The Boann Distillery is a new state-of-the-art, family-owned craft spirit production facility in the heart of the Boyne Valley - it is an ambitious project and has had some impressive early successes.
Located in the outskirts of Drogheda, just off the M1 motorway, it is named after the river goddess of the Boyne Valley, and this ambitious project will in due course include a Visitor Centre.
Established in 2016, the Boann Distillery is the realisation of a long-held ambition of the Cooney family, who have a long history in the Irish drinks industry.
Pat Cooney built the Gleeson Group to be a major player in the Irish manufacturing and wholesale drinks business over the last 40 years. Pat is a native of Drogheda, so the establishment of a new industry in his hometown is a homecoming for him. Pat, his wife Marie and four of their children are all actively involved in running the business.
It has had some impressive early successes, having scooped a number of national awards at the World Whiskies Awards, and later achieving a top honour, Best New Make and Young Spirit 2021, for the single pot still 'New Born' spirit. A first for Ireland and an extraordinary achievement by any standards, it promised a long run of success for Boann whiskeys - and the Cooneys have plenty of other plans afoot too, including a programme of cask sales, and a new gin, Silks, named after the nearby Bellewstown Races.
Silks Gin is an interesting product and it underlines the family nature of the business. Having taken a beekeeping course with the Federation of Irish Beekeepers’ Associations, Marie Cooney and daughter Sally Anne are among a very few mum-and-daughter beekeepers in Ireland, and now have their winged friends to thank for producing honey and pollinating the family’s apple trees – two key local ingredients used in the spirit. Silks Gin contains 14 botanicals which are macerated (soaked in liquid) for 24 hours before slow distilling in a 500-litre copper pot still and the aim is for Silks to replicate the family’s success in the World Whiskies Awards.
The Cooneys also have a horsebox converted into a gin bar - the Ginbox - to use when crowds can return to sporting events, including Bellewstown race meetings.
Check the website for details of new products, upcoming events and distillery tours: www.boannedistillery.ie.
