Photo: Ethan Miller (Getty Images)
In perhaps the least surprising alcohol-related news ever, Irish MMA fighter, boxer, and all-around character Conor McGregor has launched his own brand of whiskey. It’s called Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey and McGregor is the founder, chairman, and majority owner of the brand. It might seem like this whiskey came out of nowhere, but it’s actually the product of many years of planning. Originally referred to as “Notorious” (the name of McGregor’s foundation), the name eventually morphed into Proper No. Twelve.
McGregor, a proud Irishman, didn’t just want to slap his name on a product with no ties to his native country. He didn’t even want someone else in Ireland to distill a product for him. He, in true McGregor fashion, wanted to get his hands dirty. He wanted to create a whiskey that would be worthy of an athlete and personality of his caliber.
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But since he didn’t have a background in distilling, he worked with master distiller David Elder to make his whiskey dream a reality. The whiskey itself is an 80 proof blend of grain and single malt whiskey.
“We created close to one hundred blends and ultimately selected what we knew was the one and only proper whiskey blend,” McGregor said in a press release.
For now, Proper No. 12 is only launching in Ireland and the U.S., but expansion to other countries is expected in 2019. Five dollars of every case sold will be donated to first responder organizations.
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“First responders all over the world are the unsung heroes who act with courage and answer the call of duty every day for people in need,” said McGregor. The donations will go to the states and countries where the sale takes place.
The whiskey’s name is a reference to the area McGregor came from: Crumlin, in Dublin 12. “It’s a place dear to my heart. It’s where I learned how to fight; it made me who I am today. It’s a place I’m still very much a part of every single day of my life,” said McGregor.
