Dingle Distillery

Born on Ireland’s wild Atlantic edge, Dingle Distillery is a modern craft success story, but is rooted in tradition. Founded in 2012 by pioneers of Ireland's craft beer revival; Oliver Hughes, Liam LaHart and Peter Mosley of Porterhouse Brewing Company, who set out to bring intimacy and integrity back to small-batch Irish whiskey making. Their vision was simple: do things properly, by hand, and let time and place shape the spirit.

They chose the port town of Dingle for more than its postcard beauty. On the windswept western fringe of County Kerry, community and craft still carry weight. A former sawmill in Milltown was transformed into an artisan distillery, opening its doors on 29 November 2012 and marking the return of independent whiskey production to the region.

From the outset, Dingle committed to traditional Irish methods. Unpeated barley is mashed in a wooden tun without mechanical agitation, fermented slowly in wooden washbacks, and distilled through bespoke copper pot stills designed for exceptional purity and texture. The resulting spirit is elegant and fruit-forward, a reflection of long fermentation, meticulous copper contact, and mineral-rich water drawn from deep beneath the distillery.

Maturation is guided by the Atlantic climate, where humid maritime air encourages steady, expressive cask development. Sherry casks dominate the warehouses, supported by Bourbon, Port and Madeira influences, each contributing depth to the distillery’s evolving house style.

Dingle’s early years were shaped by a bold idea: the ‘Founding Fathers Programme’, which offered the first 500 casks to private supporters. The distillery released its first mature whiskeys in late 2016, and a year later further cemented its place in Irish distilling by releasing one of the first independent single pot still whiskeys in decades.

Today, Dingle remains fiercely independent in spirit and proudly small in scale. Alongside whiskey, the distillery produces vodka and gin, yet it is their patient, hands-on approach to Irish whiskey that continues to define them.