Glendalough Distillery — County Wicklow Single Malt Whisky

Glendalough Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery located near Newtownmountkennedy, County Wicklow, Ireland, on the road to the historic Glendalough valley south of Dublin. It was founded in 2011 by five friends from Wicklow and Dublin and is billed as the first new craft distillery to open in Ireland in several hundred years. It remains independently owned and is best known for its cask-finished single grain and single pot still whiskeys alongside its foraged-botanical gins.

History

Glendalough was established in 2011 by a group of five friends — Kevin Keenan, Gary McLoughlin, Barry Gallagher, Brian Fagan and Donal O'Gallachoir — who set out to revive small-batch, craft distilling traditions in Ireland. The company takes its name from the nearby Glendalough valley ("Valley of the Two Lakes"), site of the sixth-century monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin, whose story of leaving comfort behind to pursue a more meaningful path in the mountains is central to the brand's identity. The business began by releasing poitín in 2013 while its own whiskey stocks matured, initially sourcing new-make and maturing spirit as it built out production. A dedicated distillery facility was opened in the Glendalough valley in May 2014, and the operation later consolidated whiskey and gin production at a site in the Newtown Business & Enterprise Centre, Newtownmountkennedy, using copper pot stills sourced from German manufacturer Arnold Holstein. Since its early whiskeys reached the market, Glendalough has built a reputation for experimental cask finishing — including Japanese Mizunara oak, Irish oak, Calvados, Madeira and Burgundy casks — and has won Irish Distillery of the Year honours at international spirits competitions in multiple consecutive years. The distillery is today owned and run by co-founders Gary McLoughlin and Barry Gallagher.

Quick Facts

• Region: County Wicklow, Ireland
• Founded: 2011 (whiskey and gin production facility opened 2014)
• Owner: Gary McLoughlin and Barry Gallagher (independent, founder-owned)
• Status: Active
• Stills: Copper pot stills (Arnold Holstein, Germany) — wash still and spirit still

Core Range

Glendalough's core whiskey range centres on single grain and single pot still expressions matured and finished in a variety of casks, including the Double Barrel and Double Barrel Cask Strength single grain, Single Grain finished in Burgundy, Calvados XO and Madeira casks, Pot Still Irish Whiskey and Pot Still Peated, and older single malt releases finished in Mizunara oak (including a 7 Year Old and a rare 17 Year Old). The distillery also produces a range of wild botanical gins — including Wild Botanical, Wild Rose and Four Seasons Irish Gin — and poitín, both foraged with locally sourced ingredients from the Wicklow Mountains.