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Boann Distillery

CONTACT: Boann Whiskey Distillery, Platin Road, Drogheda, County Meath

WEBSITE: boanndistillery.ie

DESCRIPTION: Working distillery and visitor centre. Tours daily.

There aren’t many distilleries in Ireland with a solid marble floor, but that was part of the luxury inheritance Boann received when they took up residence on their site in the Boyne valley, near Drogheda, on Ireland’s east coast. The building that held the site before the stills arrived was a high-end car showroom and the floor laid for its cash-rich customers was too good to lose, they say. But then, the family behind this distillery are no strangers to a high-quality finish. They’ve been involved in the drinks industry in Ireland for decades, running the Gleeson Group before setting up Boann’s parent company Na Cuana, which also has premium cider, cream liqueur, and craft beer brands in its stable.

Their beer brand bookends the distillery, and visitors to the Boann Distillery’s L-shaped building can continue their journey through the Boyne Brewhouse on the same site. Boann is named after an ancient Celtic female god, who is said to have created the nearby Boyne river, which carves out this historically important slice of the Irish landscape.

They currently use sourced whiskey as their own spirit matures, but you can expect experimental collaboration with their brewhouse in future releases. Plans to use their Imperial Stout casks in finishing their whiskey are already under way. With a close eye on the environment, the Italian engineers behind their stills have included enhanced reflux control on the neck to give better control over output, they say. Additionally, they reference the use of nanotechnology in the still design, creating the conditions for much greater interaction with the copper.

The location twenty-five minutes from Dublin Airport and just off a motorway exit means that the time-poor whiskey tourist eager to get out of Dublin is going to have Boann Distillery firmly in his or her sights.

They currently source whiskey for their Whistler range and aim to produce a future range of triple-distilled single malt and single pot stills under their own steam.