Gifted Irish distiller finds his heart’s desire in Minnesota

Brian Nation is delighted he moved to the USA to enjoy success with new Keeper’s Heart whiskey brand.

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The O’Shaughnessy Distilling Co in Minneapolis, USA, where Irish master distiller Brian Nation has developed Keeper’s Heart whiskey.

By John Daly, Irish Examiner

Brian Nation smiles whenever he hears grumbling about how chilly the Irish winter has been this year. Now transplanted to Minnesota, his winter experience is more accustomed to six-foot snow drifts and sub-zero temperatures.

Having previously worked as Master Distiller with Jameson Distillery, Brian moved to America in 2021, bringing his talents to the O’Shaughnessy Distilling Co as a master distiller. Keeper’s Heart is a combination of Irish and American whiskey traditions, blending Irish Triple Pot distilled whiskey, Irish Grain whiskey with American rye and bourbon.

The blend became the most awarded new whiskey brand in 2022, including International Wine and Spirits Challenge Platinum, Critics Challenge International Platinum, and PR Award Double Gold honours.

“If somebody was told me three years ago that I’d have left Irish Distillers and moved my whole family to Minneapolis to start up a new brand, I would probably have said they were mad. But that was before I met cousins Patrick and Michael O’Shaughnessy, and maybe the timing was right in my career and in my life as well,” he explained of the career move across the Atlantic.

“When I met them there was a fantastic connection and I loved the values that they stood for. I loved the opportunity that they were bringing and the passion they had for developing a brand — all of that excited me. To think that I could have the opportunity to be involved in developing a new distillery and a new brand from the ground up kind of excited me. Doing this with the whole family in a different country all seemed to fit together. So, I decided to take the plunge.”

The vision of the O’Shaughnessy cousins was inspiring, Brian admits, and set about creating an innovative liquid portfolio celebrating family and heritage. “Keeper’s Heart is my passion project, and I’m proud whenever I return home to share with my friends and family what we’ve been up to across the pond.”

The decision to move to the United States was not an easy one, a major life move that impacted on the whole family. “I have two teenage daughters and a son who turns nine this year, so moving to the U.S. was a big move for us. The biggest challenge was leaving our families—we are all very close. We’ve never lived outside of Cork, not to mind moving to the U.S.”

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Master Distiller Brian Nation, creator of Keeper’s Heart whiskey.

Happily, since the family’s arrival in August 2021, they have had “an incredible experience” in the United States. “My wife and kids have really embraced the new adventure and are loving their time there. For me, the challenges that come with being part of a new start up and building a brand from the ground up have been invigorating.”

While they were concerned about the cold and snowy weather, the Nation family were pleased to discover that the locals are well-prepared for the winter months, and it was surprisingly easy to adjust to driving in snowy conditions. “One of the biggest surprises for us has been how quickly we were able to become part of the community. The people here have been incredibly friendly and welcoming from the moment we arrived, and we have been fortunate to make some wonderful friends. The inclusive nature of the community has been a huge help in making our transition to life in the US much smoother and easier.”

The prospect of working on the creation of Keeper’s Heart from the ground up was a large part of what encouraged Brian in making this major career move. “Absolutely, it was a huge part of my decision. Prior to being approached by the O’Shaughnessys, I had no intention of leaving my previous role and had envisioned retiring from it. However, after meeting with them, I was immediately drawn to their passion and shared vision for creating a brand of whiskey that blended both Irish and American distilling traditions.”

He lists the opportunity to bring together the best of both Irish and American whiskey-making techniques as amongst the most exciting aspects of creating Keeper’s Heart: “By blending these styles together and also distilling American whiskey in the Irish style of triple copper pot distillation, we are effectively ‘Irish-ising American whiskey and American-ising Irish whiskey’. This innovative approach to whiskey-making has been incredibly rewarding and has provided a unique challenge that has kept me energised and motivated.”

Mixing the traditions of Irish whiskey into an American working environment has offered a new chapter of enlightenment at this stage of life—a welcome move out of his comfort zone. “There is so much to learn about the American whiskey process, the flavour profiles and then understanding how to use the Irish triple pot still process to enhance those flavours. The outcome has been brilliant and it is really exciting to watch these distillates mature and see the development of the whiskey flavours.”

The addition of having the opportunity to blend both Irish and American whiskey together and showcasing for the first time the richness of an Irish potstill coupled with the spiciness of a rye or the boldness of a bourbon was a great learning experience: “In terms of finding the right proportions of each where the whiskey delivers that extra dimension of aroma, mouth-feel, flavour and complexity that you would not get from a 100% Irish whiskey or a 100% American whiskey. We have also been very fortunate to attract David Perkins the founder of High West Whiskey as an investor and Liquid Collaborator in the business which has really brought great authenticity to our story from an American Whiskey drinkers’ perspective,” he adds.

Having given his career so far to the creation and promotion of Irish whiskey, Brian takes obvious pride in seeing a globally recognised product continue to thrive across international markets. “It is indeed great to see Irish whiskey go from strength to strength each year, and it is also very heartening to see the newer brands from newer distilleries finding their way onto shelves across the world. I think the advantage that we have with Keeper’s Heart is that we can contribute and share in the successes of both the Irish and American categories, and we can also help drive innovation across both categories. We are very proud of what we are doing and where we all came from and that Irish connection not just for me but for the founders will always play an important role in everything that we do.”

Keeper’s Heart has already had a successful first year in business—a very small brand with bold ideas and big ambitions. “This is one of the reasons that we decided to launch in Ireland. We are also having lots of fun along the way, and I feel we really showcased this in our ad campaign ‘Good Luck Brian’ which actually won the Best Ad Campaign at the Icons of Whiskey event in Kentucky.”

Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes—all currently frozen—is known for its Twin Cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the latter where the Nation family now calls home. “There is a very proud Irish community, the Irish Fair of Minnesota takes place in St Paul every summer and draws crowds of over 100,000—most of whom have parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on from Ireland. Saint Paul and Minneapolis have a number of big celebrations in the run-up to St Patrick’s Day; both have parades on the day itself. Keeper’s Heart Whiskey will play a dominant part in these parades in 2024, just like we did last year.”