History of a sort was made last night (Dec 21) when Drogheda’s award-winning Boann Distillery celebrated the Winter Solstice by unveiling its first Irish Single Pot Still Whiskey, aptly named ‘Solstice’ which is the first whiskey to be made in Drogheda in 160 years.
On the same date three years ago, Boann filled nine specially selected casks at its base on the Platin Road with whiskey spirit from its inaugural distillation.
In 2019, the single pot still distillate was filled into different wine and spirit casks and matured at the distillery. The first bottles of ‘Solstice’, opened last night, came from a Pedro Ximenez hogshead 250ltr cask.
The bottle design is a celebration of darkness into light, inspired by the Winter Solstice and the passing of time. The body of the bottle design represents the copper pot still and the sun with structural symmetry of sunrays and the reflection of the moon above.
The three staves design, wax sealed to the wooden cork of the bottle, refers to the three years of maturation and is also a reference to the wooden staves of the casks in which the Single Pot Still Whiskey matures.
A select group of whiskey enthusiasts became the first to taste the newly-matured spirit at last night’s celebration in the family-owned distillery.
There were once 18 distilleries in Drogheda, with the last silencing its stills in the late 1850s.
“It has always been our family dream to lead a renaissance of Irish whiskey and to craft and distil our own,” said Pat Cooney, Boann founder and entrepreneur.
“That revival has begun and Irish whiskey is now quickly becoming the fastest growing spirit in the world.
“In late 2019, the first spirit flowed from the Boann Distillery copper pot stills, the first to flow in Drogheda in over 160 years.
“Our state-of-the-art distillery, with its three custom handmade copper pot stills and our access to the best casks to mature our spirit, ensures that we produce unique whiskeys of great character and provenance with a real sense of place.
“Every bottle will tell a story – the story of our land, our people and our family. This celebratory bottling is a tribute to the people who made the creation possible.”
For further details about Boann Distillery and ‘The Whistler’ range of Irish Whiskey, visit: www.boanndistillery.ie
