Grán na hÁite
Grains of the Place
Irish Whiskey - New Make
142 Bottles
This bottling of New Make represents the untamed flavour of the Land around the distillery.
Grán na hÁite is Baoilleach Distillery's first local grain distillate, Harvest 2022 was our first harvest year.
These bottles represent the unique flavour of Donegal and especially this hilly mountainous area around Mulroy Bay. The land is rugged and peaty, the grain yeilds are poor, but the depth of flavour is immense.
This is a one off bottling to showcase a true untamed flavour of the sun and the soil in our corner of Donegal
The Grán na hÁite grains were sowed on 7.5 acres for the 2022 Harvest, 3 acres of Barley, 3 acres of Oat, 1 acre of Distillery barley and 1\2 acre of Rye (eaten by deer). The fields were ploughed and sown over a long weekend. The weather was fair all summer and we expected a good harvest. When the harvest came and we weighed the grains, it was quiet a bit less than expected, grain yields were down across Donegal but we are farming poorer ground right on the Atlantic coast. In Munster, barley yields are 3+ tons per acre, East Donegal 2 -2.5 tons per acre and here in Gortnabrade, Carrigart 1-1.5 tons per acre but the low yield is more than out weighted by the unique flavour.
The total mash bill for the Grán na hÁite - Harvest 2022 was approximately 4.5 tons of Barley and 3 Tons of Oat. The harvest 2022 grains were processed in 23 mashes and 26 distillations, double distilled over a period of 2 months in April and May 2023.
25% of the mash bill is malted barley which was malted on site, the malting process takes place in small batches of 220-280kg per week over the period of distillation. We expect 1500 - 1800L of spirit to be produced in total.
If we get a good summer for Harvest 2023 a 1.5 ton per acre yield is possible.
The Grán na hÁite - Harvest 2023 will consist of approximately 8.5 acres with a mix of Barley, Oats and Rye, we will have to see how the harvest goes.
Kind Regards Michael