Having navigated a global pandemic to ensure drinkers are able to enjoy Waterford Whisky, one might assume everything at the Facilitator ran like clockwork; that we are as well-oiled a machine as the humming distillery technology itself. Yet, things don’t always quite run to plan…

Caught somewhat on the hop by the enthusiastic reception of the initial bottlings we have endeavoured to bring forward new bottlings to satisfy this demand. In the urgency to get drinkers our new Single Farm Origins, there has been a glitch: though the whisky is now safely in bottle, labelled up and ready to go – the gift cartons are not.

Indeed, the blue gift cartons thanks to a production cock-up have been delayed.

This means instead of getting these out to Waterford fans by end of July for most of Europe the new Single Farm Origins will now be in the market in mid-August.

We’re determined to allow Irish drinkers to get their bottles at the earliest opportunity – au naturel, if needs be. So we have decided, in order to prevent delay, to put these new bottles of Waterford whisky on sale from 23 July in Ireland – au naturel: without their gift cartons.

This applies to two new Single Farm Origins, Ballymorgan and Sheestown Editions 1.1; and the two reprises, follow-ups of Bannow Island and Ballykilcavan Editions 1.2, as mentioned in our previous article.

If you would still like to receive the associated blue gift carton when they arrive, you’ll be able to obtain them from two places – either the retailer from whom you bought the bottle, or from the distillery itself, here in Waterford from the second week of August onwards.

We feel the important thing is that any curious drinkers keen to taste our whisky, to discuss and argue about their preferred single farms, to compare and contrast Irish terroirs, will be able to do so without delay.