Sustainability SPOTLI GHT: Water of life

Reconecting with a lost tradition, the Ging family is part of the revival of craft distilling along Ireland’s Ancient East trek. Built on a vision of creating an environmentally sustainable distillery on the family’s farm, Ballykeefe Distillery uses grain produced in their own fields, with the by-products of the distilling process being used as feed to their livestock. What has emerged is an award-winning distiller of Irish whiskey – uisce beatha, or water of life. In its first year of production, Ballykeefe Distillery claimed third place in the 2018 Irish Food and Drinks Business Awards and it has become a flagship member of the Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) Origin Green program, aimed at advancing measurable protection of the environment. Tours of the distillery run between 2pm and 4pm every Monday to Friday, from March to October.