man he is, he turned them down, opting instead to craft his own whiskey.
He needed some help, of course. So McGregor turned to master distiller David Elder (formerly of a small, not-famous beer company called Guinness), and together they created close to 100 blends at the world's oldest whiskey distillery, ultimately selecting one that met the athlete's high standards.
The result is a mixture of very fine golden grain and single malt, produced in an area renowned for its rich soil and pure spring water, triple-distilled and aged in oak barrels. The taste: complex yet approachable so, with notes of vanilla, honey and toasted wood. It probably goes down smoothest right after a big fight, when you're still nursing your wounds. Or at any other time that doesn't involve physical violence.
You can find the whiskey online at Minibar and numerous brick-and-mortar locations across the U.S. For every case sold, they'll also donate $5 to local first responder organizations and charities.
