OUR DISTILLERY

MODERNISING THE TRADITIONAL

If James’s grandfather Frank (himself a renowned illicit distiller) was to walk into the Ardara Distillery, he might be shocked at the scale, but he’d be immediately familiar with the processes in front of him, such is our desire to ensure traditional methods are not compromised.

Our Donegal approach to whiskey-making has led to us designing some distinctive and uncommon production features:

  • The distillery is dedicated to smoky Irish whiskey, Single Malt and (currently non-compliant) Pot Still, typically peated to a level of 55ppm (though we do use some higher and some lower)
  • An ‘all grains in’ approach (so no mash tun) means we capture ALL the character of the WHOLE crushed grain right through to the wash still (it gives us greater character and greater yield too – grandad Frank would love that)
  • Distillation in three beautiful copper pot stills fabricated by Forsyth’s – with the wash still an ‘off-set neck’ design, rarely seen these days
  • A lazy boil in the intermediate and spirit stills keeps the spirit soft and we take narrow cuts to ensure a balance between the sweet spirit and the dry pipe smoke character
  • Two 6,000 litre wooden “soleras” hold the new make spirit prior to casking – guaranteeing consistency by marrying across distillation runs

A team led by Head Distiller, Graeme Bell, sees human skill and endeavour rather than computers operate the new technology. The provision of exciting employment opportunities for young people has been a key motivation in the design and development of Ardara Distillery.

  

SMALL BUT MIGHTY

While the whiskey-making infrastructure dominates the Ardara Distillery, secreted away in a small corner is Méabh, the 500L copper pot gin still, in which Moira weaves her wisdom. While small in stature, they’re mighty in output.

With Moira’s deft touch, Méabh can simultaneously vapour and still infuse An Dúlamán Irish Maritime Gin and Assaranca Vodka.

For An Dúlamán, Moira is aiming to capture “draíocht na farraige”, the magic of the sea. She operates Méabh at an untypically low ABV level that delivers an inefficient but perfect flavour extraction from the six conventional gin botanicals and the five delicate maritime botanicals foraged locally. One of these, Pepper Dulse, the truffle of the sea, is so shy that it is only harvested on the lowest tides of a full moon.