BUFFALO, N.Y. — It all began with a simple thought says Joe Mattimore at Buffalo Distilling Company on Seneca Street in Larkinville. "Last spring we had an idea to do something special for the Saint Patrick's Day," he said.
What better idea than to add to their growing menu of spirits.
Joe says that led them to the southern coast of Ireland, West Cork, to be exact. They worked a deal with a distillery there and an importer to turn that idea to reality.
"We shipped in a big tote of Irish whiskey and once we got it here we put it into ruby red port casks from Portugal. So it's been aging for the past year in those casks and it really turns this, you know, beautiful, silky. smooth Irish whiskey into something really special." And, he says, the first of its kind. "As far as we know, this is the first Irish whiskey brought in to Buffalo under a Buffalo label."
For it to be a true Irish whiskey, it has to be distilled in Ireland.
But Mattimore says, they wanted to make this Irish whiskey truly Buffalo. "We decided to lock in on that Buffalo Irish heritage and dedicate this bottle to a great Irishman, Bob Gallivan who was an early supporter of the distillery."
Bob Gallivan was a fixture here. He was an out-going guy, a music lover and retired firefighter of 35 years. He passed away a year ago last month.
Bob was a cousin of 2 On Your Side's Pete Gallivan, and the father of Slow Roll Buffalo founder Seamus Gallivan. "For a lot of folks, there are probably higher honors, but for my dad. this is pretty much the tops. From adorning the walls with roosters, to signing up for whatever they were selling, this was a favorite place of his so to be honored in this way is a great way of keeping his spirit alive."
The dedication and release party is Saturday, 1 p.m. until 11 p.m. at Buffalo Distilling Company.