Ballindoney Farm team brings taste of Tipperary to whiskey

When a fellow of my age and background hears news of a farmer distilling a spirit from grain grown on the farm, the mind immediately races to a picture of smoking stills, guards, and judges.

It can’t be helped. It’s an automatic reaction. I guess it comes with growing up in the “mountain dew” region of West Cork. But times have changed.

The days of the illicit still are confined to the history books. Today’s farmer is going about this business in an altogether more legitimate route.

There has been a noticeable rise in the number of on-farm breweries and distilleries established in rural Ireland.

With a new generation of farmer taking to drinks production, this time they mean business.

Jennifer Nickerson hails from Scotland. Her father, Stuart, has a strong whisky distilling tradition behind him, in Scotland and further afield.

Jennifer and her fiancé Liam Ahearn, with the assistance of Stuart, are embarking on a brave journey into their own whiskey distilling business.

With their plans to use grain from the Ahearn family tillage farm in Ballindoney, Co Tipperary, and to construct an on-farm distillery, the only way up for their Tipperary Boutique Distillery.

I spoke Jennifer last week to talk about farming, ambition, and whiskey production.

I begin by asking where did this interest in distilling whiskey originate?

“It really is in the blood,” Jennifer tells me.

“My father Stuart has worked in the Scotch whisky industry since before I was born. I grew up beside distilleries. I was born in Aberdeenshire and lived mainly in Speyside, a major Scotch whisky region.

“I even wrote my university dissertation on the economic impact of Scotch whisky, so I’m familiar with the importance of whisky to Scotland’s rural economy.”

Jennifer’s connection with Ireland began in 2007 with a job offer with KPMG. “I came to Ireland during the recession. I had already completed an internship with KPMG, and had an offer from KPMG for a training contract.

“At a time when a lot of my friends were having to travel to the other side of the world for construction work, it was a clear choice to join KPMG with training and clear promotion prospects ahead.

“I spent seven years with KPMG in Dublin as an accountant and tax adviser.

“I trained with them, and worked up to associate director before leaving in September 2015.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the training and experience they provided to me, and I’d recommend that route to anyone with that opportunity.

“I knew Liam from my time at university in Edinburgh and we met again in 2012.

“We fell in love quite quickly, and talked often about how we could move closer. As he told me, ‘you can’t put the land on wheels,’ so my move to Tipperary was inevitable.”

So began not only Jennifer’s new life in Tipperary, but also an opportunity for a new business venture.

“Dad was visiting me and Liam one year on the farm in Ballindoney during harvest, and was impressed by the incredible crops and yields compared to Scotland.

“With the quality of the land and water, together with the temperate climate, he commented that we had the perfect conditions to create an amazing Irish whiskey.

“Liam had always thought about the possibility of diversifying the family farm, to make the most of their crop production, and when I looked at the business case for a distillery, given our unique skills, it seemed a great idea.

“I don’t know if the distillery would have been a feasible idea without having my dad on board. He has advised many start-up distilleries in both Scotland and Ireland.

“While I manage the day-to-day business, Stuart’s advice has been instrumental in building our brand and distribution networks, and will be unique in making the best possible spirit when we distil our own grain this year.”

The Ahearn farm is situated about 15 minutes from Clonmel, near Grange village.

Up to the current generation, it had been a mixed farming operation, with everything from chickens to horses. Over the years, it has become more specialised.

Now the focus is purely on tillage, with 165 acres of spring barley, winter barley, winter wheat, winter oats, grass, and seven acres of GLAS wild bird cover.

Planning has been granted for a distillery, with plans to start construction this year, but it will be 12 months before the copper stills are in place.

It is hoped the farm will provide all the distillery’s grain needs, with 12 jobs expected between sales, production and administration.

“Expense is of course a huge barrier to entry, not only the capital cost, but the cost of laying down spirit for at least three years before it can be sold as whiskey,” says Jennifer.

And so to the whiskey. Already, a hint of what Tipperary Boutique Distillery hope to produce is on the shelves.

“Irish whiskey casks were sourced, with a minimum age of 11 years, our whiskies were then cut to bottling strength, with water from Ballindoney farm, so our customers have a unique link to Tipperary and our land.

"We released our first expression, ‘The Rising’ in March, 2015. This is an 11-year old single malt Irish whiskey, matured in ex-bourbon barrels.

“We also launched a Non-Age Statement single malt Irish whiskey, ‘Watershed’, so named because it is the first whiskey to be cut to bottling strength with water from our family farm at Ballindoney.

“A 10-year-old single malt, Knockmealdowns, celebrating the land in Tipperary, also cut to bottling strength with water from Ballindoney.

“We don’t chill filter any of our whiskies, to retain all the flavour of the spirit and wood. We individually number every bottle, each one is special.

“We have plans for limited edition runs over the next few years. Some limited edition whiskies matured in ex-sherry casks in various finishes, and our own poitin, distilled from grain from our own farm in Tipperary. A very special product indeed”

And their wedding planned for July, 2017, it looks like a busy year ahead for Jennifer Nickerson and Liam Ahearn.

Jennifer is also a finalist in the AIB Start-Up Academy national competition

At today’s final pitch event in Dublin, the winner of the €200,000 prize package will be chosen from 14 start-ups by an expert judging panel.

This is the third year of the competition; the first winner of the Academy was Fabien Peyaud, who founded the Herdwatch agri-app.