Winner – Waterford Distillery
Still less than a decade old, Waterford Distillery has already built a profile of enviable proportions in the Irish whiskey category.
Given that founder Mark Reynier was part of the team who re-established Bruichladdich on Islay – before selling the single malt scotch business 12 years ago to Rémy Cointreau – Waterford’s strategy has been led by a ‘do different’ ethos. And nowhere more so than environmentally.
The whiskey is produced from barley grown only in Ireland. Indeed, Waterford leans into this aspect of the provenance story further with its ‘Single Farm Origin’ series of expressions. “To simply ask for each farm to be kept separate as a Single Farm Origin unit – unmixed with imported barley and specific to one farm, one place – adds 10% to our barley costs before we’ve done anything with it.”
The ‘local-ness’ of the grain is augmented by a high priority given to organic and biodynamic agricultural processes that result in far friendlier natural habitats for birds and insects. This approach has enabled Waterford to lay claim to being the first distillery in Ireland to produce an organic whiskey and – more impressively – being the first distillery in the world to release a biodynamic whiskey. Recognition has come in the form of certifications from biodynamic authority Demeter, as well as the Organic Trust.
“We take ecologically beneficial farming methods like biodynamics – and the resulting flavour benefits – very seriously. This is the core of our ethos: traceable grain on a foundation of regenerative farming.”
Our judges said: “The use of the terroir concept in spirits is a genuine USP that taps straight into consumers’ environmental priorities.”
