A new Irish whiskey to celebrate the New Year

Reviving whiskey distilling in the town of Drogheda for the first time in 160 years, the family-owned Boann Distillery unveiled its first single pot still whiskey on the winter solstice (21 December).

On the same date three years ago, the County Louth distillery filled nine specially hand-selected casks with whiskey spirit from its inaugural distillation.

The first bottles of 'Solstice', matured on site, came from a Pedro Ximenez hogshead 250ltr cask, with the bottle design a celebration of darkness into light, inspired by the winter solstice and the passing of time.

Using only the finest grown Irish barley and water from the Boyne Valley, Boann combines the old ways of whiskey production with cutting-edge technology to produce spirits of unrivalled quality.

The distillery’s copper pot stills are the only whiskey stills in the world that use a new form of nano-crystal coating in their design, creating a more pristine spirit free of unwanted compounds.

Boann’s signature Whistler range of single malt whiskeys are matured in a variety of casks giving each a distinct flavour. They include P.X. I Love You, which is finished in a Pedro Ximénez cask giving it a delicious sherry nose, and The Blue Note, which gets its citrus sweetness and caramel notes from maturation in oak bourbon casks.

Meanwhile, Boann’s New Born new make whiskey scooped World’s Best New Make at the 2021 World Whiskies Awards.

Boann also distils dry gin in small batches using botanicals foraged from the family’s apple orchards and hedgerows.

The distillery is named after Boann, goddess of the River Boyne which flows through the famous Brú na Bóinne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The region has huge historical, archaeological and mythical importance in Ireland, being the location of the Hill of Tara and Newgrange, part of the largest and most important prehistoric megalithic site in Europe.

Over 5,000 years old, Newgrange predates the great pyramid of Giza in Egypt and Stonehenge in Great Britain. Every year on the winter solstice, the inner chamber of the passage tomb at Newgrange is illuminated at sunrise. This inspired the Boann distillery to call its first celebratory whiskey, Solstice.

“It has always been our family dream to lead a renaissance of Irish whiskey and to craft and distil our own,” said Pat Cooney, Boann founder and entrepreneur. “That revival has begun and Irish whiskey is now quickly becoming the fastest growing spirit in the world.

“Every bottle will tell a story – the story of our land, our people and our family. This celebratory bottling is a tribute to the people who made the creation possible.”

www.ireland.com