Lambay Whiskey have announced that they are building an offshore, off grid micro distillery at the brand’s home on Lambay Island.
The island is just three miles off the coast of Ireland, which was acquired by the Baring family in 1904. The family have cared for and protected Lambay Island for over a century, with wallabies, grey seals, and its own colony of seabirds, it is a wildlife sanctuary and designated nature conservation area.
Lambay Whiskey is a joint venture between The Baring Family and House of Camus, a world renowned family-owned Cognac producer. Lambay Whiskey was created in 2017, with a collection of Irish Whiskeys finished in the island’s Sea Cask Room in signature Camus Cognac casks. The Whiskey was created to contribute to the preservation and conservation of the Island and is now sold in over 30 markets worldwide.
The construction of the island micro distillery marks another major milestone, not just for the brand but for the further preservation of the island itself. A pre-existing protected building, an ancient farm shed, will be repurposed to house the micro distillery. In keeping with the brand’s environmental commitments, only organic Irish grain will be distilled on the island. Two locally crafted 1,500 litre copper stills will be transported over to the Island early Autumn 2024. All distillery by-products will be consumed by the island livestock, contributing to a circular economy by removing the need to bring feed from the mainland. The Island has no mains power supply, and in keeping with the distillery’s green policy, it will be powered by a HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) generator, which will see excess heat generated from the distillery recovered and used to heat and maintain the historic 15th century castle on the island.
“The project brings a host of exciting opportunities for Lambay, drawing investment to some of our most under-utilised buildings; bringing people and life to the island; providing elegant efficiencies such as recovered heat for central heating and spent distillers’ grain for feeding livestock. While we intend to get up and running using green fuel (HVO), the aim is to transition to fully renewable energy in the coming years, eventually leading to a situation where the whole island is entirely self-sufficient for its energy needs. The distillery is a way to force the pace.” comments Alexander Baring from the Revelstoke Trust and current custodian of Lambay Island.
“The plan to build the distillery has been 3 years in the making. As we continue our mission to protect this wildlife sanctuary off the coast of Ireland, we embark on a new phase of Lambay Whiskey, an ambitious project to build a micro distillery as unique as Lambay Island and the whiskey it will distil.’ said Cyril Camus, President of the House of Camus.
“In every sense, the Island has and will dictate the course the Lambay Whiskey micro distillery will take. Alexander Baring and I are committed to producing whiskey that is in tune with all the nature of the island. We’re excited by what it can achieve for the future of Lambay Island and how we can raise the bar for global spirit brands.”
Work has commenced on the micro distillery and is expected to be completed by November of this year, with the first island whiskey distillation taking place before Christmas 2024.
When complete, the distillery, which can only operate during the winter months due its off-grid nature, will produce the highest quality Single Malt Whiskey. Once distilled it will be laid down in the Island’s bonded warehouse by the sea, the Sea Cask Room, for a minimum of 3 years.
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