Waterford: The process

Waterford is a truly pioneering whisky project in Ireland, a country that is enjoying a real resurgence in distilling.

What sets it apart is the complexity the producers impart in the spirit through layering flavour through the barley selected in the Single Farm Origins whiskies. The term ‘Terroir’ is applied to the process, because the project is all about emphasising the role of barley, and in the case of Waterford, this barley is obtained from individual Irish farms, meaning each Waterford is a single malt whisky in its own right.

If by law malt whisky can only be made from three ingredients: water, yeast & barley, it makes sense that barley is a primary natural ingredient, but as the team at Waterford stress, it’s not to be underestimated – the barley is the source of 2,000 flavour compounds.

Once farmed, the barely enjoys a week-long temperature-controlled fermentation and flavour-enhancing malolactic fermentation. Through optimum enzyme activity it delivers precision of flavour for every Single Farm Origin. Anaerobic milling underwater means un-oxidised grist for purer flavours. Instead of a mash tun we have a filter system; a series of 54 in-line pneumatic presses that give total terroir extraction via the clearest wort.

There’s also a specific distillation process. Trickle distillation delivers an unctuously rich body in the whisky, and means they distil less than 400 litres per hour and by selecting the very best heart of the distillate, they choose to forgo a potential 60k additional litres annually.

Along with the impact of the barley and distillation, each Single Farm Origin goes into the same portfolio of Good Wood –  circa 200 casks – of both French & American oaks, virgin & first fill, & VDN (Vin Doux Naturel) and is considered ‘whisky au naturel’, so there’s no ‘finishing’,  chill-filtration, colouring or additives of any kind.

Each terroir is a unique starting point for the whisky, and by separately storing, distilling and maturing barley from 100+ different farms they can create an unparalleled range of flavours for the Head Distiller to draw on. The team describes Terroir as the ‘3D interaction on a plant of soil, microclimate and site’, but to provide whisky drinkers with the evidence it really does make a difference, is a huge undertaking.

Each bottle carries a back label TÉIREOIR CODE, which validates what the producers say, proves the origin of the whisky, and verifies terroir by being totally traceable and transparent. The TÉIREOIR CODE, when entered on waterfordwhisky.com, leads to 10 pages of data validating provenance.

So nature, science, data, there’s a lot going on here, which is all worth pondering as you sip on the Waterford in your pouch.