Close Menu
News

Ex-SMWS man to revive ancient whisky region

A former Scotch Malt Whisky Society manager is seeking to raise awareness of and restore the historical Dál Riada whisk(e)y region, which encompasses Northern Ireland and the Inner Hebrides.

Through his new venture High Sea Spirits and aid from the University of Ulster, former SMWS and Teeling Irish Whiskey brand ambassador Sam MacDonald is aiming to retrace and archive the history of distilling, which can be traced back to the mid-6th century in the area.

By reestablishing through research the region of Dál Riada – which includes the modern-day Bushmills distillery in addition to those on the islands of Islay, Jura and Mull – MacDonald is aiming to map early routes of distillation to pin down where the practice really first started.

He is also hoping the research will enable him to “dissect” and “define” the whiskies of the region, which historically would have been of a similar style.

“Dál Riada is the most important whisk(e)y producing region in the world,” said MacDonald. “If the Rift Valley is the cradle of civilisation, then I’d suggest Dál Riada is the baby bouncer of spirit-induced drunken debauchery.”

Currently, the oldest records of distilling can be traced back to the north coast of Ireland, with Bushmills the world’s oldest licensed distillery. However it could well be that distilling took place elsewhere in the region even earlier, as the shared whisk(e)y style would suggest.

“The whisk(e)y of Dál Riada, I believe, is not distinguished by national borders but rather by ‘terroir’. For this small but powerful region encompassing the north coast of Ireland and the western isles of Scotland pre-dated the concept of nation states and was bonded together by a common language, Gaelic, family and other social links, trade, cultural practices, and tastes.

The Dal Riada region

“To determine the flavour of Dál Riada’s spirit and thus legitimise the world’s most important whisk(e)y region, I aim to identify the various characteristics that, historically, would have been present in the liquid.”

As part of his remit from the University of Ulster as a “social enterprise”, MacDonald is also partnering with Discover Ireland, Discover Northern Ireland and tourist organisations to offer tours of the region.

“I was always interested in the historical connection between the regions and I wanted others to experience it as well,” Sam continued. By offering High Seas Spirits tours he is confident he can educate while offering experiential tours and ultimately boost tourism across the Dál Riada region.

“Visitor numbers are relatively low on Islay – Laphroaig has around 20,000 visitors a year compared to 123,000 at Bushmills,” he said. “It really comes down to access – it can be a hell of a journey to get to Islay.”

To make the transport easier, High Seas Spirits will collect guests from Belfast International Airport, with tours taking in the Northern Ireland coast before heading to Islay on a boat.

According to MacDonald, the journey from Belfast to Islay can be completed in under two hours.

“It’s about the history, but also the experience,” he continued. “As it develops it will get really exciting.”

The launch of High Sea Spirits follows the the Irish Whiskey Association’s development of a strategy which aims to place Ireland as the “world leader” in whisk(e)y tourism by 2030.

It looks like you're in Asia, would you like to be redirected to the Drinks Business Asia edition?

Yes, take me to the Asia edition No