We were thrilled to win the inaugural Golden Goat award as Skerries Whiskey Chasers Whiskey of the Year for 2022.

Here’s what Gary Quinn, founder of Skerries Whiskey Chasers had to say :

“Skerries Whiskey Chasers tasted 51 whiskies in 2022 – all the greats of Irish whiskey and a few Americans – before selecting Lough Ree’s The Bridge Bethlehem as our favourite of the year. We’re a group of whiskey fans on a massive learning curve and we were delighted that after a year of tasting in our HQ, the Snug Bar in Skerries, we picked a superbly-finished single cask grain whiskey as the champion.

We tasted it again in the final in December against four other finalists, Heaven’s Door Straight Rye, Method & Madness Single Malt, Writer’s Tears Japanese Cask Finish and Dingle Batch 6. It was a terrific tasting but Lough Ree powered through. The PX sherry butt that it was finished in delivered a really complex and elegant flavour profile and an incredible colour, nose and finish that pushed it over the line.

The SWC Whiskey of the Year award, the Golden Goat, will be a perpetual trophy, building a line-up of champions that we believe will stand the test of time. We also want it to be a symbol of recognition of thanks from real whiskey drinkers.

We chose a golden goat as our symbol, an animal forever tied to our north Co Dublin town. Allegedly, St Patrick left his own goat in the town when he ventured to the Skerries islands. When he returned, the people of Skerries had gone to the trouble of eating his goat. In retribution, he changed their voices to that of the bleating of this hardy animal.

Each year we’ll choose one whiskey as our favourite and send the Golden Goat to that distillery. Then at the end of the year we’ll head out to bring the goat home to Skerries and do it all again. Mike Clancy of Lough Ree came to Skerries to bring the award back to Longford for the year. It was a terrific occasion, bringing us deep into the DNA of this young and ambitious family business. The tasting revealed the breadth of the distillery’s sourced bottlings as well as giving us a glimpse of what’s ahead for Lough Ree as they pour their own distillate into cask. A worthy first winner of the Skerries Whiskey Chasers Whiskey of the Year Award.

Gary Quinn, Founder, Skerries Whiskey Chasers,

Skerries, Co Dublin 21^st February 2023.”

Our The story of Sling Shot Distilled Irish Gin, made in Lanesborough, Co Longford, and how it got its name. Our locality is surrounded by ancient peat bogs and inspired by that, our Sling Shot Distilled Irish Gin is the only spirit that uses Peat as a botanical. This makes it the very essence of terroir. We also use Irish Mint and Organic Citrus along with classic gin botanicals to produce a gin with amazing earthiness and complexity. Sling Shot has a wonderful mouthfeel so it’s a great gin for cocktails or to serve with a premium tonic. Since we launched Sling Shot less than 2 years ago, it has won 10 awards including four golds at international tasting competitions, making it one of the most awarded Irish Gins. Sling Shot pours in Ireland’s finest bars and restaurants, where it is highly regarded for its quality, provenance and the complexity it brings to cocktails.

We had quite the exciting week at Lough Ree Distillery as we received an award for our beautiful Sling Shot Gin. This reward has really lifted our spirits here in LRD HQ, it is great to see recognition for all our hard work. A special mention has to go to Claire, our distiller, who brings our product to life every single day. The entire team are over the moon with thanks to this great news. From talks at the dinner table over 2 years ago to an award winning gin, the journey of creating the finest, most highly regarded spirits is truly under way for Peter, Mike & Sheila.

12th March 2019

Sling Shot Distilled Irish Gin wins Great Gold at Catavinum World Wines and Spirits Competition

Sling Shot Distilled Irish Gin from Lough Ree Distillery has been awarded a Great Gold Medal in the Spirits Category of the Catavinum World Wines and Spirits Competition in Spain. Sling Shot was the only gin to be awarded Great Gold (95-100 points) in this International Competition with entries from across Europe.

This new Irish Gin is made by producing 4 separate high quality distillates which are then blended together to make the final Sling Shot Gin. Seven classic gin botanicals are used in the base recipe- Juniper, Coriander, Angelica, Orris Root, along with Lemon Balm, Cardamom and Celery Seed. This is blended with a specially prepared and distilled Citrus distillate from fresh organic, Oranges, Pink Grapefruit, Lemons and Limes; a fresh Mint distillate and finally a distillate of local Peat. Lough Ree Distillery are the first in the world to distil peat as a botanical and it provides great depth and complexity to the gin.

Sling Shot Distilled Irish Gin was launched in Ireland in October and has since been getting great feedback from trade and consumers, with listings in many of Ireland’s premium bars and restaurants. Lough Ree Distillery have commenced exporting to Germany and will shortly be available in several other International markets.

Commenting, Peter Clancy, CEO & Founder of Lough Ree Distillery, said:
“We are delighted with this award- it gives great external validation of the quality of our spirit and it is recognition for all the hard work that has in gone in to developing and producing Sling Shot Distilled Irish Gin. We have a small but committed team and I have no doubt that this award is the first of many for our spirits.”

About Lough Ree Distillery:
Lough Ree Distillery is a new, family owned distillery, based on the shores of Lough Ree in the centre of Ireland. Quality is hugely important to the company so everything that goes into Sling Shot is distilled, blended and bottled in Lough Ree’s  microdistillery in Lanesborough. Lough Ree Distillery’s main Irish Whiskey Distillery site is under construction with plans to open later this year.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:
Peter Clancy: peter.clancy@lrd.ie +353 87 9040238(M) +353 43 3321542
www.loughreedistillery.com