Echlinville Distillery launches inaugural Single Estate Whiskey
The Echlinville Distillery (Northern Ireland), a Food NI member, has launched
Echlinville – The Beginning, the inaugural whiskey release from Ireland’s first
Single Estate distillery.
Echlinville– The Beginning features two field-to-glass whiskeys distilled
exclusively from barley grown, harvested and floor malted on the distillery
farm. Every step of the production process – from mashing and fermenting the
grains, to casking and maturing the spirit, to filling and labelling the bottles –
has been completed on-site at the County Down distillery.
This complete Single Estate story makes Echlinville – The Beginning unique
among Irish whiskeys. Echlinville– The Beginning features a pair of
exceptional seven-year-old double distilled Pot Still and Single Malt whiskeys.
The two bottle release is limited to 750 sets in a stunning presentation box. It
is available from The Echlinville Distillery and selected retailers from
Speaking about the launch of Echlinville – The Beginning, The Echlinville
Distillery owner Shane Braniff said: “This is a momentous day for everyone at
Echlinville as we unveil our inaugural Echlinville Single Estate Whiskey
release. A whiskey that is inherent to our land. A whiskey that values
provenance, community, tradition and authenticity.
“For more than a decade we have been on this journey to create whiskey that
is rooted in this place we call home – the beautiful Ards Peninsula on the
shores of Strangford Lough.
“Echlinville– The Beginning is a reflection of everything that is great about
this small corner of Ireland – the fertile soil, temperate micro-climate, saline air
and the people who crafted these whiskeys from the ground up.
“The Ards Peninsula has long been regarded as one of the finest barley
growing regions in Ireland. Local farmers would have historically supplied
barley to Ards Maltings, which provided premium malt to some of the
country’s biggest distilleries and breweries.
“The area has a proud, but sometimes forgotten, whiskey heritage. We are
delighted to have revived lost traditions, restoring malting and distilling in the
Ards Peninsula to create a whiskey that once again has a true sensitivity to
the place where it is made.
“Echlinville Whiskey has provenance, character and flavour that can be found nowhere else. This is a unique place with unique people and unique spirit, and that is at the very heart of our Single Malt and Pot Still whiskeys.
“This release is the culmination of a decade of hard work, passion and
perseverance by a dedicated team of people, unwavering in their commitment
to conceive a spirit from the ground up, rooted in locality and crafted with
patience and authenticity.
“We believe in doing things the right way, not the easy way. We floor malt our
barley by hand, as our whiskey forefathers would have done. We distil slowly,
maximising copper contact to achieve a balance between complex character
and delicate flavour. We dunnage mature our whiskey the traditional way on
an earthen floor. This approach earned us a reputation for excellence and the
respect of our friends and colleagues within the Irish whiskey family. We look
forward to sharing this milestone with them.”
With classic Pot Still body and spice, Echlinville’s inaugural Pot Still release
showcases the distillery character. Sweet vanilla cream soda, fresh kiwi,
papaya fruits and fragrant pine notes with menthol, leading to toasted
almonds, ginger and warming white pepper spice, perfectly balanced and
enveloped in luxurious mouth coating Pot Still creaminess.
Full bodied and bold, the first Single Malt release speaks of Echlinville’s
distillate and its origin. Soft orchard fruits, fresh citrus, herbal notes and wild
meadow honey. Then citrus fruits, peach, blood orange, red berry, latte
coffee, chocolate and salted almonds, giving way to a finish of cedar, clove,
tobacco, ginger and cinnamon spice.
