New Irish distillery

[DavidH]

Aidan referred obliquely to this months ago on this forum but The Porterhouse has now gone public with its plans to start up a brand new distillery in Dingle, Co Kerry.

Details are in this newspaper article.

Woohoo!

[irishwhiskeychaser]

I guessed that Dingle was the location all right as I knew John McDougal was there on a working holiday. I asked him could he confirm my suspicions about the porterhouse guys starting one up and he said the as a professional consultant he could not divulge that information but watch this space. So as good as saying that something was happening but no details.

Can't wait but it sounds like it will really be top end stuff

[DavidH]

I should add that, according to the Porterhouse guys I spoke with at the Drinks Festival last month, that the plan is for a triple-distilled PPS. It will be all barley (not a big surprise but I thought I'd ask anyway). They also intend to take quite a fine cut.

It's quite encouraging, overall. No doubt they could rope in the tourists down in Dingle and sell them anything but instead they are aiming for as high a quality as they can achieve from the beginning.

[IainB]

Well now that is excellent news. We'll have to wait a few years or course but I really hope this one works out.

When you think that 20 years ago we were down to 2 and now we could be up to 5!

[LagaDrinker]

This is very welcome news indeed, I hope that they do well

[Aidan]

I should add that, according to the Porterhouse guys I spoke with at the Drinks Festival last month, that the plan is for a triple-distilled PPS. It will be all barley (not a big surprise but I thought I'd ask anyway). They also intend to take quite a fine cut.

It's quite encouraging, overall. No doubt they could rope in the tourists down in Dingle and sell them anything but instead they are aiming for as high a quality as they can achieve from the beginning.

I'm no expert, but I'm not so sure they should be taking such a narrow cut. Doesn't a wider cut give heavier potstill? Why would this be a bad thing.

[DavidH]

I'm no expert, but I'm not so sure they should be taking such a narrow cut. Doesn't a wider cut give heavier potstill? Why would this be a bad thing.

Good question. And why even decide that in advance? Why not experiment when they have the still going?

[Deactivated Member]

I'm no expert, but I'm not so sure they should be taking such a narrow cut. Doesn't a wider cut give heavier potstill? Why would this be a bad thing.

Good question. And why even decide that in advance? Why not experiment when they have the still going?

I'm not sure that's the case. An early first cut will lead to a hot whisky, and a late second sut will add feintiness. The bulk of the desirable characteristics should come from the heart of the middle cut. A narrow middle cut is expensive as it means more spirit will have to be redistilled but should in theory lead to better quality whisky.

[Aidan]

I'm no expert, but I'm not so sure they should be taking such a narrow cut. Doesn't a wider cut give heavier potstill? Why would this be a bad thing.

Good question. And why even decide that in advance? Why not experiment when they have the still going?

I'm not sure that's the case. An early first cut will lead to a hot whisky, and a late second sut will add feintiness. The bulk of the desirable characteristics should come from the heart of the middle cut. A narrow middle cut is expensive as it means more spirit will have to be redistilled but should in theory lead to better quality whisky.

Keeping in mind that I don't really know what I'm talking about... Irish distillers say that they used to use a wider cut, producing a heavier pot still whiskey. They vary it to produce different whiskeys, but they went somewhat back to the old way to produce the Jameson 15 Millennium.

I thought it gave a wider range of flavours. I'm open to contradiction, of course.

[JCSkinner]

There's a number of interesting things here.
Firstly, the Porterhouse lads are expert brewers. Their Wrasslers XXXX is easily the best stout in the country, and I say that as a former Guinness taster on the St James Gate panel.
Secondly, they've got some quality on the distilling side on board, including John McDougal. I'd like to see someone with some direct experience of Irish pot still in the team, but I suspect that they might well hire someone from IDL at some point closer to opening.
Thirdly, this is only at planning stage at the mo. There's a long way to go, from permission to reconstructing the creamery, long before a single drop is distilled.
But finally, I would absolutely concur with everyone else. This is a fantastic development for Irish whiskey. Given the artisanal quality focus of their beers, and the fact that the Porterhouse crew recently invested in their own bottling facility, I think we'll be looking at one or two mash bills at most initially, with a lot of spirit being laid down for the medium to long term.
These boys own nightclubs, bars and their own beers. They might have big enough pockets and the sense to create one or two pps brands without adding grain whiskey to blend it and leave it in wood long enough to really come of age.
I'll be talking to Oliver this week, and if he lets anything else of interest slip, I'll pass it on.

[peat-chaser]

So there will be an increase of the working irish distilleries by 25 % - respect!!

It can only be good to redevelope the irish whiskey-landscape, so I wish those guys as much success as they can handle. But isn´t it a bit ambitous to promise a "super premuim" whiskey, if there isn´t at least 10% of the equipment sat up? Or does that refer only to the upcomming prices for their products?

[JCSkinner]

I spoke to Oliver at length about this project earlier today. I will be writing a piece for one of the Sunday papers about it and will republish it here afterwards.
I will say this though - there are some highly innovative things planned, and he is utterly intent on producing a top-end pure pot still whiskey.
He also name-checked Redbreast and Crested Ten as his own favourite drams.

[Willie JJ]

This can only be good news, especially since it appears to be an independent company with an eye to quality.

I really wish the best of luck to these folk. May their spirit be all they wish it to be.

I'm excited already.

[JCSkinner]

Me too, Willie!
I think if anyone had asked me to describe my fantasy new Irish distillery, it would be remarkably similar to what I heard today.
The only caveat I'd have is that it's way down in Dingle. It's a long drive for me, but should be convenient for any tourists routing into Ireland via Shannon or Cork.

[Aidan]

I spoke to Oliver at length about this project earlier today. I will be writing a piece for one of the Sunday papers about it and will republish it here afterwards.
I will say this though - there are some highly innovative things planned, and he is utterly intent on producing a top-end pure pot still whiskey.
He also name-checked Redbreast and Crested Ten as his own favourite drams.

That's excellent news. Can I ask which paper you're doing it for, so I can buy it?

The whole thing is a lot further down the road than Coola Mills or the Cloonaughill distilleries ever seem to have got. I hope it's a great success.

[JCSkinner]

I'll PM you.
Yes, subject to PP, which is never a foregone conclusion in Ireland but seems very likely, this will be up and running next summer.
I've seen these lads in action before, when they took over Lilie's and Judge Roy Bean's, and then again recently when they got the bottling plant.
They've got the money, equipment and expertise and when they do something they don't hang around.

[cathach]

I just came across this on ebay.com, and given the discussion about distilling etc. and I thought I'd add the link below. It gives the ingredients in the mash on the back of a Jameson miniature as 'barley, malt, wheat and oats'. It'd be nice to have this dated, anyone seen a full-size bottle with similar information?



http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages/sho ... 0&format=0

[Aidan]

I have a few larger bottles somewhere with this info on them. I'll dig them out of the attic.

[DavidH]

I just came across this on ebay.com, and given the discussion about distilling etc. and I thought I'd add the link below. It gives the ingredients in the mash on the back of a Jameson miniature as 'barley, malt, wheat and oats'. It'd be nice to have this dated, anyone seen a full-size bottle with similar information?

From The History of a Great House (about Jameson), 1924:

It is not a heavy "all malt" whiskey but is made from a mash of barley, malted and unmalted, mixed with wheat and oats.

From Soverigne Liquor (published by Jameson), 1950:

The recipe calls for unmalted barley with other cereals - wheat, oats and rye - as well as malted barley.

From All About Whiskey (published by Irish Pot Distillers Assoc.), 1957:

Malted and unmalted barley, wheat, oats and rye are used.

[rshd301]

Well now that is excellent news. We'll have to wait a few years or course but I really hope this one works out.

When you think that 20 years ago we were down to 2 and now we could be up to 5!

Where's the five? You've Bushmills, Middleton and Cooley but what's the fourth one?

[irishwhiskeychaser]

I presume they are including Kilbeggan in that Number as it started distilling on a really small scale last year....

[rshd301]

I wasn't aware that they had started distilling in Kilbeggan. I thought it was being used as a visitors centre for Cooley since they were producing the Kilbeggan whiskey.

Still, you live and you learn !

[michael Foggarty]

They have one very small still at Lockes Distillery in Kilbeggan, the low wines are distilled at Cooley and then transported to Kilbeggan for the second distillation, so the whisky that is produced will never be a "single" - Kilbeggan THE Malt anyone?

[Aidan]

Are they ever going to do something with the big stills there? Or change the current operation in some way?

It's great that they're distilling Kilbeggan again, but if that little still had been sitting in Cooley instead of Kilbeggan, they whiskey would taste exactly the same.

[cathach]

But do we know what is being redistilled at Kilbeggan?
There was some Kilbeggan pure pot still in the warehouse there but had gone under strength, if you're going to the effort of redistilling and making it a proper distillery again perhaps they might make their own pure pot still blend or the like?

I'd hope so anyway, but in previous interviews and the like they have talked down the possibility of making PPS in the old stills.

[michael Foggarty]

I dont think we will ever see a pps from cooley and with double distillation being used i think there aiming to be different. Most interesting thing that will come from Cooley in a couple of years will be a heavily peated whiskey. A couple of years ago they took delivery of heavily peated barley by mistake, they were going to send it back! Thankfully Noel Sweeney decided to keep it and make whiskey, when it will be ready is anyones guess though.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

On my last visit to Kilbeggan I noticed a couple of copper contraptions which I have never noticed in a distillery before. Does anybody know what these are?????? There is also a spirit safe there ready to be refurbed.

I know they would love to get the stills up and running again but it is a major financial consideration for them so it is just a matter of keeping the faith on this....

?????



Kilbeggan Miniature Still

[irishwhiskeychaser]

I was thinking the same myself but I have only seen diagrams of these and they did not look like anything like that. I really must visit a grain distillery some time.

[DavidH]

On my last visit to Kilbeggan I noticed a couple of copper contraptions which I have never noticed in a distillery before. Does anybody know what these are??????

These are column stills, acquired from Tullamore (along with the little still and the three big pots).

[Aidan]

Apparently, the little pot still is the world's oldest whiskey still in operation.

[michael Foggarty]

We all might get to visit a Coffey still in action, Ally is planing a trip to Cooley for the customers, i just hope its my day off!

[rshd301]

Is there much to see at Kilbeggan? I'm thinking about taking the caravan round Ireland this summer with a few nights in Dublin area. I would take a run over if I thought it would be worth the effort.

I take it Cooley are not open to the public.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

Is there much to see at Kilbeggan? I'm thinking about taking the caravan round Ireland this summer with a few nights in Dublin area. I would take a run over if I thought it would be worth the effort.

I take it Cooley are not open to the public.

Kilbeggan is a wonderful piece of history. Virtually a working 19th century Distillery with is now displayed as a museum. You can take a guide tour or walk through on a selfguided tour. Virtually everything is in place and I personally find it very interesting.

If your lucky and visit during the week you may get to see the cooper at work.

Tullamore is not far from it either but it is more of an exhibition in one of the old ware houses. The distillery itself is long gone unfortunately.

Cooley as you say is not open to the public but they may allows groups in on request but not sure about individuals.

Enjoy if you do decide to do it....

[Pure Pot Head]

I'm really excited by this development. Thrilled actually. My dream scenario would be for an emergence over the coming years of small artisan producers making traditional style Pot Still.

Does anyone know why it is being set up in Dingle? Is there a particular history behind this, like an old distillery that used to be there?

It seems an odd location but then again why not, I'm just curious.

Pure Pot Head

[Aidan]

I think it may be because of the tourism, but I'm not sure.