Powerscourt Distillery Tour 2024
On Saturday the 13th of July we booked a mini-bus and headed up to Powerscourt Estate in Wicklow for a day trip to the Powerscourt Distillery, home to the Fercullen brand of whiskeys. Alan Malone, who had visited and given us a tasting in the club back in February, extended a generous invite to have us come up to see the place first hand. We duely obliged, and what a day we had.
On arrival, we were greeted by Ciarán, our guide for the day, and a refreshing Fercullen Falls highball. It wasn't long before we sat into a lunch organised by the team for us.
Lunch was followed by a walk around the fabulous gardens at Powerscourt Estate.
After the gardens it was back to the distillery, where Ciarán began our tour. We saw part of the old mill shaft under the glass floor in the lobby, before getting a little more of the estate history, followed by a short film in the cinema room. Then, on to the distillery floor, where we were first met by the lovely, copper topped 3-ton mashtun, with the grain silos in the background.
The fermentation tanks were next, four of them. A couple of 12,000ls and a couple of 24,000ls. And last but not least, the 3 beautiful, shiny copper pot stills.
We exited the distillery floor and crossed over the road to the on-site warehouse, which holds a portion of their maturing whiskey. The angel's share filled the air.
That concluded the tour of the facility, so we headed back to the tasting lounge, where Ciarán had a phenomenal tasting laid out for us. A range of Fercullen whiskeys with a food pairing for each. The food bites, sourced locally, were incredible with the whiskeys.
When the tasting finished, there was enough time to pick up some souvenirs in the gift shop. A lot of bottles of the new cask strength single malt were purchased, along with plenty Lismore polenta biscuits and cheese, which were part of the tasting. The Ennis Whiskey Club can't thank the Powerscourt Team enough for a truly exceptional experience. We would highly recommend to everyone. Sláinte!
