Glendalough Distillery

Ireland’s First Craft Distillery

The Glendalough Distillery was set up by five friends from Wicklow and Dublin with a deep passion for reviving the heritage of craft distilling in Ireland. In the 18th & 19th centuries there were over 200 licensed distilleries in Ireland and along with countless unlicensed ones produced diverse styles of poitín, whiskey, gin and even absinthe. Until recently that dropped to a small handful. Glendalough Distillery is now part of a revival of this heritage. The idea behind Glendalough Distillery is to make innovative spirits while staying true to the tradition and heritage of our ancestors. Initially we started with the first ever spirit, poitín and since then have moved to whiskey and most recently the release of two seasonal, wild botanical gins.

Wild Winter Botanical Gin

Each season is different, the unpredictable Irish weather resulting in an ever changing array of botanicals, berries and fruit. Each season will bring a different gin with varying taste and style.

Wild Summer Botanical Gin

Each season is different, the unpredictable Irish weather resulting in an ever changing array of botanicals, berries and fruit. Each season will bring a different gin with varying taste and style.

Wild Spring Botanical Gin

Each season is different, the unpredictable Irish weather resulting in an ever changing array of botanicals, berries and fruit. Each season will bring a different gin with varying taste and style.

Wild Autumn Botanical Gin

Each season is different, the unpredictable Irish weather resulting in an ever changing array of botanicals, berries and fruit. Each season will bring a different gin with varying taste and style.

Sherry Cask Finish Poitín

Before there was whiskey, there was poitín. Poitín was the origin of the species, the original “water of life”. It’s Ireland’s gift to the world, one of the first spirits ever to be distilled.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is slight in nature and might fool you. If you didn’t know better you might sense a faint Riesling fragrance, no less. Oak, berried fruit, gooseberries and blackcurrants are in there.

The taste is creamy and mellow in the mouth and hangs on the tongue with a trace of lychees. There are hints of black, cracked pepper.

The finish is lingering and warming and sweet, if slightly salty. Wait for a comforting, spicy tail, even spicier in the Mountain Strength, along with dried fruit and berry notes throughout the range, but even more so with the Sherry Cask Finish that also holds more vanilla from the extra time with the oak.

Premium Irish Poitín

Before there was whiskey, there was poitín. Poitín was the origin of the species, the original “water of life”. It’s Ireland’s gift to the world, one of the first spirits ever to be distilled.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is slight in nature and might fool you. If you didn’t know better you might sense a faint Riesling fragrance, no less. Oak, berried fruit, gooseberries and blackcurrants are in there.

The taste is creamy and mellow in the mouth and hangs on the tongue with a trace of lychees. There are hints of black, cracked pepper.

The finish is lingering and warming and sweet, if slightly salty. Wait for a comforting, spicy tail, even spicier in the Mountain Strength, along with dried fruit and berry notes throughout the range.

Mountain Strength Poitín

Before there was whiskey, there was poitín. Poitín was the origin of the species, the original “water of life”. It’s Ireland’s gift to the world, one of the first spirits ever to be distilled.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is slight in nature and might fool you. If you didn’t know better you might sense a faint Riesling fragrance, no less. Oak, berried fruit, gooseberries and blackcurrants are in there.

The taste is creamy and mellow in the mouth and hangs on the tongue with a trace of lychees. There are hints of black, cracked pepper, especially so in the Mountain Strength.

The finish is lingering and warming and sweet, if slightly salty. Wait for a comforting, spicy tail, even spicier in the Mountain Strength, along with dried fruit and berry notes throughout the range.

Single Grain Double Barrel Whiskey

Ireland’s first craft distillery gives you a whole new style of Irish whiskey. A single grain whiskey, aged first in American Bourbon barrels and finished in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is slight but undoubtedly rich with dark fruit; cherry, raisin, fig (with Christmas pudding notes on the nose for those lucky enough to know what that is) along with floral lemongrass and a touch of nutmeg.

The taste is sweet and creamy on the palate, with butterscotch, honey and peppercorn bringing along sweet Bourbon Cask notes with dried fruit returning through notes of maraschino cherries and a pinch of brown sugar.

The finish has lingering notes of ginger spices with a faint glimmer of almond to end a complex Irish Whiskey from start to finish.

13 Year Old Single Malt

Did you know 13 is Ireland’s luckiest number? For us it means a glimpse at Ireland’s heroic age, a new golden age and a perfect age for an Irish single malt whiskey. This very special whiskey herald’s a second coming of Irish single malt that’s been a long time coming. After almost a century of blends defining Irish whisky, Glendalough brings you a 13 year old single malt that has put in the hard yards. The style of whiskey that first made Irish whiskey great. The style of whiskey your great grandad drank. And a stylish whiskey whose time to be great is once again. It comes to you with hints of spice, creamy vanilla, biscuity malts, and that unmistakable clout of dedication that embodies the outstanding spirit of Ireland.

Tasting Notes

The nose is deep butterscotch, honeycomb and rich lemon meringue balanced with citrus fruits and just a hint of a clove spice.

The taste jumps to the front with an intense vanilla fudge luxurious sweetness and almost rock candy mixed with touches of fruit – lemon citrus, peach and dried apricot. This is followed by deep spices; red peppercorn and light cloves. A truly velvety mouth feel that just hovers on the palate.

The finish is rich with lingering spice, under-layers of robust malt characteristics and deep oak notes. And again vanilla fudge reoccurs with a finish that lasts an eternity.

7 Year Old Single Malt

The 7 seas bridge 7 continents that some say were made in 7 days. Even the light we see them in splits into 7. It’s the world’s favourite number and some say, a lucky one. But that’s not why we’ve realesed the first of our single malts as a 7 year old. Here at the Glendalough Distillery, we’re not superstitous, we find it brings bad luck.

As ever it’s all about the man on our bottle, St. Kevin. Before he built his “City of 7 Churches” at Glendalough, Kevin spent 7 savage years in the wilderness. You see the number 7 has always been associated with the seekers, the thinkers and the searchers of truth. St Kevin was all of these and more.

He lived off the land around the upper lake, completely at one with nature, he was the kind of outdoorsman that’d put some of today’s action-men to shame. Tested through 7 sharp winters and inspired by the blush of 7 summers, it shaped him to be the man we revere. This whiskey was made in the traditional style its character shaped by 7 years.

Have a look on our bottle, you’ll see 7 silver crosses. These will lead you to each of the 7 churches, should you ever be stirred into going to Glendalough.