THE whiskey and spirit industry across the island of Ireland is experiencing a boom.
After several decades of the 20th century, where just two distilleries existed on the entire island in the form of Bushmills and Midleton in Cork, there are now more than a dozen in Ulster alone.
Six more are in active development from western Fermanagh and Limavady to Cushendall and Belfast.
They include two significant tourism-linked ventures at Belfast’s Crumlin Road Gaol and in the city’s historic Titanic Quarter.
The explosion of distilleries has been captured in a new book by American writer and podcaster Drew Hannush.
Although written as a travel guide to help tourists plan a trip around Ireland’s whiskey distilleries, the book manages to capture the industry at a pivotal moment in its growth and history.
The pace of that growth caught Drew off guard when he started planning last year’s trip around the island, and what started as a plan to write a quick and short guide pre-Covid has turned into a much bigger project.
“I didn’t real see the Irish whiskey market that was one exploding in growth, the way that it really has,” he said.
“I was just blown away by how many distilleries and projects I was finding.”
“I started working on a spreadsheet and it hit 40 and all of sudden over 50, and that was quite shocking to me.
“I have still have my original plan I had created in 2019 and I look back at it and laugh now.”
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In the end, ‘Whiskey Lore’s Travel Guide to Experiencing Irish Whiskey’ features 27 detailed profiles of Irish whiskey distilleries and information on 24 projects in development or at an early stage.
The book has also been complemented by Drew’s podcast (Whiskey Lore), where he narrates his travels all over the island and sits down with the people involved in the new golden age of Irish whiskey.
At one time, Ireland was the world leader in whiskey, with dozens of distilleries scattered all over the island. In Ulster, major distilleries existed in Derry, Limavady, Coleraine, Comber and Belfast, where the Royal Irish Distillery in Belfast was producing 1.5 million gallons a year.
A complex amalgam of events and developments brought about its decline in the early to mid-20th century.
Many of the new-era distilleries have set about reclaiming that history, from Echlinville’s revival of the famous Dunville’s brand to Belfast Distillery Company’s reintroduction of McConnell’s.
Drew said while the Irish industry was overtaken on the world stage by Scotland, its re-emergence now offers a unique opportunity for a more personable experience.
“I’ve been to around 40 distilleries in Scotland and you get that polished feel.
“I wanted to write the book on Ireland now, before the industry got polished.
“I wanted an opportunity for people to see an industry in its rougher stage, because I think it’s a thing you’ll never be able to do in Kentucky or Scotland.
“I wanted to experience it myself, learn about it myself and pass that onto others and let them have the experience of discovering Irish whiskey the same way I discovered Irish whiskey.”
The Ulster distilleries profiled include Copeland, Echlinville, Hinch and Rademon all in Co Down and of course Bushmills on the north coast.
Basing himself in Belfast, Drew revealed he felt instantly at home in the city.
“I loved walking around Belfast and I love the people. I remember sitting at a restaurant near my Airbnb, having breakfast.
“I grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina with Scots-Irish influences all around us, and I felt like I was home.
“I had to pinch myself and say I’m in Northern Ireland and not at home. There are very few places I’ve travelled to in the world that you get that sense that ‘I belong here’.
“It’s just a comfortable place to be.”
The book also profiles the re-emergence of spirit making in Donegal through the Ardara, Crolly and Baoilleach distilleries.
Smaller profiles are included on Brendan Carty’s south Down Killowen Distillery, Steven Murphy’s Old Carrick Mill distillery, near Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan and Darryl McNally’s plans for a new distillery in Limavady.
“Every distillery I visited I met great people and thoroughly enjoyed the experience,” said Drew.
“The goal will be to come back three years from now to do a re-tour and update the book and see where the distilleries have evolved to.
“But I’m sure I’ll be back sometime in-between as well.
“There’s no whiskey market where I just about know everybody,” he laughed “I’ve got a lot of friends in Ireland now!”
To learn more about Drew’s podcast and information on buying his book, visit whiskey-lore.com.
