Dingle Distillery
The Dingle Whiskey Distillery was crafted and conceived by the three independent spirits behind the Porterhouse Brewing Company: Oliver Hughes; Liam LaHart and Peter Mosley.
Oliver Hughes, founder of the Porterhouse group of brewpubs had an immovable vision to bring distilling to Dingle. When he started socializing the idea to friends and Dingle locals, many thought he was out of his mind. There was no such thing as an artisan, independent distillery in Ireland at the time and demand for whiskey was not where it is today.
Yet Oliver persisted in his own inimitable way, winning over detractors and dubious along the way proving that not only could he make his dream a reality, it has turned out to be a very successful business.
Sadly, Oliver passed away before the first Dingle whiskey was ready for bottling but his son Elliot proudly carries on what his father began.
It describes itself as an ‘artisan’ distillery and was established in 2012. The distillery itself stands tall in a converted sawmill in Milltown on the outskirts of Dingle, County Kerry.
The first whiskey distilled in 2013 was a single malt which they matured at the distillery before releasing it in late 2016.
Each subsequent release of the single malt is incrementally more mature than the first. Every batch features a different Liam O’Neill painting on the bottle, with the current expression at Batch #4, aged in ex-bourbon, sherry and Port casks at 46.5% cask strength.
In addition to whiskey, the distillery also produces and markets the very popular Dingle vodka and Dingle Gin.
In 2017, Dingle Distillery became the first independent Irish distillery to release a single pot still whiskey since the formation of Irish Distillers in 1966.
The copper pot stills used at the distillery were designed by John McDougall and produce 2 casks of whiskey per day. They value quality over quantity and so the low volume allows them to ensure all aspects of production are carefully monitored.
Dingle as a town is most famous as the home of Fungi, Ireland’s only dolphin. It is a major attraction on the ring of Kerry where no visit is complete without a visit to Dick Mack’s pub, a fantastic local community gathering spot with a huge selection of Irish whiskey.