John O’Brien expects Tipperary’s vintage to produce

Tipperary’s John O’Brien in action in the Munster SFC final against Clare in 2002. Picture: Morgan Treacy/Inpho

Launching a whiskey in the middle of a pandemic sounds stark raving bonkers but you have to hear John O’Brien out.

In actual fact, the pubs were open when Jim Mac Irish Whiskey was debuted in the lead-up to the All-Ireland SHC final last December. With O’Brien’s Tipperary hurling pedigree and the label featuring a caricature of his uncle Jim McDonnell in one hand holding a hurley across his shoulders and a sliotar in the other, the timing didn’t work out too badly.