Hinch Distillery — County Down Single Malt Whisky

Hinch Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery located on the Killaney Estate near Ballynahinch, County Down, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 2019/2020 by Belfast businessman Dr. Terry Cross OBE and is still owned and run by the Cross family today. Built from the ground up as a purpose-built, grain-to-glass operation, Hinch is one of the largest independent distilleries in Northern Ireland, combining a working distillery with a visitor centre, restaurant and event space.

History

Hinch Distillery takes its name from the nearby market town of Ballynahinch (from the Irish Baile na hInse, "town of the island"). It was founded by Dr. Terry Cross OBE, a Belfast-born entrepreneur who had previously spent two decades producing wine at his own vineyard in Bordeaux, France, and who applied that hospitality and production experience to whiskey. Construction of the roughly 30,000 sq ft distillery on the historic Killaney Estate, south of Belfast, began in 2019, with production and the brand launch following in 2020 as one of the wave of new distilleries that opened during the recent revival of Irish whiskey. The site was reported to have officially opened to visitors in 2021 after a construction investment of around £15 million. Hinch was built as a first-generation family distillery with a "farm-to-glass" ethos, using locally sourced materials and craftspeople in its construction, and it produces triple-distilled single malt whiskey on site, from milling and mashing through to distillation, maturation and bottling. Alongside whiskey, the distillery also produces Ninth Wave Irish Gin. The site has since expanded into a wider hospitality destination with a restaurant, bar, shop, tours and function and wedding facilities, and its whiskeys have gone on to win multiple industry awards.

Quick Facts

• Region: County Down, Northern Ireland
• Founded: 2019/2020
• Owner: Dr. Terry Cross OBE
• Status: Active
• Stills: Copper pot stills (triple distillation)

Core Range

Hinch's core range centres on its Single Malt line, including the Hinch Single Malt (43% ABV) and Hinch Peated Single Malt (43% ABV), alongside the Small Batch Bourbon Cask (43% ABV), a 5 Year Old Double Wood expression, a Peated Small Batch (46.4% ABV), and older expressions such as a 10 Year Old Sherry Cask finish. The distillery also produces Ninth Wave Irish Gin.