The Barley Grower of the Year will be presented at Waterford Distillery’s Growers’ Gathering on June 24.
Photos: Joe Evans
WATERFORD Whisky will hold its Growers’ Gathering Festival at its Grattan Quay Distillery, incorporating an Open Day, on Saturday, June 24 from 12pm to 6pm.
“This is the Growers’ Gathering – with something extra,” said Waterford Whisky’s Ian O’Brien. “But up to now, we’ve never had a celebration of Waterford where we’ve invited the public in to see what we do here and what’s been achieved since 2015.”
Ian, who worked as a distiller for five years before moving into brand and social media work for the company, said the time was right to open the gates to a wider audience.
“I’d say there’s quite a few people in Waterford who probably still don’t know what we’ve been doing down here for the past eight years and, let’s be honest, prior to that when the brewery was here. So we’re hoping June 24 is going to open a few more eyes in the city – and beyond – about what we do here and, I’m proud to say, how well we’re doing it.”
Head Distiller Ned Gahan added: “We’re amalgamating the Growers’ Gathering with this new open day to create a celebration of everything to do with the product. We’re all really looking forward to June 24 where, as has become one of our traditions, we’ll be presenting our Barley Grower of the Year trophy.”
Last September, Trevor Harris, John McDonnell and Alan Mooney were joint recipients of the trophy, having been recognised for growing biodynamic barley in chemical-free soil.
Waterford Whisky’s Megan Kiely outlined the schedule for June 24. “We’ll have live music with two local bands – Delta Dogs and Shellakybookies – and we’ll go through the Growers of the Year nominees between both their sets. We’ll be joined by Seagull Bakery, in conjunction with Minch Malt, for a talk about heritage grains and how they compare to our heritage whiskey and they’re going to whip up a whisky pastry especially for the day.”
Megan continued: “We’ll have food vendors on site – Little Catch from Tramore, Azzurro Pizza, Mean Bean Coffee and Freezin’ Frieisan – and we’re hoping they’ll produce a Waterford Whisky spin to their offerings on the day. Our Head Brewer Neil Conway will be hosting talks by local producers and Ned is going to have masterclasses on the day that will operate on a first come, first served basis. Finders Keepers will also be selling from their range of gifts on site so there’s going to be a lot going on!”
Ned, Megan and Ian all agreed that the event is something the staff is really looking forward to. “We’ve never really had a ‘hooly’ here ourselves,” said Ian.
Ned added: “This is a little reward for ourselves as well as bringing in the public, the farmers, Minch Malt, Stafford’s, Paul Jackman – people who’ve done all the bits and pieces along the way to have got us to where we are now. Sure who doesn’t enjoy a good party? (!)”
Said Megan: “And the idea is that we’re going to do it like this every year, make it bigger and better and make it part of the city’s social calendar – a day out with a difference. The fact that the Greenway extension is going to be running right past the Distillery here is going to make us so much more visible to locals and visitors alike so that’s something we’re all really positive about.”
There’s also going to be special festival bottling of Waterford’s Organic Single Farm Origin (Killone) on June 24 which will be limited to 500 bottles, along with a Waterford Whisky pop-up shop, where archive and rare bottles can be purchased.
Tickets for the event priced from €12, include a free dram on entry while entry is free for Under-18s accompanied by an adult. There’s no on-site car parking for the Growers’ Gathering so visitors are being encouraged to park at nearby sites such as The Glen or the South Quays.
For further information, visit https://shop.waterfordwhisky.com/products/waterford-whiskys-growers-gathering-festival-2023-june-24th
The Waterford Whisky Growers’ Gathering, last held in September 2022.
