Meet Laura O'Connor.
Laura is a psychology graduate from UCD and a former corporate lawyer. She has always loved whiskey and wanted more people to enjoy it.
Out socialising, she kept noticing the same thing. The whiskey in her glass was often assumed to belong to a man at the table. Friends who ordered wine or a gin and tonic would try hers and end up ordering whiskey. And not everyone who tried it liked it. It wasn't about gender. The problem wasn't the taste of whiskey. It was how whiskey was being sold.
Friends would ask Laura what bottle to buy as a gift, then admit they had no idea how to choose. Most went by age, price or a guess at what's prestigious. People were choosing whiskey for all the wrong reasons.
For Laura, the starting point was simple: people make decisions based on how they feel in the moment. Why should whiskey be any different?
So Ember started with the mood.
Ember is whiskey by mood. Three eight-year-old Irish whiskeys, triple-distilled, one price. Bright for lighter moments. Still for quieter ones. Deep for richer ones. No whiskey degree needed. It's about the drink, the moment and the person holding the glass.
Laura didn't want to make a whiskey for people who have to get whiskey. She wanted to make a whiskey that gets people.
Laura O'Connor
Founder, Ember Irish Whiskey