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Key Facts

GROWERS JASON STANLEY, PADDY TOBIN, TREVOR HARRIS, JOHN MALLICK, PAT BOOTH & ALAN JACKSON
EDITION GAIA 1.1
HARVESTED SUMMER 2015
DISTILLED WEEK 36 2016
Maturation 3 years 9 months 20 days
ABV 50%
No. of Bottles 24,000
For Market GLOBAL
Bottled August & Sept 2020

IRELAND’S FIRST ORGANIC WHISKY

The Arcadian Series represents our otherworldly garden of delights. We sought out maverick farmers, inspirational growers, iconoclasts whose ethos & way of life respects the land & the old ways in the pursuit of pure flavours over yield imperatives. Gaia, the neopagan goddess of yore, a personification of Mother Earth herself, is a fitting custodian to bring forth Ireland’s first whisky distilled from certified organic Irish barley.

John Mallick, Paddy Tobin, Alan Jackson, Pat and Denis Booth, Jason Stanley and Trevor Harris rose to the challenge laid down by us to produce the first Irish-grown organic malting barley. Given the low yielding of organic barley, it is important to note that we combined these crops together as one batch prior to distillation.

When we started the organic project in 2015, the volumes of Irish organic malting barley from any one farm were so small there was no possibility of distilling them as a Single Farm Origin. We took all we could get our hands on to arrive at the minimum useable volume for the maltings. In the years to come, we will be in a position to add a number of Organic Single Farm Origins.

We find it bemusing that much of the industry treats with indifference the primary source of single malt whisky’s extraordinary flavour: barley. We have placed barley – where and how it is grown – at the heart of what we do, curious about where the real whisky flavour may be found. A natural progression of this philosophy is to see what not only single farm origins can accomplish but what organically grown barley can do when it is given the right platform. Compliance for organic status is not straight forward by any means – there’ s a shed load of hoops to jump through, deep cleaning regimens, audits and assessments to undergo.

So, is it worth it?  We certainly think so, what we lose in yield and hair pulling we gain in purity and definition of flavour.  We’re not playing at it; we lay down 400 to 600 casks of organic spirit a year, we buy all the Irish grown organic malting barley that we can get our hands on.

The Sound of Organic Farm, Garryhoe

On John Mallick's farm at Garryhoe, a picturesque organic farm in Wicklow, the track starts out in a wooded area near last year's barley fields. It’s a clear, windy day. The track takes us down the hill, over a stream, into a clearing then deeper into another woods. The wind rushes through the trees; the branches at the top of the firs clash. There’s something rather magical about the place. The birds are full of life as the track moves through the woods and back around towards the edge of the fields. Then, from here, it’s downhill to the bottom of the valley where the wind gusts through a wire fence. The Derry Water River ripples through the farm.

BARLEY TIMELINES

Went to Maltings 14 July 2016
Arrived at Distillery 28 July 2016
Fermentation Started 1 September 2016
Distillation Started 4 September 2016
Distillation Finished 13 September 2016
Filled at Warehouse 16 September 2016
Marriage of Casks 6 July 2020
Sent for Bottling 24 August 2020

TERROIR

FIELDS
series 3 DIFFERENT SOILS: ELTON, STRAFFAN & BALLYLANDERS

BARLEY, YEAST & WATER

VARIETY OVERTURE
Yeast Mauri Distiller's Yeast
Production Water Volcanic Aquifer
Fermentation 136 hours

Head Distiller's Observations

Appearance: Golden honey with viscous oils, and legs that if you had 40 winks, you still wouldn’t see the legs at the end of the glass.

Nose: Orange zest, malty figs, seaweed, hay in the field after light rain, salted caramel, peppermint, rosewater, freshly turned soil.

Taste: Heat and zesty pepper on the tongue, cloves, figs, oiliness that dries in the mouth, cherries, butterscotch, pears, malty, layers of spice.

Finish: Long and zesty oiliness that dries, but leaves you chewing; a sweetness that comes right at the end.

WOOD

cask no. cask type cask fill cooperage fill date farm
5258 U.S. First-Fill 198.38 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5259 U.S. First-Fill 197.51 litres Jack Daniels Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5260 U.S. First-Fill 201.04 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5261 U.S. First-Fill 196.99 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5262 U.S. First-Fill 199.52 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5263 U.S. First-Fill 193.68 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5264 U.S. First-Fill 201.75 litres Jack Daniels Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5265 U.S. First-Fill 197.01 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5266 U.S. First-Fill 195.79 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5267 U.S. First-Fill 194.23 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5268 U.S. First-Fill 194.58 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5269 U.S. First-Fill 195.84 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5180 U.S. First-Fill 193.4 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5181 U.S. First-Fill 200.19 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5182 U.S. First-Fill 199.8 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5183 U.S. First-Fill 202.39 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5184 U.S. First-Fill 202.61 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5185 U.S. First-Fill 200.16 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5186 U.S. First-Fill 201.27 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5187 U.S. First-Fill 198.88 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5188 U.S. First-Fill 201.92 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5189 U.S. First-Fill 199.09 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5190 U.S. First-Fill 197.85 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5191 U.S. First-Fill 199.87 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5192 U.S. First-Fill 202.27 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5193 U.S. First-Fill 195.98 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5194 U.S. First-Fill 198.89 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5195 U.S. First-Fill 202.49 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5196 U.S. First-Fill 200.76 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5197 U.S. First-Fill 200.07 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5198 U.S. First-Fill 199.18 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5199 U.S. First-Fill 201.12 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5200 U.S. First-Fill 204.32 litres Diageo Americas 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5201 U.S. First-Fill 195.55 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
5202 U.S. First-Fill 198.02 litres Seagram Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2826 U.S. Virgin 201.75 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2827 U.S. Virgin 203.57 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2828 U.S. Virgin 199.84 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2830 U.S. Virgin 201.61 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2831 U.S. Virgin 202.18 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2796 U.S. Virgin 201.12 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2797 U.S. Virgin 203.24 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2798 U.S. Virgin 201.15 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2799 U.S. Virgin 200.13 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2800 U.S. Virgin 200.17 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2801 U.S. Virgin 199.54 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2802 U.S. Virgin 202.88 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2803 U.S. Virgin 199.76 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
2804 U.S. Virgin 201.44 litres Speyside Cooperage 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3035 Premium French 223.6 litres Tonnellerie des Domaines De CHATEAU LAFITE 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3036 Premium French 224.6 litres Tonnellerie des Domaines De CHATEAU LAFITE 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3037 Premium French 227.48 litres Tonnellerie des Domaines De CHATEAU LAFITE 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3038 Premium French 224.01 litres Tonnellerie des Domaines De CHATEAU LAFITE 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3039 Premium French 222.58 litres Tonnellerie des Domaines De CHATEAU LAFITE 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3040 Premium French 227.51 litres Tonnellerie des Domaines De CHATEAU LAFITE 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3041 Premium French 223.62 litres Tonnellerie des Domaines De CHATEAU LAFITE 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
779 Premium French 227.64 litres Francois 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
739 Premium French 243.48 litres Francois 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
737 Premium French 244.91 litres Francois 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
736 Premium French 241.83 litres Francois 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
734 Premium French 243.33 litres Francois 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
733 Premium French 228.62 litres Francois 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
732 Premium French 243.61 litres Francois 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
731 Premium French 236.89 litres Francois 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
730 Premium French 236.75 litres Francois 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3263 Vin Doux Naturel 302.58 litres Madeira 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3264 Vin Doux Naturel 303.43 litres Madeira 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3333 Vin Doux Naturel 613.76 litres Port 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3334 Vin Doux Naturel 626.18 litres Port 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3335 Vin Doux Naturel 621.42 litres Port 16 September 2016 Organic Growers
3330 Vin Doux Naturel 604.5 litres Port 16 September 2016 Organic Growers

Composition

42% FIRST FILL U.S
17% VIRGIN U.S.
23% PREMIUM FRENCH
18% VIN DOUX NATUREL