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Blackwater Distillery begins Irish whiskey production
Waterford’s Blackwater Distillery has started Irish whiskey distillation, becoming the 21st operational distillery in Ireland.
Blackwater Distillery will use blockchain technology to be “100% transparent”
The distillery in Ballyduff, near Lismore in County Waterford, will produce single malt and pot still Irish whiskey. The company also produces Blackwater Irish Gin.
The site is thought to be the first whiskey distillery in the world to feature blockchain technology.
Every bottle of Blackwater whiskey will feature a unique symbol that can be scanned to give access to information from every step of the whiskey’s production journey.
The technology is being developed as part of the company’s aim to be “100% transparent”.
Blackwater’s three stills have travelled more than 2,300km from Siena, Italy, where they were manufactured by distillation technology company Frilli.
The distillery will open to the general public for tours in early 2019.
Head of the Irish Whiskey Association, William Lavelle, said: “We are delighted to see another distillery commence production of Irish whiskey, marking 21 distilleries in operation. Over the coming months, we will see at least five more distilleries come on stream.
“This is a step change from the start of the decade, when there were only four operational Irish whiskey distilleries. The Irish whiskey renaissance shows no sign of abating.
“2018 has been another year of exceptional sales growth for the industry with global sales set to exceed 10.5 million cases by the end of 2018. This will be the first year that Irish whiskey sales have broken the 10m case barrier since before prohibition in the US in the 1920s.
“It’s a very exciting time and we look forward to seeing further industry growth, fuelled by the ambition, innovation and hard work of our Irish whiskey producers.”