Dingle Original Pot Still Gin

History

Two hundred years ago, there were over a hundred officially recognized distilleries in Ireland. Today there are less than ten. Founded as Ireland’s first artisan distillery, Dingle takes its name from the town in which it is located, where tourists flock to visit Europe’s westernmost human settlement. As of 2012, an old sawmill was converted into a distillery, where Dingle marries Ireland’s tradition of independent distilling with innovative processes only feasible for small batch producers.

Dingle’s humid climate with cool gulf stream breezes is considered ideal for spirit distillation. When restaurateur Oliver Hughes decided to open Irleand’s first artisan distillery, he wanted to capture the terroir of Kerry County. In order to do so, Hughes bought traditional pot still designed by Master Distiller John McDougall. He affectionately named the hand beaten copper pot still Oisin, and immediately began producing Ireland’s first small batch vodka, gin and whiskey.

Crafted in small batches of only 500 liters, the folks behind Dingle Gin have a unique take on the London dry category using locally harvested botanicals. Dingle’s unique formula — which includes rowan berry from mountain ash trees, fuchsia, bog myrtle, hawthorn, and heather among other botanicals — is calculated to evoke the earth and air of Ireland’s west coast. After macerating in spirit for 24 hours, the spirit is distilled using Dingle’s custom designed pot still, passing through a flavor basket in the neck of the still where a second batch of botanicals adds more flavor and nuance to the spirit before condensation. After distillation, the spirit is charcoal filtered and cut using water from a well 240 feet below the distillery before it is hand bottled.

As a result, Dingle Gin has a classic aroma of juniper and angelica, followed by a juniper-forward that blooms into notes of blackberry marmalade before lining the mouth with fresh eucalyptus and mint. The cool menthol finish is spiked with warm pepper notes, overall a contemporary take on the classic London dry.

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