| Country | ireland |
| Region | County Longford |
| Established | 2018 |
| Owner | The Clancy family (independent, family-owned) |
| Type | Blended Irish whiskey, single malt & single cask releases (also gin and vodka) |
| Number of stills | Copper pot stills (small-batch) |
| Visitor center | Yes |
| Status | Active |
| Phone | n/a |
Lough Ree Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery located in Lanesborough, County Longford, Ireland. It was founded in 2018 and is currently owned and operated by the Clancy family. Housed in a converted Georgian building dating to 1806 on the bank of the River Shannon, its first whiskey run in 2022 is recorded as the first legal whiskey distillation in Lanesborough since the 1780s.
Lough Ree Distillery was established in 2018 by three siblings of the Clancy family — Peter, Mike and Sheila (later joined in leadership by Sheila Mullen as CFO) — who converted a former butcher's shop on Lanesborough's Main Street into a working microdistillery. The site was chosen deliberately for its position on the River Shannon at the meeting point of Ireland's east and west, and for a family connection: a great-grand uncle was recorded as living at the premises in the 1901 Census.
Distilling began in August 2018, and the distillery's first product, Sling Shot Distilled Irish Gin — noted for using peat as a botanical — launched that October at the Taste of the Lakelands Food Fair. The distillery built a reputation for its gin and vodka in its early years, winning Best Irish Vodka honours in both 2019 and 2022, before turning its copper pot stills to whiskey. Its first legal whiskey distillation took place in 2022, the first recorded in Lanesborough since the 1780s. Since then the distillery has released a growing series of single-cask whiskeys under The Bridge Series, alongside its Bart's blended Irish whiskey range and a coffee shop and visitor experience that opened in summer 2021.
Lough Ree Distillery's whiskey portfolio centres on Bart's Blended Irish Whiskey, produced in three variants — the standard blend, the sherry-cask-dominant Bart's XS, and the peated-cask-dominant Bart's XP — alongside the entry-level Hidden Heartlands Irish Whiskey. Its flagship line is The Bridge Series, a growing collection of single-cask, single-barrel releases named after local landmarks (including Ballykilcavan, Black Donkey, Blenavoher, Portaneena, Inchenagh and Inchmore), with dozens of individual cask releases issued since the range began. The distillery does not publish ABV figures for its retail range. Alongside whiskey, it also produces Sling Shot Irish Gin and other gins and vodkas under its Founders Series.
Lough Ree distillery is located at Main Street, Lanesborough, Co. Longford, Ireland.
Lough Ree distillery was founded in 2018.
Lough Ree distillery is owned by The Clancy family (independent, family-owned).
Lough Ree distillery is from County Longford, ireland.
Yes, Lough Ree distillery welcomes visitors.
You can buy Lough Ree whisky at Glenbotal.co.uk. We currently stock a selection with free UK delivery on orders over £99.
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About Glenbotal
The idea of Glenbotal came to us naturaly: as whisky lovers, we were always on the lookout for new experiences in the whisky world. That’s why we created Glenbotal and became our very own first customers. We buy unique and hard to find spirits from auctions, ballots, and private collections. Then, we share them with a small circle of friends and people who can appreciate a good dram.