WATERFORD DISTILLERY IS A MAJOR NEW WHISKY PROJECT BY THE MAN BEHIND THE RENAISSANCE OF ISLAY’S BRUICHLADDICH SINGLE MALT WHISKY.

This exceptional facility, located in Waterford, on Ireland’s sunny south-eastern coast, was originally built by Diageo in 2004 and converted to distilling in 2015. Here, Waterford also has access to the finest quality raw materials: the purest of spring water from renowned ancient wells; a team of passionate distillers that share the vision; and the very best barley in the world.

All of Waterford’s whiskies use 100% demonstrably Irish-grown barley – one farm, one terroir, at a time – without adding any imported grains to meet specifications. Following a strict methodology that originates in the greatest vineyards of France, each farm’s crop is kept separate from field to barrel. Using a mash filter instead of a mash tun, extensive 120-hour fermentations, and exceptionally slow distillations, Waterford produces the most natural and respectful expressions of barley possible.

The goal of this precision, provenance with total traceability, is to provide Waterford with an unparalleled library of maturing, nascent single malt whisky as each farm’s barley is distilled, one per week throughout the year.

In Ireland’s Sunny South East, warmed by the Gulf Stream, temperate, moist air crosses fertile soils to produce a verdant landscape – and the world’s finest barley. Since barley is the source of malt whisky’s complex flavours, it makes abundant sense to focus on where and how the barley is cultivated. Those flavours are shaped by place, by the soils that nourish its roots, by the microclimate in which it ripens. By terroir.

The provenance of the barley, where and how it is cultivated, is key. Taking proven principles from Islay a giant step further, Waterford has sourced an unprecedented 97 Irish farms, including organic and biodynamically run, growing barley on 19 distinct soil types. With a pioneering digital logistical system keeping track, each farmer’s crop is harvested, stored, malted and distilled separately. Thus, Waterford can capture in spirit each farm’s terroir, that subtle character shaped by micro-climate and soil. Individuality and integrity from field to barrel.

Waterford has worked with a total of 97 Irish growers to date, around 40 a year – some organic, some biodynamic. All of the whiskies therefore use 100% demonstrably Irish-grown barley – one farm, one terroir, at a time. After harvest every year, the roads of rural Ireland become filled with growers’ tractors carrying Single Farm Origin barley, and around the same time they converge upon a special bespoke storage facility, strategically sited at the centre of Waterford’s barley heartlands. This is a one-of-a-kind wonder-structure that is called the Cathedral of Barley –and next to it, as Waterford adds more growers, stands the Chapel. Built specifically for Waterford’s requirements, a logistical challenge in its own right, without each farm’s individual crop slumbering in its own bin, in separation and ideal conditions, there can be no integrity or traceability. An unsung hero, the Cathedral is the terroir-enabler.

The first whisky ran in January 2016. After maturing for several years in the best of French and American oak, Waterford believes these component “single”, single malts, each one exhibiting its own nuances, will come together making the most profound single malt whisky ever created.

In the summer of 2020, Waterford began releasing whiskies for the first time and was humbled by the response. The first Single Farm Origins, a number of compare and contrast bottlings showcasing the various terroirs of South East Ireland, promptly sold out in a number of territories in a matter of hours. Later, in the autumn, Waterford released Ireland’s very first certified-organic whisky, Organic: Gaia 1.1. A milestone for the industry, it was the first of the Arcadian Series, which celebrates maverick growers and the old ways of farming, including organic, biodynamic and heritage grains.

Terroir is the 3D interaction of soil, climate and site on a plant. It influences how the barley grows and thus the flavours contained within the grain. Captured farm by farm, Terroir requires an extensive logistical infrastructure to verify and prove its influence – each Terroir is a new starting point for Waterford whisky. Fascinated by these nuances, it is hoped that you will be too.