Glendree Distillery
The Glendree Distillery is located in Glendree, Ireland in East Clare, on a winding mountain road on a slope of the Slieve Aughty Mountains, at the family farm of founders Paul and Alex Loudon.
This father-son duo began production in 2019 on a mission to produce fine independent craft spirits using carefully selected grains and yeast and 100% harvested rainwater.
There hasn’t been a legal distillery in East Clare since the introduction of a distilling tax in 1661. The town of Glendree is known as “the Valley of the Druids”, and the Loudons hope to bring the magic of distilling back to the town where they live.
The team at Glendree is passionate about sustainability. Theirs is the only distillery in Europe to exclusively use harvested rainwater for their spirit production.
Glendree boasts a great copper still, unique in that it consists of both a pot still and a five metre column still, and is used to produce all the Glendree spirits. The team calls her Órla, or Golden Princess in Irish, and they say she radiates a glow which imbues their products with the spirit of the west of Ireland – warm and welcoming.
Glendree Distillery currently produces Órla Vodka, and will not source any whiskey but distills its own which will age in bond, with the first releases expected in 2023.
Each distilled batch will consist of a singular barrel and the Glendree team intends to eagerly experiment with their whiskeys.