Location | Dingle |
---|---|
Owner | Porterhouse Group |
Founded | 2012 |
Founder | Oliver Hughes |
Status | Operating |
Water source | Onsite deep well [1] |
No. of stills | 3 large pot stills (whiskey) [1] & 1 small pot still (vodka/gin) |
Website | http://www.dingledistillery.ie/ |
Dingle Whiskey (Single Malt) | |
Type | Single Malt |
Cask type(s) | Bourbon Casks [2] |
ABV | 46.5% [2] |
Dingle Whiskey (Single Pot Still) | |
Type | Single Pot Still |
Cask type(s) | Pedro Ximenez Casks [3] |
ABV | 46.5% [3] |
Dingle Distillery Vodka | |
ABV | 40% |
Dingle Original Gin | |
ABV | 42.5% |
Dingle Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery established in 2012 [4] and billing itself as an 'artisan' distillery. [5] The distillery is located in a converted sawmill in Milltown on the outskirts of Dingle, [4] [6] in a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking region) in the southwest of Ireland. The first whiskeys distilled and matured at the distillery were released in late 2016. [7] In addition to whiskey, the distillery also produces and markets Dingle vodka and Dingle Gin.
In 2017, Dingle Distillery became the first independent Irish distillery to release a single pot still whiskey in several decades. [8]
The Irish whiskey industry suffered a period of severe decline in the 20th century, which saw most of Ireland's distilleries close, and those remaining in operation amalgamating under the ownership of a single company, Irish Distillers, in the 1970s. However, since then, Ireland's whiskey industry has undergone a resurgence, in particular since 2010, with a diversification of both output and ownership. [9]
With the number of operating distilleries in the country having fallen to just two in the 1980s, Ireland now boasts sixteen operating distilleries, with many others planned. When it opened, the Dingle Distillery was Ireland's fifth, joining the New Midleton Distillery (where Jameson, Powers and Paddy are produced, among others), Bushmills, Cooley, and Kilbeggan.[ citation needed ]
The initiative to start a distillery in Dingle was that of the now deceased Oliver Hughes, who was also a founder of the Porterhouse brewing and restaurant group. [9] [4] The site, formerly the Fitzgerald sawmill, was converted for whiskey production in 2012, opening on 29 November. [6] The distillery was reported to have created at least 25 jobs, with more anticipated with the launch of a visitors' centre. [6] The new copper pot stills used at the distillery were designed by John McDougall. [4]
As a promotion to attract investors, Dingle Distillery offered the first five hundred special casks to investors "Founding Fathers", to be ready for bottling from November 2017. [9]
The distillery announced plans to double spirit production in 2018. [10]
Using pot stills the distillery produces two casks of whiskey per day in Dingle, [11] where the mildly cool climate is reportedly favourable for whiskey production. [6] [9] Under Irish law, to be termed whiskey, a spirit is legally required to be matured for at least three years. [12] Therefore, Dingle Distillery only brought whiskey to market in late 2016. [7] The distillery also has a still for the production of gin and vodka. [4] [9] As of 2017, 100,000 bottles per year of Dingle gin are being sold. [10]
The first batch of whiskey was released in late 2016, and consisted of two tripled distilled whiskeys, both of which were matured solely in bourbon casks: [2] [13]
The second batch, released in 2017, consisted of four different bottlings, three single malts and a single pot still whiskey: [3]
There is also a series of limited edition whiskies in homage to the Celtic cycle of the year. It is called "Wheel of the Year" and so far includes the following bottlings:
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.
Irish whiskey is whiskey made on the island of Ireland. The word 'whiskey' comes from the Irish uisce beatha, meaning water of life. Irish whiskey was once the most popular spirit in the world, though a long period of decline from the late 19th century onwards greatly damaged the industry, so much so that although Ireland boasted at least 28 distilleries in the 1890s, by 1966 this number had fallen to just two, and by 1972 the remaining distilleries, Bushmills Distillery and Old Midleton Distillery, were owned by just one company, Irish Distillers.
Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single distillery.
The Old Bushmills Distillery is an alcohol distillery in Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, founded in 1784 and owned by Proximo Spirits. Bushmills Distillery uses water drawn from Saint Columb's Rill, which is a tributary of the River Bush. The distillery is a popular tourist attraction, with around 120,000 visitors per year. It produces the Bushmills brand of Irish whiskey.
Kilchoman distillery is a distillery that produces single malt Scotch whisky on Islay, an island of the Inner Hebrides. Kilchoman Distillery is in the northwest of the island, close to Machir Bay. Kilchoman was founded by Anthony Wills and remains an independent, family run distillery. It is the smallest on the island but since obtaining Rockside Farm in 2015, is in the process of expanding.
Tullamore Dew, rendered in most branding as Tullamore D.E.W., is a brand of Irish whiskey produced by William Grant & Sons. It is the second-largest-selling brand of Irish whiskey globally, with sales of over 1,500,000 cases per annum as of 2020.
Single barrel whiskey is a premium class of whiskey in which each bottle comes from an individual aging barrel, instead of coming from blending together the contents of various barrels to provide uniformity of color and taste. By contrast, some other whiskeys, even ones that are not blends, may be combined from more than one batch, or even from differing years to achieve consistency. The whiskey from each barrel is bottled separately, with each bottle bearing the barrel number and in most cases the dates for the beginning and end of aging. Each barrel is believed to contribute unique characteristics to the finished whiskey.
A'bunadh is a cask-strength single malt whisky from the Aberlour Distillery in Scotland. Though it has no age statement, it is released in limited run batches, each batch carrying a unique number on its label. Each batch of this whisky is blended from barrels ranging from 5 to 25 years old.
Green Spot is a single pot still Irish whiskey, produced specifically for Mitchell & Son of Dublin by Irish Distillers at the Midleton Distillery in Cork, Ireland. Green Spot is one of the few remaining bonded Irish whiskeys, along with Mitchell's three older offerings, Yellow Spot, Red Spot, and Blue Spot. It is one of only four whiskeys specifically produced for and sold by an independent wine merchant in Ireland.
Powers is a brand of Irish whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. Historically a single pot still whiskey, the flagship Powers Gold Label brand was the first Irish whiskey ever to be bottled. Powers Gold Label was the best-selling whiskey in Ireland.
Midleton Very Rare is a premium Irish whiskey, produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard at the New Midleton Distillery, in the East Cork town of Midleton, from which it gets its name. A non-age statement whiskey, containing a mix of pot still and grain whiskeys, it is matured for about twelve to twenty years in ex-bourbon American Oak barrels. One of the most expensive whiskeys regularly produced by Irish Distillers, since its launch in 1984, Midleton Very Rare has frequently been the recipient of strong reviews and awards.
Redbreast is a brand of single pot still Irish Whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. It was originally bottled by Gilbey's, a Dublin spirits merchant using distillate sourced from Jameson's Bow Street Distillery. In the 1980s, the brand was purchased by Irish Distillers, the producer of Jameson. It is the largest selling single pot still Irish whiskey in the world.
Small batch whiskey is whiskey produced by mixing the contents of a relatively small number of selected barrels. Small batch whiskeys are commercially positioned for the upper-premium market. The term is most commonly used for American whiskey but is sometimes used for other whiskeys as well. For example, the Bowmore distillery in Islay, Scotland, has produced a single malt Scotch whisky labeled as "small batch".
German whisky is a distilled beverage produced in Germany made from grains traditionally associated with the production of whisky. The distillation of German-made whisky is a relatively recent phenomenon having only started in the last 30 years. The styles produced resemble those made in Ireland, Scotland and the United States: single malts, blends, and bourbon styles. There is no standard spelling of German whiskies with distilleries using both "whisky" and "whiskey" and one even using "Whesskey", a play on the word whisky and Hessen, the state in which it is produced. There are currently 23 distilleries in Germany producing whisky.
Single pot still whiskey is a style of Irish whiskey made by a single distillery from a mixed mash of malted and unmalted barley distilled in a pot still. Somewhat similar to single malt whiskey, the style is defined by its inclusion of unmalted raw barley in the mash in addition to malt. However, small amounts of raw oats or wheat may have been used at times. This unmalted component is said to give the pot still whiskey a "spicier bristle" and "thicker texture" than the otherwise similar malt whiskeys. If the whiskey is not distilled completely on the site of a single distillery, then it may be termed pot still whiskey but not single pot still whiskey.
Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey is a brand of premium single malt Irish whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. The brand is named for historic Knappogue Castle in County Clare, Ireland, originally built by Clan MacNamara in 1467. Knappogue Castle is known for bottling one of the oldest and rarest known Irish whiskies, Knappogue Castle 1951, a pot still whiskey produced at the now-defunct B. Daly Distillery.
Kavalan Distillery is a Taiwanese whisky distillery. It is owned by the King Car Group and is located at Yuanshan Township, Yilan County, Taiwan.
Teeling Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery established in Dublin in 2015 by the Teeling Whiskey Company. It is the first new whiskey distillery to have opened in Dublin, once a world whiskey distilling capital, in over 125 years. In fact, with the last of the original Dublin distilleries having closed in 1976, it is the first whiskey distillery to operate in Dublin, once home to at least 37 distilleries, in almost 40 years.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky: