Ollie Alcorn is Head Distiller at the Lough Gill Distillery.

They say the only way is up, and I couldn't agree more when it comes to whiskey production. The exciting news coming from us at the Lough Gill Distillery is that we’re ready to begin upscaling our production, meaning we’ll go from 300klpa to 600klpa- which is a pretty big deal.

This is something we’ve been spending the last year preparing for, so that it’s done correctly, and so that we can ensure we’re producing a greater quantity of Irish single malt whiskey - without compromising on the quality.

So, why the change? There are several reasons I, and the team will be upscaling the production.

Firstly - the more whiskey we’re able to make, the more we’re able to mature, ready for it to be enjoyed in the future. Plus, we have an amazing warehouse which we were lucky enough to inherit on the banks of Lough Gill - it would be great to see it utilised by being filled with lots of lovely whiskey.

Secondly, Irish whiskey is ever-growing in popularity, and to meet demand and ensure that there isn’t a sudden lack of liquids available in 10 years - just look at Japan. It's our plan to build a reserve of the finest 10-year-old plus Irish single malt casks.

We also want to be even more efficient while making our whiskey - our plant was designed to run 24/7, and in doing so, we’ll be improving the heat recovery and yield from our state-of-the-art equipment. We’ll finally get the chance to see what our three stills can do at full capacity, which is going to be pretty exciting.

These changes don’t just happen though, there’s lots of work going on at the Lough Gill Distillery to make sure we have everything in place for the seamless transition.

You might notice a few more friendly faces about the distillery, and that’s because we’re expanding the team, adding three more full-time staff to help operate the distillery night and day. Not only is this a great opportunity to build the team, we also hope it’ll develop the next generation of Irish single malt distillers, too.

As mentioned, we’ll be running the distillery 24/7, and this in itself is no mean feat! Beginning in June, we will be running the plant on a 24-hour cycle - two days on two days off. These 12-hour shifts will help to prepare our distillery operators for upcoming 12 hour shifts and nights shifts, too. Then, from July, we’ll run the plant on a 24/7 cycle, four days on and four days off, in 12-hour shifts.

It’s not just the distillery team that’ll be expanding to help with the new workload - we’ll also be taking on one more person to assist in the warehouse cutting back spirit and filling casks. We'll be filling between 130-140 casks per week so we’ll need the extra pair of hands!

To upscale the production effectively and efficiently, our demand for gas, malt, yeast and water will be much higher than it has been previously. Luckily, with our own water source and barley being planted onsite at Hazelwood for the first time, to complement our existing barley supply from heritage barley growers in Hook Head, Co Wexford, this shouldn’t be a problem.

As you can imagine, things are very busy behind the scenes at Lough Gill, but the team is really looking forward to making more Athrú for you to enjoy. And sleep’s overrated anyway, right?