Boann Distillery creates its first single pot still
Ireland-based Boann Distillery has unveiled its inaugural single pot still bottling, the first time whiskey has been distilled in Drogheda in 160 years.
The whiskey was released in time to mark the winter solstice (21 December). Three years ago, on 21 December 2019, the distillery filled nine, specially hand-selected casks with whiskey spirit from its inaugural distillation. The single pot still distillate was filled into different wine and spirit casks, including a ‘new era of oak cask’, Pedro Ximénez (PX), Armagnac, Sauternes, Moscatel, Chardonnay, Bordeaux, rum and Marsala. The first bottles of the whisky were matured on-site and came from a PX hogshead 250-litre cask. “It has always been our family dream to lead a renaissance of Irish whiskey and to craft and distil our own,” said Pat Cooney, Boann founder and entrepreneur. There were once 18 distilleries in Drogheda, with the last silencing its stills in the late 1850s. “That revival has begun and Irish whiskey is now quickly becoming the fastest-growing spirit in the world,” continued Cooney. “In late 2019, the first spirit flowed from the Boann Distillery copper pot stills, the first to flow in Drogheda in over 160 years. “Our state-of-the-art distillery, with its three custom handmade copper pot stills and our access to the best casks to mature our spirit, ensures that we produce unique whiskeys of great character and provenance with a real sense of place.” The whiskey delivers flavours of sultanas, banana bread and barmbrack on the palate, with a long finish featuring traces of candied bark, oeach fuzz and cinnamon buns. “Every bottle will tell a story – the story of our land, our people and our family. This celebratory bottling is a tribute to the people who made the creation possible,” said Cooney. The bottle design is a celebration of darkness into light, inspired by the Winter Solstice and the passing of time. It features a three staves design, and wax sealed to the wooden cork of the bottle. The distillery secured a Gold medal for its Whistler Irish Cream Liqueur in SB's Liqueur Masters 2022 results.
