The Walsh Whiskey Distillery, which was commissioned in March 2016, is one of Ireland’s newest distilleries and also one of its largest at 8 million bottles annual capacity. It is equipped with both pot stills and column stills in the one still house, and it is there that what’s being called the world’s first organic single pot still Irish whiskey has just been produced.
Under founder Bernard Walsh’s watch earlier this month in Royal Oak, where the distillery is located, a distillation process was commenced based upon a mash of organic malted and unmalted barley which, along with pure water, make up the ingredients of pot still whiskey. The new make spirit was triple distilled in the distillery’s three copper pot stills, coming off the stills and into the spirit safe at 81% ABV. It was then filled into both first fill bourbon barrels and virgin oak barrels and will mature for a minimum of 5 years before being released under the distillery’s Writers’ Tears label.
“With both the pot and column stills allied to the capacity available to us here at Royal Oak,” said Walsh in a prepared statement, “as well as the strength of our brands, we aim to be leaders in the development of and innovation within the Irish whiskey category – and this is one expression of that goal. Single Pot Still is a truly distinctive style of whiskey that is unique and true to Ireland. Similarly, Writers’ Tears is a unique and distinctive whiskey brand that resonates strongly with world-class, Irish creativity. This first ever Organic Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey will combine the magic of both these propositions to create what will be a unique new super-premium whiskey for whiskey enthusiasts to savour.”
Plans call for this Irish whiskey to be released at the earliest in 2023, and it is anticipated that this batch will yield in the region of 30,000 bottles.