In November 2024, the news broke that Waterford Distillery – the terroir-focused and sustainability-driven Irish whiskey producer – had gone into administration. The closure of Waterford is a huge loss for the Irish whiskey industry and for drinkers who appreciated the nuances of its environmentally conscious whiskies.*
At The Whiskey Wash Awards 2025, we decided to honor the contribution of Waterford with a special recognition: The Parting Glass Award and a Double Gold Medal for the Waterford Organic Cuvée Gaia. Although there is no category for this, we feel that Waterford should be recognized for this superb whisky and the brand’s innovative approach.
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Waterford Organic Cuvée Gaia
Waterford Organic Cuvée Gaia is a four-year & seven-month-old Irish whisky distilled from organic Irish barley grown at six different farms in Ireland. It was matured in a combination of first fill U.S. (28%), virgin U.S. (25%), “premium” French (19%) and vin doux naturel (28%) casks. Bottled at 50% ABV, the whisky showcases the subtleties that come with using barley grown in different locations. As always, Waterford puts terroir at the forefront.
Why Has Waterford Cuvée Gaia Won The Parting Glass Award?
Waterford Organic Cuvée Gaia was reviewed by Nino Kilgore-Marchetti in March 2024, and given a perfect 10 out of 10 score.
As Nino points out, the terroir and layered complexity of this whiskey demonstrate the importance of barley localities in whisky making. Waterford Distillery was founded on this principle and operated in a way that would sustain environmental whisky production. In the end, it was costs and finances that proved to be the end of Waterford.
As such, we decided to honor the contribution and legacy of Waterford Distillery with The Parting Glass Award and a Double Gold Medal for Waterford Organic Cuvée Gaia. Though Waterford may have closed its doors, the innovation and boldness of its approach under Mark Reynier will not be forgotten. So, thank you to Waterford Whisky. And, if you happen upon a bottle of Waterford Organic Cuvée Gaia, buy it.
*Waterford uses the spelling without the ‘e’.
Original Notes by Nino Kilgore-Marchetti
The Irish whiskey scene, like the American, is defined in part by a mix of traditional larger brands and a newer crop of craft-style outlets. One of these younger distilleries, Waterford Whisky, was founded by Scotch industry veteran Mark Reyneir, formerly of the forward-thinking Bruichladdich distillery. Exploration of terroir was a big concept at Bruichladdich, and it is something Reyneir brought with him to Waterford.
The Waterford focus on terroir takes it down to the granular, producing whiskeys exploring the barley of individual farms that partner with the whiskey maker to provide grains. As an expansion of this, the brand recently introduced a “cuvee” concept, which marries together matured whiskeys from these single-origin expressions into a “the whole – greater than simply the sum of its parts” idea.
“The natural progression of our unique terroir mission was to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Grand Vins of Bordeaux or the Grande Marques of Champagne, and that is to create our flagship cuvées,” said Reynier at the time of its release. “Our new creative Cuvée Concepts, where we layer together uniquely flavorsome Single Farm Origins, help us to great our most complex, expressive, and profound whiskies.”
Today’s Offering
Three Cuvée Concepts have been introduced to the United States to form the basis of this new core range. Each one is described as bringing “a new dynamic to the distillery’s trademark barley-forward profile.”
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The one being reviewed here today is Waterford Organic Cuvée Gaia. This expression brings together Ireland’s only organic malting barley growers across multiple vintages, representing six organic farms and two harvests in total. Normally championed under Waterford’s Arcadian Farm Origin consideration, which focuses on “maverick growers whose inspirational ethos & way of life respects the land & the old ways in the pursuit of natural flavour over yield imperative,” what you have here is a four-year, seven-month-old Irish whiskey drawn from a mix of first fill U.S. (28%), virgin U.S. (25%), “premium” French (19%) and vin doux naturel (28%) casks.
Bottled at 50% ABV and free from artificial coloring and chill-filtration, Gaia is priced at $89.99.
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