Ireland's Clonakilty Distillery, Celtic Whiskey Bar & Larder and The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. have experienced wins at this year's World Whiskies Awards.
Clonakilty Distillery
Clonakilty Distillery's visitor experience manager, Ewan Paterson, won in the "Best Visitor Experience Manager" category, and the distillery's Clonakilty Small Batch Single Malt Whiskey won in the "Single Malt Small Batch" category.
Paterson stated, "It is an absolute honour to receive this Icons of Whisky Award from Whisky Magazine. I would like to say thanks to the whole team at Clonakilty Distillery, management, production and the office team, who all make it possible for us to delight our visitors. I'm proud to work with the brilliant visitor experience team who make my job a pleasure on a daily basis."
Paterson added, "It's been a challenging two years and I thank them all for their ongoing support and enthusiasm. Being part of the Clonakilty Distillery since we opened our doors in 2019 has been a wonderful journey and the future is very exciting!"
Clonakilty Distillery founder Michael Scully stated, "I am thrilled to see Ewan recognised today as the best visitor experience manager, the team are incredibly proud of him, he plays a pivotal role at our visitor centre and if you've ever visited you will know that he goes above and beyond to ensure everyone that comes through the doors has the best possible experience that they can at Clonakilty Distillery."
Scully added, "It is a testament to [Clonakilty Distillery head distiller] Paul [Corbett] and his team of distillers that our Clonakilty Small Batch Single Malt has also been recognised at the awards today. We will legally be able to launch our own very first whiskey made from our distillery in May later this year, so it has been a great start to 2022 for us and we are really looking forward to a busy summer and autumn welcoming visitors back to our distillery tours."
Celtic Whiskey Bar & Larder
The head chef of Celtic Whiskey Bar & Larder in Killarney, Co. Kerry, Jason Nolan, won the award for "World's Best Chef of the Year at a Whisk(e)y Bar".
Nolan stated, "I suppose my vision for Celtic Whiskey Bar is to serve the very best of local organic Irish produce where possible. I'm extremely passionate about doing our part to support the local small food producers here in Kerry. I make no secret in one day hoping to be recognised as the best bar in Ireland with excellent food, and obviously this isn't achievable without the superb team we have here in Killarney, so I am honoured to share this award with them."
The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.
The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. was crowned "Best Single Malt in Ireland" across all categories with its inaugural release, The Devil's Keep.
The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. founder and CEO Jay Bradley stated, "While we didn't win the World's Best I am ecstatic and equally humbled that The Devil's Keep was crowned Best Single Malt in Ireland, seeing off some fantastic whiskeys including two from the Teeling stable. For the first whiskey that I’ve ever created to go on to be crowned best whiskey to come out of Ireland that year, that’s unheard of and an amazing achievement. It just reinforces to me that what we are doing is working and that the critics and experts are enjoying what we are creating. We have so much more to do and winning this award makes me hungrier than ever to forge on and keep making phenomenal whiskeys."
© 2022 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
