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Distillation is where the craft of whiskey-making truly begins. At Great Northern Distillery, our expertise in distillation allows us to create spirits that cater to various flavour profiles. GND’s state of the art facilities and skilled distillers ensure precise control at every stage.
We produce, from our nine copper pot stills, double-distilled malt for richness, triple-distilled malt for smoothness, pot still (mixed mash bill) for spice and peated malt for smoke.
Producing the finest grain whiskey for sweetness with a focus on precision and innovation, our distillation process sets the foundation for whiskey of exceptional quality.
Our Irish single malt whiskey spirit is made using 100% malted barley. It’s usually triple-distilled in copper pots to give it Irish Whiskey’s unique mellow flavour.
There are variations in malt production which can produce a double-distilled Irish malt product or an Irish peated malt product.
The Irish malt spirit is reduced to customer specifications which has a typical casking A.B.V. of 63%.
Our Irish pot still whiskey uses a blend of malted and unmalted barley. The unmalted barley is essential to pot still whiskey, this is where the distinct spicy flavour comes from.
As required under the Geographical Indication for Irish pot still whiskey, a minimum of 30% unmalted barley and malted barley is used in the mash and distilled in copper pots.
The Irish pot still spirit is reduced to customer specifications, with a typical casking A.B.V. of 63%.
Our Irish grain whiskey uses maize with a small percentage of malted barley in the mash.
The grain spirit is triple distilled in columns rather than copper pots. This allows our distillers to remove as much or as little congeners as they please, leading to a light, delicate grain whiskey spirit.
The Irish grain spirit is reduced to customer specifications, with a typical casking A.B.V. of 68.5%.
Great Northern Distillery Irish poitín is typically made from a blend of new make Irish single malt spirit. However, a combination of new make Irish single malt and Irish grain spirit can be produced under the Geographical Indication for Irish poitín.
Great Northern Distillery Irish gin uses grain neutral spirit, which is distilled and infused with various botanicals as required by our customers.
During 2017, Great Northern Distillery released our first retail product offering under the historical ‘Burke’s Irish Whiskey’ brand.
These were 5 No. casks of a 14/15 year old single malt bottled at cask strength. These are presently available from celticwhiskeyshop.com and Callan’s Off License Dundalk.
The maturation process transforms the spirit into whiskey, imbuing it with flavour, colour and depth. Great Northern Distillery primarily uses select American white oak (Quercus alba) bourbon casks, renowned for their capacity to impart notes of vanilla, caramel and oak.
With state of the art maturation facilities across multiple sites, GND’s expert maturation team ensures every cask is carefully monitored during storage to deliver the finest quality whether matured for a minimum of three years, as required for Irish whiskey, or much longer to achieve extraordinary depth.
At Great Northern Distillery, our excellence in maturation lies not just in time, but in understanding the intricate relationship between wood, spirit and environment.
Blending at Great Northern Distillery with a culmination of skill, creativity and collaboration. Our expert blending team works closely with our partners to craft bespoke blends that meet the needs of their brand, market and vision.
Precision and creativity: Using a combination of our aged distillates and barrels from various maturation and cask finishes, our blending lab creates whiskeys that balance flavour, aroma and texture.
Award-Winning results: Whether creating consistent blends for large-scale production or crafting single-barrel expressions, GND’s team delivers results that are nothing short of exceptional. From our advanced blending lab to our experienced team of whiskey-makers, Great Northern Distillery’s blending process is designed to create something extraordinary.
From blending to liquid creation, we don’t just combine flavours—we make what you want.
Grain Spirit is a spirit that tells stories of tradition, connection, innovation. Our whiskey reflects centuries-old traditions and innovation.
For Irish grain whiskey spirit production maize is sourced along with a small percentage of Irish malted barley.
The incoming grains at the distillery is screened and transferred to storage silos. The grains are then hammer milled, exposing the inside of the grain, to form a grist. The mashing involves a cooking and conversion stage to produce a wort for fermentation.
The wort is then transferred to the washback’s and yeast is added. The yeast converts the sugar in the wort to alcohol which is known as wash.
Grain distillation involves continuous triple distillation process in three large vertical columns. The grain spirit is distilled until an A.B.V. of 94% is reached.
The spirit alcohol is reduced in the spirit vats with pure reverse osmosis water prior to casking. The grain spirit is reduced to customer specifications which has a typical casking ABV of 68.5%.
GND predominately use selects American white oak (Quercus alba) Bourbon casks which typically have a capacity of 200lt. GND also source a range of other specialist casks including sherry butts, port, rum and wine casks for both maturation and whiskey finishing.
During the maturation process in a casks the spirit profile changes with both flavour and colour.
To be classed as Irish Whiskey the spirit is required to remain in a casks for a minimum of 3 years however many whiskeys are matured for much longer.
The Great Northern Distillery Irish Distilled Gin uses diluted imported grain neutral spirit. The neutral spirit is then added to the 900 litre gin still.
The grain neutral spirit is then infused with selected botanicals which can be added directly to the pot or alternatively to the botanical chamber to meet our customer recipe requirements.
Examples of botanicals that can be used include juniper berries, coriander seeds, angelica root, orange peel, lemon peel and orris root.
Whiskey is a spirit that tells stories of tradition, connection, innovation. Our whiskey reflects centuries-old traditions and innovation.
GND source Irish barley which is malted (steeped, geminated & kilned) at a malting’s. GND also source unmalted barley for pot still whiskey production and peated malt for peated spirit production.
The incoming grains at the distillery is screened and transferred to storage silos. The grains are then wet milled, exposing the inside of the grain, to form a grist.
The grist is then mixed with hot water in the mash and lauter tun to facilitate the starch conversion process which enables the starches to be converted into fermentable sugars (wort).
The wort is then transferred to the washback’s and yeast is added. The yeast converts the sugar in the wort to alcohol which is known as wash.
For malt and pot still spirit batch production, the wash is heated in copper pot stills. The heating causes the alcohol to boil and the alcohol vapours rise up the neck of the still and cooled in the vapour condenser. This process is repeated to produce ‘new fill’ is usually distilled three times in three separate copper pot stills.
The Distiller can create different flavour styles of malt and pot still spirit by altering the timing of cuts during the pot still distillation.
The spirit alcohol is reduced in the spirit vats with pure reverse osmosis water prior to casking. The malt and pot still spirit is reduced to customer specifications which has a typical casking ABV of 63%.
GND predominately use selects American white oak (Quercus alba) Bourbon casks which typically have a capacity of 200lt. GND also source a range of other specialist casks including sherry butts, port, rum and wine casks for both maturation and whiskey finishing.
During the maturation process in a casks the spirit profile changes with both flavour and colour.
To be classed as Irish Whiskey the spirit is required to remain in a casks for a minimum of 3 years however many whiskeys are matured for much longer.
Whiskey is a spirit that tells stories of tradition, connection, innovation. Our whiskey reflects centuries-old traditions and innovation.
GND source Irish barley which is malted (steeped, geminated & kilned) at a malting’s. GND also source unmalted barley for pot still whiskey production and peated malt for peated spirit production.
The incoming grains at the distillery is screened and transferred to storage silos. The grains are then wet milled, exposing the inside of the grain, to form a grist.
The grist is then mixed with hot water in the mash and lauter tun to facilitate the starch conversion process which enables the starches to be converted into fermentable sugars (wort).
The wort is then transferred to the washback’s and yeast is added. The yeast converts the sugar in the wort to alcohol which is known as wash.
For malt and pot still spirit batch production, the wash is heated in copper pot stills. The heating causes the alcohol to boil and the alcohol vapours rise up the neck of the still and cooled in the vapour condenser. This process is repeated to produce ‘new fill’ is usually distilled three times in three separate copper pot stills.
The Distiller can create different flavour styles of malt and pot still spirit by altering the timing of cuts during the pot still distillation.
The spirit alcohol is reduced in the spirit vats with pure reverse osmosis water prior to casking. The malt and pot still spirit is reduced to customer specifications which has a typical casking ABV of 63%.
GND predominately use selects American white oak (Quercus alba) Bourbon casks which typically have a capacity of 200lt. GND also source a range of other specialist casks including sherry butts, port, rum and wine casks for both maturation and whiskey finishing.
During the maturation process in a casks the spirit profile changes with both flavour and colour.
To be classed as Irish Whiskey the spirit is required to remain in a casks for a minimum of 3 years however many whiskeys are matured for much longer.
Grain Spirit is a spirit that tells stories of tradition, connection, innovation. Our whiskey reflects centuries-old traditions and innovation.
For Irish grain whiskey spirit production maize is sourced along with a small percentage of Irish malted barley.
The incoming grains at the distillery is screened and transferred to storage silos. The grains are then hammer milled, exposing the inside of the grain, to form a grist. The mashing involves a cooking and conversion stage to produce a wort for fermentation.
The wort is then transferred to the washback’s and yeast is added. The yeast converts the sugar in the wort to alcohol which is known as wash.
Grain distillation involves continuous triple distillation process in three large vertical columns. The grain spirit is distilled until an A.B.V. of 94% is reached.
The spirit alcohol is reduced in the spirit vats with pure reverse osmosis water prior to casking. The grain spirit is reduced to customer specifications which has a typical casking ABV of 68.5%.
GND predominately use selects American white oak (Quercus alba) Bourbon casks which typically have a capacity of 200lt. GND also source a range of other specialist casks including sherry butts, port, rum and wine casks for both maturation and whiskey finishing.
During the maturation process in a casks the spirit profile changes with both flavour and colour.
To be classed as Irish Whiskey the spirit is required to remain in a casks for a minimum of 3 years however many whiskeys are matured for much longer.
Grain Spirit is a spirit that tells stories of tradition, connection, innovation. Our whiskey reflects centuries-old traditions and innovation.
For Irish grain whiskey spirit production maize is sourced along with a small percentage of Irish malted barley.
The incoming grains at the distillery is screened and transferred to storage silos. The grains are then hammer milled, exposing the inside of the grain, to form a grist. The mashing involves a cooking and conversion stage to produce a wort for fermentation.
The wort is then transferred to the washback’s and yeast is added. The yeast converts the sugar in the wort to alcohol which is known as wash.
Grain distillation involves continuous triple distillation process in three large vertical columns. The grain spirit is distilled until an A.B.V. of 94% is reached.
The spirit alcohol is reduced in the spirit vats with pure reverse osmosis water prior to casking. The grain spirit is reduced to customer specifications which has a typical casking ABV of 68.5%.
GND predominately use selects American white oak (Quercus alba) Bourbon casks which typically have a capacity of 200lt. GND also source a range of other specialist casks including sherry butts, port, rum and wine casks for both maturation and whiskey finishing.
During the maturation process in a casks the spirit profile changes with both flavour and colour.
To be classed as Irish Whiskey the spirit is required to remain in a casks for a minimum of 3 years however many whiskeys are matured for much longer.
The Great Northern Distillery Irish Distilled Gin uses diluted imported grain neutral spirit. The neutral spirit is then added to the 900 litre gin still.
The grain neutral spirit is then infused with selected botanicals which can be added directly to the pot or alternatively to the botanical chamber to meet our customer recipe requirements.
Examples of botanicals that can be used include juniper berries, coriander seeds, angelica root, orange peel, lemon peel and orris root.
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