What Company Is Behind Costco's Kirkland Brand Irish Whiskey?
Among bargain-hunting whiskey enthusiasts, Costco's Kirkland Signature whisk(e)ys are legendary. For the price, the value they offer is unbeatable — take their Irish whiskey as an example: the 1.75-liter, four-year-old goes between $30 to $45. Never tried Kirkland's liquor and suspicious of the price? Don't be, this whiskey is very well-reviewed by pundits.
But like most Kirkland products, Costco doesn't distill the whiskey themselves but rather, they partner with white-label distilleries who would make and ship the liquors off to Costco for bottling under their home brand as Kirkland scotches, Kirkland vodkas, and, yes, Kirkland Irish whiskeys. The names of these distilleries are very well-kept secrets. Fortunately, thanks to the sleuthing work by the YouTube channel Irish Whiskey LAD, we can make some educated guesses on who they are.
Specifically, we can look at the portfolio of the company responsible for importing the liquor into the United States for Costco which, according to the back label, is MISA Imports. Previously in 2022, it was found by Irish Whiskey LAD that MISA was working with Terra Spirits & Liqueurs, which produced the Mr. Whiskey Irish whiskey. This was very likely the juice found in Kirkland's Irish at the time. As of December 2023, MISA Imports was still listed as the main importer of liquor for Costco, but the company no longer partners with Terra. Instead, they now partner with 3 Counties Spirit Company and Ballykeefe Distillery — both are likely candidates as the original distiller of this fragrant Costco whiskey today.
3 Counties Spirit Company
When you read the writings on the back label of the Kirkland Signature Irish Whiskey bottle (one sold in the United States), you'll find that the whiskey was imported via MISA Imports, a liquor importing and distribution company based out of Dallas, Texas. Using this as the first lead, you can head on over to their website where they have a portfolio of products and trading partners. In the "Whiskey" section, its Irish whiskey offerings include Galtee Mountain Boy, Irish Rover, and Ballykeefe.
When we dig into these three brands, it turns out that two of them — Galtee Mountain Boy and Irish Rover — are made by a single distillery: 3 Counties Spirit Company located in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland. Both are triple-distilled whiskeys and were described as having a minimum aging time of three years in bourbon casks. All these details are fairly consistent with the back label's description of Kirkland's Irish, which mentioned that the juice within was triple-distilled and being four-year-olds.
Interestingly, the distillery's front page states that it works with: "a long established network of distributors" to help bring its liquors from the stills to the glass, which we know MISA Imports is a part of. It's not a leap too far for the imagination to think that Costco and its Kirkland home brand may be a part of this supply chain, too.
Ballykeefe Distillery
The second company that was mentioned by MISA is Ballykeefe Distillery. A quick search would tell you that the company is located in the small town of Cuffesgrange, County Kilkenny, Ireland. Per the presentation slides found on MISA's portfolio, this is a family-owned distillery that has received lots of accolades and awards over the years for the quality of their spirits. Ballykeefe offers a long list of spirits, but notably, they have two private-label Single Malt and Single Pot Still Irish whiskeys on offer. While they both lack age statements unlike 3 Counties' liquors, the two are triple-distilled and aged in oak casks, which are also consistent with the generic description on Kirkland's Irish.
The company made no mention of any partnership with Costco (or any partnership in general,) but if it's part of MISA Imports' portfolio, then there's still a chance — although slighter than 3 Counties — that its juices made it inside a Kirkland's Irish bottle.
All in all, while these are both good guesses, it's difficult to pin down who exactly makes the sweet-smelling liquor inside the Kirkland Irish whiskey bottles. But so long that it's affordable, tastes great, and is accessible ... you won't find us complaining as we sip our Irish whiskey-spiked iced coffee.