LACKEN, CO. WEXFORD

Arcadian barley, from our secret garden of delights, explores the natural flavours, intensity & honesty of old ways. Out of necessity since the dawn of time, peat has been the primary fuel source in rural Ireland, with its sweet pungency familiar to generations gathered around the ancient hearths of thatch-roofed blackhouses. Farmer, & often illicit distiller, dried barley over peat smoke infusing the same heady aromatics, an ancient custom that died out from the 1850s. With this Single Farm Origin’s barley, Irish grown & Irish peated, we return to the earthy, wild & raw tradition rooted in the distant past.

Appearance: Virgin olive oil with tears to match.

Nose: High-toned, vibrant, fresh smoke-on-the-breeze-on-a-spring-morning style of peat.
A coastal walk; brine, oyster shells, barley sugar and orchard fruits: soft apples and pear skins.
A little warm hay too as it opens in the glass.

Taste: Full-bodied, oily, unctuous. Grist, driftwood, campfire and creosote. Sheepswool and Lapsang Souchong tea. Juiciness comes in the form of white peach and apple sauce.

Finish: Complex cigar tobaccos, green tea and tar.

A wet and windy Winter’s day at Lacken. This track starts out by a stream at the lower end of the farm, as we then skirt around the fields heading towards the south. There’s a machine working nearby and traffic passing along the bypass road, which passes through the farm and splitting it in two. We cross under the road and take shelter from the rain in one of the old sheds at the back of the yard. Trucks come and go here. A forklift moves around. The rain drips in through holes in the roof and the wind rushes past. We leave the yard behind as the rain eases off, heading out into the fields and up Lacken Hill. The birds are trying their best in this weather. The wind picks up the higher we go, blowing a Wexford flag as we reach the top of the hill. Then it’s off into the woodland to the east as the rain comes in again.