Sliabh Liag Distillers - The Legendary Dark Silkie Irish Whiskey

The Silkie

Donegal, Ireland’s most northern county is a place apart. Isolated, rural, and intensely beautiful, the landscape sweeps from the Bluestacks mountain range in the east to the endless soft sandy beaches of the west coast of the county.

On the Sliabh Liag Peninsula, the ancient cliffs rise to almost 2,000 feet above sea level, rocky shores are complimented with hidden coves of silver sand.  A brave and resilient people have made Donegal their home for thousands of years. 

Legend has it that in the blue-green waters at the foot of the Sliabh Liag mountains, shape-shifting seals shed their skin to become beautiful maidens. Silkies are said to be gentle souls who prefer to dance in the moonlight rather then lead sailors a stray. 

Sliabh Liag Distillers

Sliabh Liag Distillers is the first whiskey distillery in Donegal for 175 years. Born out of James Doherty's (founder) dream to return to his ancestrial homeland. The inspiration of Silkie Whiskey came from memories of those early years in Donegal, when James would head down to the kitchen, where beside the stove, his grandad's pipe would be sitting. The smell of the sweet tobacco, smokey and ashy aromas with his gran's baking seemed to compliment one another. Imprinting on young James that smokey smell of good times past. 

They have looked to tradition-to Irish Heritage-to create a modern whiskey with a traditional smoky profile. Smoky whiskey was once the mainstay flavor profile of Ireland's distilling output, but the flavor was all but lost over time as tastes changed to less challenging profiles. 

The Legendary Dark Silkie Irish Whiskey

The Legendary Dark Silkie is blended as a tribute to historical rich, smoky Irish whiskeys. Irish peat is used, which is heather-based giving a softer oak and sweeter impression than Scottish peat. The Legendary Dark Silkie is not chill filtered creating a buttery, smoky, nuanced whiskey that will beckon a casual whiskey drinker to step into unfamiliar water.

While in process of building their distillery, The Legendary Dark Silkie Irish Whiskey is a blend of the finest double and triple distilled malts, lightly peated malt, soft grain whiskey, sourced from the finest distilleries in Ireland. These whiskeys are then blended by Master Blender, James Daugherty, using Sliabh Liag’s unique recipe. Silkie is not chill filtered allowing the soft buttery mouthfeel to be evident, creating a character as rich as the mythical tales that inspired it.