Coastal. Uisce beatha. Potential. Warm. Welcoming.
“The light music of whisky falling into glasses made an agreeable interlude.”
― James Joyce
Clonakilty, a town an hour south of Cork and almost on the coast is steeped full of a rich history. Once known for its brewery and smuggling, it looks set to become world-famous for its whisky. Situated on the south coast of Ireland it is quite the drive from the North of Ireland, but totally worth it. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty. The scene was set for the perfect day and it turned out to be just that.
After exploring the south coast, we made our way to Clonakilty, we first walked through the streets of the town taking in the sights. It was a quiet morning and maybe the reason for the lack of activity was everyone was still in bed working off the night before, which did happen to be St Patricks Day. We stopped at a lovely local café for some breakfast and then headed across to the distillery for the 11:00 tour.
If you are approaching the town from Cork/the East, the distillery will be one of the first buildings that catches your eye as you drive into the town. It would hard not to miss it, standing tall and proud. It is one of the most modern buildings and simply stunning. The glass front gives the passer-by a glimpse of the beautiful stills that sit at the front of the distillery. We parked in the distillery car park and made our way in.
We were met with the warmest of welcomes which can be rare on a bank holiday (most people working on a public holiday aren’t the happiest, I know I wouldn’t be). The two ladies who met us quickly checked I had received my refund as I had stupidly ordered too many tickets. It was the attention to detail and little things that really impressed me. We turned out to be the only ones on the tour that morning apart from one other staff member from the bistro who was training. Our tour guide for the day was Mary and you couldn’t have wished for a better guide. The tour began in the distillery shop which we were then taken outside and around to the beginning spot for the tour which is outside the building. You then climb a flight of stairs and the magic begins.
The first room is a detailed and immersive history of Clonakilty, the distillery and its owners. It was at this point I began to realize that although it is a fairly new distillery, there is a lot of history and work that has happened so that the distillery stands there today. It is rare to see a new distillery with already a rich history. Founded by the Scully family, a local family, they have cultivated the coastal land of Ireland for eight successive generations. Obviously therefore this distillery will become one of the few to have grain to bottle spirits. Another distillery also doing this is Echlinville Distillery which we absolutely love. The barley is grown in fields right on the coast and therefore it gains characteristics from the constant sea spray. They really do say it best.
“Our fields at the base of Galley Head Lighthouse are the perfect environment to nurture and grow the finest of crops. Centuries of sea mist, soft rain and ocean spray provide a complexity to the soil that permeates right through to each individual grain.”
Also a note for any visiting tourists, a recommendation from our guide is to have a walk up by the lighthouse and of course Inchydoney beach.
You then sit down for a short video covering the people and the distillery, it is a beautifully shot film and is easier to digest for those who prefer video to written text. The video details the whiskey and distillery’s beginnings and is a well-rounded introduction to what you are about to experience.
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Once you are finished the video you make your way to the upper level of the distillery to the mill room and a view of the main distillery floor. Up here you can really appreciate the surrounding area, the town of Clonakilty and the beauty of the three stills. Mary very intelligently brought us through the initial processes of whiskey making. A process we are all too familiar with from our many distillery explorations but nevertheless she kept it interesting and engaging.
We then made our way down to the distillery floor which we were taken through the processes of whiskey making from fermentation to distillation. I would go through it in detail here but I wouldn’t want to spoil the magic for anyone visiting the distillery. Their process is similar to that of any distillery and it is clearly all to a high standard. You also get to see the still in which their gin is distilled. Their gin – Minke – was how we came to learn of the distillery when they launched it at the Gin Experience in Dublin. Since that first sip we truly fell in love. This time however we were here to taste the whiskey.
Before we could taste, there was one very crucial stage left, in fact possibly the most important stage in any whiskey – maturation. This is where a whiskey truly picks up its character. Clonakilty have really jumped into the art of this, with using port, cognac and many other barrel types. Again this part is best explained on video. This was in one of the most amazing rooms I have been in.
The distillery is beautifully decorated beginning to end but it is in the aging room that the interior truly shines. A glamorous long wooden table is surrounded by embroidered chairs and all lit with old Russian warehouse lighting. The attention to detail is spot on and I am sure I missed many more details. My favourite was the stunning metal whale tail mounted on the wall.
Clonakilty’s whiskey is finished at their Atlantic Ocean maturation warehouse and this creates even more character given the cool salty sea air that the barrels will sit in.
The above picture shows the charring on the inside of the wooden barrels that give the whiskey its flavour and colour. The charring creates those caramel tones and brings out the oils in the wood further. The aging process and advancement of colour is demonstrated in a beautiful cupboard.
We then moved into the speakeasy to taste the whiskey, the part everyone is the most excited for.
After a fantastic in-depth tour – Mary also took us through our tasting. We had opted for the connoisseur tasting. We were to try three whiskeys – the core Small Batch, the Cognac Cask finish and the Distillery exclusive a Single Malt Single Cask. Before the whiskey tasting we were offered something we had never been offered before at any distillery. Bearing in mind we have been to countless distilleries, this was shocking. Mary offered the driver, three small miniatures to pour the remainders of their tastings so they didn’t go to waste. Again it was the little touches and attention to detail that made this distillery so wonderful. After establishing who was going to drive we went on with the tasting.
I truly believe at every distillery we learn something new and this was no different. This time it was in how to nose the whiskey. I already knew to open my mouth so the vapors also flow through your nose and touch the back of your tongue on the way past, but this time Mary instructed us to pass it by our noses three times in a circular motion to get our palettes used to the smell. This really helped and is a trick I have used since.
The first tasting was the Small Batch, the core whiskey of their range. Served in the perfect whiskey tasting glass you receive a generous amount. First we were encouraged to observe the colour and appearance of the whiskey, then to observe the “legs” of the whiskey. All this before even tasting and we were learning so much about the whiskey just from its appearance. We then moved on to nose the whiskey using the above technique, almost tasting the whiskey as the vapours pass down your neck. Finally then getting to taste the whiskey.
The tasting like the nosing of the whiskey was done in a unique way too. Far too many times I have been to a distillery and been told countless flavours that I should be tasting, at Clonakilty this was quite the opposite. Mary sat back and allowed us to taste the whiskey for ourselves and for once without the guidance of flavour profiles, it allowed our palates to work naturally. We were able to taste what we tasted instead of what we were “supposed to”. I must be honest to start with I felt a little lost without knowing what I should be tasting, but I soon found my feet and it made for a very enjoyable and mind-opening tasting. It truly was a fantastic way to make the taster carve their own experience.
The small batch is a silky smooth whiskey and really is a good core whiskey for them to have. Usually this is the whiskey that will sell the most and be tasted the most, so it is an important foundation to get correct for any distillery. I think the Double Gold it won at the San Francisco Spirits Competition really speaks for itself. I of course picked up a bottle from the distillery shop.
The second tasting was the Cask Finish Series, which was the Cognac finish. If you are a cognac lover but would like to dabble in whiskey, this is the one for you. Any cognac drinker who has tasted our bottle has loved it. At 43.6% you would expect it to have quite the burn but it is wonderfully smooth and is elevated with a few drops of water
The final tasting was a distillery exclusive, a single malt aged in Bourbon casks. Personally I am not a fan of single malts, it has too much of a waxy aftertaste for me. That is totally a personal preference and I can still appreciate a good single malt. This had all the personality of a single malt and wasnt as repellant to me as some single malts. So I’d say its pretty fantastic for any single malt lovers!
Our tasting and distillery experience was sublime and I will certainly be returning with friends if in the area again. There is so much undiscovered beauty on the south coast of Ireland and it is places like clonakilty distillery that make the trip there so worthwhile.
We finished our tour and of course picked up some bottles in the shop to bring home. Even the interior design of the gift shop is brilliant. After purchasing our bottles with a discount from the tour ticket, we popped them in the car and made our way back into the bistro for a fantastic lunch.
A gem of the irish coastline and name I think the whiskey industry will be speaking for a long time.
The Tipsy Times: Clonakilty Distillery @clonakiltydistillery Coastal. Uisce beatha. Potential. Warm. Welcoming. “The light music of whisky falling into glasses made an agreeable interlude.”
