Two Origins Distillery
Two Origins is a marriage between Irish distillation and French winemaking, a reflection of the familial origins of the teams behind the project.
Andrew Eakin and Naomi Murtagh, the Irish part of the Two Origins team, began their spirits journey as owners of the highly-regarded Bottle Apostle wine and spirits chain in London. Eventually, they left the world of retail and moved their family to Bordeaux in 2016, purchasing Château Puynard and Château Magdaline Bouhou in Blaye, Côtes de Bordeaux region to pursue winemaking and distillation.
From the very beginning, Andrew and Naomi enlisted top talent in each of their projects. For Two Origins, they work with Ludwig Vanneron (Master Winemaker, Distiller, Oenologist) from the Cognac region with 22 years of experience in the wine business in 17 countries. Working alongside Ludwig is Isabelle Bolatre, originally from Bourg-en-Bresse in the Rhône Alps, who brings viticultural expertise to their projects. Together, Ludwig and Isabelle represent the French half of the Two Origins team, lending their knowledge of distillation and viticultural cooperage to the project. They also contribute to Château Puynard, a small, regeneratively-farmed winery breaking the mold of conventional Bordeaux production, also imported by De Maison Selections.
One of the most impressive features of their venture is the collective team environment that Andrew and Naomi foster across their businesses. Their collaborative spirit and joie de vivre presides over everything they do, a breath of fresh air in the Bordeaux region. This is the spirit of the “New Bordeaux” movement, which divorces itself from the baggage of tradition. Their team brings experience and excitement to their task of creating a new and exciting spirits category in the center of the famous wine region.
This merger of French and Irish beverage expertise is far from new. Irish winemakers have been present in Bordeaux since the mid- to late 1700s, many of them having fled political turmoil in Ireland and finding safe haven in what is now Nouvelle-Aquitaine, in southwest France. Some of these winemakers even have ties to several first growth Châteaux in the Bordeaux region. The same holds true with the spirits of the region; in Cognac, the Hennessy house was founded by Irishman Richard Hennessy, a former Irish military officer who began one of the world’s most dominant spirits dynasties. The two-way conversation between southwestern France and Ireland and England is deeply embedded in the region’s history.
In keeping with this cultural interchange, Two Origins marries the long history of whiskey production in Ireland with the wine tradition and aging methods of Bordeaux. Andrew’s strong spirits relationships from his time as a retailer in London gave him access to world-class Irish whiskey, from which he selected a trio of whiskies distilled by a very well-regarded craft distillery, from which he created their signature Two Origins Whiskey to be aged in Bordeaux in a wide variety of twelve different barrels and styles.
Through this initial experimentation, the team created the first mark of Two Origins Irish Whiskey. Two Origins is a blend of 85% double and triple-distilled barley whiskey and 15% grain distillate, cask-aged for four years in Ireland. The grain and malt whiskeys are aged separately in ex-bourbon barrels, in a ratio of roughly 3:1 with Central American rum casks in Ireland, prior shipment to Bordeaux. In Bordeaux, the whiskies are then individually aged in a variety of barrels, each lending its own well-defined character to the spirit: ex-Cognac, ex-Rum, ex-Sauternes, ex-Apple Brandy, ex-Jack Daniels, ex-Sherry, ex-Margaux appellation, and a small amount of new oak each impart added complexity to the whiskey. To finish, the Two Origins whiskey is downproofed with deionized water to 43%, with no added color or chill-filtration.
Two Origins Whiskey is a masterfully made spirit that retains its essential Irish whiskey identity while reflecting its creators’ roots and inspirations in its barrel-finishing. It is a celebration of friendship, of Bordelaise and Irish history, and of the heritages that follow no matter where one calls home.
