who we are where we re from

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Cordelia Hall
5 years ago
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who we are We're a group of guys who always loved Irish whiskey. We'd meet up for a drink and talk a good game.

meaningful - much like the man on our bottle, St Kevin.

where we re from Glendalough {The Glen of Two Lakes} is a glacial valley nestled in the Wicklow Mountains.

Besides its natural beauty, Glendalough is renowned for its early medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a

2 who we are We're a group of guys who always loved Irish whiskey. We'd meet up for a drink and talk a good game. Eventually, we convinced ourselves to leave the safety of our city jobs, and headed into the mountains to take a chance on something more meaningful - much like the man on our bottle, St Kevin. Together we built Ireland's first craft distillery near our favourite spot in those mountains, Glendalough. where we re from Glendalough {The Glen of Two Lakes} is a glacial valley nestled in the Wicklow Mountains. Just south of Dublin, County Wicklow is known as the garden of Ireland - a reputation it lives up to with ease. Besides its natural beauty, Glendalough is renowned for its early medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a legendary monk and the man on our bottle. The craft of distilling spirits was invented and nurtured in Irish monasteries like Glendalough around this time. As an area of outstanding natural beauty and history, it is one of the most visited places in Ireland. It is a place that will stir your soul and lift your spirit. And for us, it is a unique home for our brands of whiskey, poitín and gin.

ST KEVIN the man on the bottle St. Kevin was a son of Irish royalty, but a man apart. He turned his back on it all and disappeared into the wilderness to make his own path.

He became so at one with nature that, one day while praying with his arms outstretched, a blackbird landed on his hand and laid her eggs. He took it as a sign, as a test of his resolve.

3 ST KEVIN the man on the bottle St. Kevin was a son of Irish royalty, but a man apart. He turned his back on it all and disappeared into the wilderness to make his own path. He found himself in the deep, isolated valley of Glendalough, where he spent seven years in quiet solitude. He became so at one with nature that, one day while praying with his arms outstretched, a blackbird landed on his hand and laid her eggs. He took it as a sign, as a test of his resolve. And so stood there, day and night until the eggs hatched and the birds fledged. It's this image of fortitude that appears on every bottle of Glendalough. It stands as a reminder to us that doing things the hard way is always worth it. That being your own man and forging your own way is what makes for a life well lived. That s why you'll also see, just below it, our motto stand apart. Fourteen centuries later, the mark he made on this world still stands in the ruins of his "city of seven churches" at Glendalough. It is one of Ireland's most visited, scenic and soul-stirring places.

juniper coriander angelica root orris root liqorice root licorice bark fresh organic lemons elderflower yarrow blackberry leaves ox eye daisies wild angelica wood sorrel

4 juniper coriander angelica root orris root liqorice root licorice bark fresh organic lemons elderflower yarrow blackberry leaves ox eye daisies wild angelica wood sorrel lemon balm watermint red clover flowers wild rose petals sloes wild raspberries sheep's sorrel fraughan berries pine sweet woodruff bell heather sweet cicely ladies bedstraw

GLENDALOUGH GIN made from the wild This is a labor intensive, thoughtfully-crafted, small batch spirit that captures the true essence of Glendalough.

5 GLENDALOUGH GIN made from the wild This is a labor intensive, thoughtfully-crafted, small batch spirit that captures the true essence of Glendalough. Using wild ingredients from mountains surrounding our distillery, each sip will transport you to our home in the Wicklow Mountains. The fresh, foraged botanicals are added to the still each day, within hours of picking which allows their essential oils to be captured. Classic gin botanicals like juniper, coriander seeds and a few others form the foundation of the gin. Then our local, wild ingredients are carefully balanced to add layers and depth, and the nuance of a terroir style spirit. The heavier, more sturdy botanicals macerate in our copper pot still. The lighter ones are suspended in baskets to allow the vapors to pass through and extract the more delicate flavours gently. It is painstakingly slow-distilled with cut-points determined batch-by-batch through smell and taste. Nothing is timed or automated, each batch is done as if it was the first. Filtering is a delicate business. We need to make it crystal clear without removing too much of the oils that give it all that flavour. Sustainability The wild plants are carefully and sustainably foraged, so that we don't adversely effect the areas we find them in. That means sometimes using scissors rather than picking to make sure roots aren't pulled, or maybe skipping a few before picking the next one to make sure the area can recover for the next season. Our aim is to leave no trace that we were ever there. It's means harder work but it's worth it to keep our mountains the way we like them - wild. Nose: Fresh notes of juniper, citrus, pine and rain. A forest clearing in Spring. Taste: Cool and mellow at first, rushing to nectarous Summer flowers and hints of Autumn fruits finally giving way to warm spice. Finish: Long and sylvan, with warm winter spices. Recipe: Locally foraged wild fresh botanicals. Distillation: Copper Pot Still. Heavy botanicals macerated with the lighter botanicals hung in a Gin Head. Non-Chill Filtered.

6 WHISKEY & WOOD a love story Somewhere between a lot, and most of the dominant flavours in whiskey come from the wood it has spent time in. There are countless nuances in how that wood effects and injects flavour, from the straightness of the tree or fineness of the grain to the size of the barrel or depth of the char. Two of the main factors in how we choose our wood are: the breed of oak (where the wood is from), and the predecessor liquid (if it's a pre-loved barrel, what's been in it). As with most Irish whiskeys, ours matures in Bourbon barrels. But where we break with tradition is that we finish all of our whiskeys in a second, very different cask. These are selected especially to accentuate the flavours already inherent in a given whiskey. American Bourbon barrels. As mentioned, our whiskeys do the bulk of their time in first-fill American white oak Bourbon barrels. These 200 liter casks lay the flavour foundation that has become the backbone of the Irish whiskey taste. Felled in Missouri at about 80 years old, they are milled, seasoned and coopered in Kentucky and filled with Bourbon. American oak casks impart a lot of flavour. Besides the fact that they've held Bourbon before we get them, the charred wood truely transforms new-make Irish whiskey. We use a level 4 "aligator char" which brings the wood alive in terms of flavour. This adds that charcoal mellowness, the sweetness of vanilla and caramel that perfectly compliment the flavours already present in the spirit. It smoothens to a creamy mouth-feel, and a beautiful golden hue. However we're always seeking out new flavours, the best oak around the world and other interesting casks. Spanish Oloroso Sherry Casks To finish our Double Barrel, we use 500 liter Oloroso sherry butts made from European oak, felled in the ancient deciduous forests of Northern Spain. A tree must be about 120 years old before it's good for barrel making. The casks are lightly toasted rather than charred. This means we get clearer wood flavours and tannins. Added to this, much of the flavour we're getting from these casks is from the Oloroso. A dark, fruity and nutty fortified wine made in Montillo, Spain, Oloroso is made with white grapes, that have been laid out on straw and left in the sun for a week or so. This concentrates sugars and heightens flavours. After about 2 years of holding Oloroso Sherry, we then take the casks. The intense flavours they bring get into our whiskey fast. Raisins, sultanas, candied peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, and Christmas pudding are all clearly discernible in the whiskey within about 6 months. It also changes the liquid from gold to amber.

Dublin Porter Barrels For our 7 year old single malt, it's Dublin porter barrels. Although these barrels are also ex-bourbon, they become a different beast once craft porter spends 6 months in them.

7 Dublin Porter Barrels For our 7 year old single malt, it's Dublin porter barrels. Although these barrels are also ex-bourbon, they become a different beast once craft porter spends 6 months in them. We use barrels from the 5 Lamps brewery in Dublin. Their "Black Pitts Porter" is a rich, black beer with deep, dark flavours. Made with chocolate malt and roasted barley, the porter is rich and creamy with complex aromas and a smooth velvety texture. All of this gets into the oak and comes back out into our whiskey to accentuate the robust malts of both liquids. Flavours of cocoa from the porter mix with the citrus notes of the whiskey to result in dark chocolate orange flavours, with toffee and even coffee notes on the finish. It's an unusual and noticably different whiskey, that you want to return to, often. Japanese Mizunara Barrels For our 13 year old single malt, it's the legendary Mizunara oak. Found in forests on the rugged, volcanic island of Hokkaido, the wood is very soft and porous with a wide grain, which good for flavour but prone to leaking. It has very high levels of vanillans that impart luxurious woody flavours fast. Ours is then brought to the south of Japan to season at Japan's only independent cooperage. Here we personally inspect the wood before it's worked by Japan's oldest cooper. The casks are lightly charred and shipped as virgin barrels over 6,000 miles to us. Mizunara packs a punch of unique and exqusite woody flavours. Some say sandlewood, we'd agree, but that's just the beginning. It amplifies flavour and brings the mouth-feel to velvety proportions, it layers on extra vanilla, honey and even coconut. It makes for a pretty unique take on Irish whiskey. Virgin Irish Oak Barrels For the first time in hundreds of years, or ever, whiskey from the Wicklow mountains will go into Wicklow oak casks. Glendalough oak was prized as the best in the known world for it's strength and length - essential for boat building. The largest Viking ship ever built (the sea stallion) was made exclusively from Glendalough oak for example. As it happens, it also makes for good whiskey casks. We've scouted the forests surrounding the distillery for the most suitable trees and have hewn some with a view to reviving Irish-oak-aged Irish whiskey. Don't hold your glass out yet though. It will be 2 years of felling, milling, seasoning and coopering before there's a drop of our whiskey touching wood. And another 3 years after that! Touch wood. Follow the journey of all our whiskeys and their wood finishes at glendaloughdistillery.com

DOUBLE BARREL (bourbon barrel aged, oloroso sherry barrel finished. 42% abv) This is an Irish whiskey that will make you think twice about Irish whiskey.

8 DOUBLE BARREL (bourbon barrel aged, oloroso sherry barrel finished. 42% abv) This is an Irish whiskey that will make you think twice about Irish whiskey. Forget the blends of the last hundred years, this world beating liquid is not just part of the new breed, it s a thoroughbred. Our Double Barrel has sucked the marrow out of two casks, Bourbon and Oloroso. They each bring their own unique flavour and character. While the Bourbon barrels add, among other things, sweet, smooth vanilla notes, the Oloroso casks layer on those dried fruit and slightly nutty flavours. And of course these are all accented by almost four years resting in Ireland s mild maritime climate. The nose. Rich with dark fruit, cherry, raisin, fig and Christmas pudding. Floral notes with lemongrass, citrus and a touch of nutmeg. The taste. Sweet and smooth on the palate to the front, with butterscotch, honey and peppercorn bring along the sweet Bourbon cask notes, after which dried fruit returning maraschino cherries and a pinch of brown sugar. The finish. Lingering notes of ginger spices with a faint glimmer of almond to end a complex Irish whiskey from start to finish. Irish Whiskey Awards 2015: Best Irish Single Grain. SF World Spirit Awards 2015: Double Gold, Best Irish Whiskey under 7 years. SF World Spirit Awards 2017: Gold Medal. Recipe: This single distillery grain whiskey utilises a standalone mash bill of locally grown and locally malted barley and organic corn.distillation: Coffey Still. Maturation: 3+ years in first-fill Bourbon cask, 6 months in first-fill Oloroso Sherry cask. Non-Chill Filtered.

Our single malts come from a time when Irish whiskey was the most popular spirit on the planet.

10 THE RETURN OF irish single malt There was a time when there was only one type of whiskey in the world - Irish. And single malt was the pinacle of that. It all but disappeared over the last hundred years, but the second coming of Irish single malt is well underway. Our single malts come from a time when Irish whiskey was the most popular spirit on the planet. It's the whiskey that your great granddaddy drank, it gave Irish whiskey its great name, and its time to be great is once again. 7yr old single malt { PORTER BARREL FINISH } Our 7 year old single malt commemorates the 7 hard years that St Kevin spent in the wild and the city of 7 churches he came to build at Glendalough. It was these 7 years that shaped his character and resulted in something special in Glendalough. This single malt has too been shaped by 7 years, and to make it even more special, we finish it in porter barrels. Dublin is famous across the world for fine stout and porter. We've swapped barrels over the years with friends of ours in the 5 Lamps Brewery, and found their Black Pitts porter brings our whiskey to incredible depths. Have a look on the bottle, you ll see 7 silver crosses. These will lead you to each of the 7 churches, should you ever be stirred into going to Glendalough. The nose. Sweet with toffee apples, chocolate and vanilla ice cream. The taste. Smooth and warm with dark chocolate orange, cocoa, toffee and cooked fruit, followed by clove and peppery spices. The finish. Long and spicy with toasted oak, treacle and sweet coffee notes.

Recipe for both: Locally grown, locally malted barley, no smoke or peat in the malting process. Distillation: Copper Pot Still. Double Distilled.

They are aged in first-fill ex-bourbon casks to compliment the malt flavours perfectly. Aged cask by cask.

13yr old single malt { JAPANESE MIZUNARA FINISH } This winner of World Best Irish Whiskey, is now the first, and only, Irish Whiskey released with a Japanese minuzara finish.

11 Recipe for both: Locally grown, locally malted barley, no smoke or peat in the malting process. Distillation: Copper Pot Still. Double Distilled. Maturation: These heavier double distilled whiskeys keep more of the base malt characteristics from the mash bill. They are aged in first-fill ex-bourbon casks to compliment the malt flavours perfectly. Aged cask by cask. The 7yr finishes up to a year in porter barrels while the 13yr finishes in up to a year in Japanese Mizunara casks. Non-Chill Filtered. 13yr old single malt { JAPANESE MIZUNARA FINISH } This winner of World Best Irish Whiskey, is now the first, and only, Irish Whiskey released with a Japanese minuzara finish. Extremely rare, and expensive, virgin Japanese mizunara, comes from Hokkaido, the rugged most northern island of Japan. It is coopered in the south of Japan in Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan's only independent cooperage, by Japan's oldest cooper. It amplifies much of what is already there while layering on more vanilla smoothness, sandlewood notes and even a little coconut, or gorse flower if you're from our neck of the woods. This is a whiskey that's hard to make. It is unique in terms of what is being done with Irish whiskey and it is very limited. This is one to savour. The nose. Sweet honeycomb, vanilla, apricot, and citrus. The taste. Velvety smooth with vanilla, fudge, rock candy, peach and marmalade followed by coconut, cinnamon and cloves. The finish. Long and spicy with biscuity malts, vanilla, oak and dark chocolate.

MOUNTAIN STRENGTH POITÍN the original irish spirit This is the earliest drink ever to be distilled, the father of Irish whiskey and the ancient ancestor of all distilled drinks.

12 MOUNTAIN STRENGTH POITÍN the original irish spirit This is the earliest drink ever to be distilled, the father of Irish whiskey and the ancient ancestor of all distilled drinks. First made by Irish monks in the 6th century in monastries like Glendalough, it was known as the water of life. Outlawed in 1661 but now it s back. Ours is triple distilled in a traditional copper pot-still using malted barley and pure spring water. Bottled at 55% for an authentic taste of Ireland s original spirit. Sip it neat or on the rocks for a true taste. Or mix it for long drinks and cocktails with an extra kick. The nose. Light, floral, forest berries, gooseberries through the headiness of the higher alcohol. The taste. Unexpectedly smooth and mellow. Sweet and spicy with traces of lychees, apple skin and cracked black pepper sitting over biscuity malts. The finish. Lingering, warming and sweet, with a slight saltiness and a comforting, spicy tail.

13 Recipe. Malted barley pure Irish spring water. This mash bill giving body sweet bicuity malt characteristics. Distillation. Copper Pot Still. Triple Distilled. Non-Chill Filtered.

14 COCKTAILS We've been mixing with some of the finiest bartenders and cocktail joints around the world. Here's just a few of our favourite Glendalough cocktail creations so far...

15 WICKLOW BARREL Paulo Pereira [Brass Union, Boston] Glass: 45 ml 20 ml 15 ml 2 dashes Garnish Coupe Glendalough Double Barrel Whiskey Sweet Vermouth Lillet Rouge Angostura Bitters Orange Peel and a Maraschino Cherry DOUBLE BARREL IRISH WHISKEY

16 THE LOUGH INN Darren Grenia [Dear Bushwick, Brooklyn] Glass: 60ml 30ml 30ml Garnish Highball Glendalough Double Barrel Whiskey Spiced Honey Syrup Fresh Lemon Juice Soda Water Lemon Wheel and Mint DOUBLE BARREL IRISH WHISKEY

Lemongrass sugar Elderflower Tonic Dash of grapefruit bitters Dash of

17 WILD WICKLOW G&T Darren Geraghty [Candlelight Bar, Dublin] 60ml 30ml 30ml 150ml 2 2 Garnish Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin Muddled strawberry Lemongrass sugar Elderflower Tonic Dash of grapefruit bitters Dash of chamomile tincture Strawberries, Cucumber, Mint and Grapefruit Peel GLENDALOUGH WILD BOTANICAL GIN

Fresh lemon juice Strawberry puree Balsamic vinegar 2 fresh

18 STRAWBERRY BASIL CRUSH Derek Garry [The Gin Palace, Dublin] 60ml 15ml 15ml Dash Garnish Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin Fresh lemon juice Strawberry puree Balsamic vinegar 2 fresh sliced strawberries, and fresh basil leaves GLENDALOUGH WILD BOTANICAL GIN

2 2 Glendalough Poitín Lemon juice Honey Mint

19 ST. KEVIN S GARDEN by Tom Doran [The Exchange, Dublin] Glass: Old school flute 60ml 30ml 30ml Glendalough Poitín Lemon juice Honey Mint leaves Thyme sprigs Blackberries MOUNTAIN STRENGTH POITÍN

20 GlendaloughDistillery.com

glendalough distillery Craft spirits range

glendalough distillery Craft spirits range GdL image Where we come from Glendalough {The Glen of Two Lakes} is a glacial valley nestled in the Wicklow Mountains. Just south of Dublin, County Wicklow is