Waterford Bannow Island Single Farm Irish Whisky

Waterford is the latest venture of Mark Reynier, the former CEO of Bruichladdich in Islay. In 2015, Mark purchased a disused, state-of-the-art Guinness brewery near the South Coast of Ireland. There, inspired by his 40 years’ experience in wine and spirits, he launched a pioneering whisky distillery which would produce limited edition, single malts focused on terroir, transparency and traceability.

Mark brings to single malt whisky the same intellectual drive, methodology and rigour as the greatest winemakers. Waterford has a barley-led approach as the conditions under which the barley grows; the ‘terroir’, has a profound impact on the quality of the liquid and ultimately defines the flavour of Waterford’s whiskies.

All of Waterford's whiskies are made using 100% malted barley and are natural and non-chill filtered with a slow fermentation and unhurried distillation to extract maximum flavours. The maturation takes place half a kilometre from the sea and uses premium quality French and American casks; a combination of first-fill and new oak barrels.

Bannow Island

This release of single malt Irish whisky from the Waterford Distillery using barley grown grown on the south coast of Co. Wexford by Ed Harpur on his Bannow Island farm. For this particular edition, the whisky was drawn from first-fill American oak casks, virgin oak casks, French oak casks and even some casks used to age vin doux naturel! These expressions were created to explore terroir and its impact on whisky, each one made with barley grown at a single farm. Incredibly fascinating stuff.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Bright barley notes - not nutty, more floral and malty. Hints of sultana and crisp pear shine through.

Palate: Honeyed malt and juicy orchard fruits meet on the palate, with a hint of earthy spice.

Finish: A subtle hint of salinity on the finish, with lingering pepper and caraway.