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Ballykeefe Distillery

CONTACT: Ballykeefe Distillery, Kyle, Ballykeefe, Cuffsgrange, County Kilkenny, R95 NR50

WEBSITE: ballykeefedistillery.ie

DESCRIPTION: Working distillery, visitor centre, and farm

There are generations of experience behind the distillery at Ballykeefe in County Kilkenny, which is built on a working beef and tillage farm. Visitors here are likely to meet farmer Morgan Ging and his wife and four children personally, as they run these two perfectly complementary businesses in the heart of rural Ireland. You are also likely to meet their cattle. The farm outhouses were converted to house their three copper stills, which were handmade in Italy by another family business, Barison Industries. The water is their own and the barley is grown on site. Maturing happens here too, in first-fill bourbon barrels, making this one of the most environmentally aware, closed-loop distilleries in the country. They simply do it all themselves.

They’ve already won more than thirteen international awards for their vodka, poitín, and gin, using the spirit they’ve distilled since 2016. Their first whiskey is due for bottling in August 2020 but their most recent sample, tasted after nineteen months in barrel, has fuelled their confidence levels. They use only the highest cut of the distillate, they say, to ensure their whiskey will be extremely smooth, and this early taste is right on target. They have a single malt, a single pot still, and a 100 per cent rye whiskey under way, as well as various blends of this trio.

Bucking the trend of other distilleries, Ballykeefe chose not to launch a sourced-whiskey brand in advance, putting all their stock in their own hard work. Despite their whiskey not being available to taste yet, there’s already a well-worn route to Ballykeefe by whiskey societies and individual whiskey fans. This ambitious family affair is a really positive addition to the Irish whiskey landscape, and well worth experiencing first hand for an alternative take on who is building the category.