Glendalough is an idyllic little town in eastern Ireland. Gaelic for “valley of two lakes,” it was said to have been founded by a man named Saint Cóemgen — also known as Saint Kevin. The Glendalough Distillery, Ireland’s first new craft distillery, was set up by five friends from Wicklow and Dublin with a deep passion for reviving the heritage of craft distilling in Ireland. The 18th & 19th centuries there were the glory days of the Irish whiskey industry, with over 200 licensed distilleries in all of Ireland. There were also countless unlicensed distilleries at the time, producing diverse styles of poitín, whiskey, gin and even absinthe. But through a series of unfortunate events, the Irish Whiskey Industry dried to a trickle in the 1970’s. Glendalough Distillery is part of a revival of this Irish heritage. Their philosophy is “to make innovative spirits while staying true to the tradition and heritage of our ancestors.” Glendalough started out making poitín — the traditional Irish distillate made in small pot stills. From there they seamlessly transitioned to whiskey production, and most recently, seasonal, wild botanical gins. All of their production is handmade. Glendalough Mountain Strength poitín (pronounced “po-tcheen”) is a stronger cask strength version of their signature poitín, Gaelic for “pot stilled whiskey,” the original Irish “water of life.” This centuries old tradition is distilled from sugar beets and malted barley, before being subtly aged in virgin oak casks