It’s official, Ballina is home to Ireland’s best whiskey

Only seven years after laying down the first casks of whiskey to be produced in Co Mayo in over 150 years, the Connacht Whiskey Company recorded a major breakthrough at last Tuesday’s Irish Whiskey Awards when its Connacht Single Malt Distillery Exclusive was named ‘Best Cask Strength Irish Whiskey of the Year’ at the prestigious competition. The distillery also received a Gold Medal for its Straw Boys Poitín. The Irish Whiskey Awards competition is now in its tenth year and features Irish whiskey and spirits in twenty categories, so to be named the best of the best is a tremendous honour and one the Connacht Whiskey Company is proud to have received.

The awards were held at the Jameson Bow Street Distillery in Dublin.

“When we started Connacht Whiskey our singular focus was to create great Irish whiskey,” explained its delighted CEO Thomas Jensen. “Everything we have done from our location in western Ireland, our custom stills, our selection of Minch Hook Head malt, to a great distilling team including Master Distiller Robert Cassell, Master Blender Julia Nourney, and Head Distiller Ryan Friesen, was done to bring a true craft approach to Irish whiskey.

“The fact that our five and a half year old single malt can not only compete but win against some of the greatest whiskey brands in the world gives us confidence that we are doing things right,” added Jensen, who is one of CWC’s Founders.

“The fact that we also received the gold medal for our poitín demonstrates the quality and care we put into all our new make spirit and the passion we have to help Irish whiskey continue to grow and receive the global recognition it so deserves.” 

CWC’s whiskeys are heavily influenced by Ireland’s maritime climate and it’s used as a key selling point that every bottle has been crafted by the Atlantic at the Ballina distillery.