Echlinville Distillery Launches Inaugural Single Estate Whiskey

The Echlinville Distillery (Northern Ireland) is launching 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 Echlinvile – The Beginning unique among Irish whiskeys.

Single Pot Still and Single Malt

Echlinville – The Beginning featured 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 will be available from The Echlinville Distillery and selected retailers from 11am on Saturday 1st June priced £350 / €395. Purchases are limited to two per person.

Echlinville became the first Single Estate farm distillery in Ireland when it began production in 2013. It was one of the first in a new wave of distilleries that led the beginning of the Irish whiskey renaissance.

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 whisker’s 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.”

People, Place and Provenance

He continued: “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 are 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 in 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.”

Echlinville – The Beginning

Patiently curated from a batting of carefully selected seven to nine year old whiskeys distilled from barley grown, harvested and floor melted on the distillery farm.

Single Malt Still Whiskey – 7 Years Old – Double Distilled – Bourbon Cask

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.

Single Malt Whiskey – 7 Years Old – Double Distilled – Bourbon Cask & Virgin American Oak Cask

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, latter coffee, chocolate and salted almonds, giving way to a finish of cedar, clove, tobacco, ginger and cinnamon spice.

Echlinville – The Beginning will be available to purchase from The Echlinville Distillery and selected retailers including Celtic Whiskey Shop, James J. Fox Dublin, Carry Out Killarney, Green Acres of Wexford, Irish Malts and Weisshaus Shop.

For more information, visit: www.echlinville.com or follow @echlinville on social media.