Clancy siblings, Peter, Sheila, and Michael are proud to announce that they have commenced distillation of Irish Whiskey in Lough Ree Distillery, the first legal distillery in Co. Longford since Richmond Distillery, Clondra ceased production in 1843.
Lough Ree Distillery has been distilling since 2018, producing multi award-winning products such as Sling Shot and Aiteal Gins, Zesty Vodka and bottling Irish Whiskey brands Bart’s and The Bridge series. The team have now taken this a step further and started distilling Irish Whiskey in their current distillery, ahead of a move to their larger, permanent site overlooking Lough Ree in 2023.
Peter Clancy, CEO, added:
“A huge amount of work has gone in to get us to this point. This is a milestone in our development and sets us up well for distillation at our larger facility, which we will bring online during 2023. This project has taken longer than expected, but Whiskey is a long-term business, and in the interim, we’ve been busy building our routes to market and that’s really the key to success. With advances in technology, what we will build now will be more sustainable and future-proofed than if we had built it a few years ago. We have more exciting updates to announce in the coming months, so watch this space.”
Michael Clancy, Chief Technical Officer, Lough Ree Distillery commented:
“Already, we’re very happy with the quality of our spirit, and we look forward to tasting the fruits of our labour in late 2025, once this spirit has matured. This is a very proud moment for us, and we really feel the weight of history on our shoulders. There was a lot of distilling activity in this area in times gone by, including Michael Farrell, who was distilling with a 236 gallon still in Lanesborough in 1782, and an old maltings, the ruins of which are just across the bridge from our site, where the River Shannon enters Lough Ree.”
Lough Ree Distillery’s current range of whiskies have acquired a cult following and they are already seeing a lot of interest from whiskey enthusiasts and tourists, who are coming to Lanesborough specifically to seek out the distillery, so this bodes well for future developments.
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