Kircubbin whiskey distiller to malt barley in storehouse first used in 1920s
A Co Down distillery has secured an iconic and historic building on the shores of Strangford Lough.
Ards Maltings closed in the 1980s and has since fallen into disrepair but a multi-million pound investment from Echlinville Distillery in Kircubbin is about to give it a face lift.
The company plans to once again use the old building as a malt house to facilitate its production of whiskey.
The £5m investment, a venture supported by Bank of Ireland, means that the distillery will be the only one on the island of Ireland with the capacity to produce, malt, ferment and distil their spirit from beginning to end.
Owners also hope for further financial support from local authorities.
Echlinville currently uses the traditional method of floor malting on the distillery farm but this move is expected to ramp up their operations.
Modern mashing methods will now mix with production of the past with current whiskey making at the company's site in Kircubbin continuing as normal.
Peter Rogan is Site Manager at the distillery.
"We don't shy away from innovation," he told UTV, "but it's very much about reinstating and protecting the tradition that is associated with Irish whiskey and distilling.
"It (the malting process) involves laying grain on the floor and basically, you dampen it, you heat it.
"Whenever it begins to germinate you dry it as quickly as possible and that's where the malted notes come from.
"Ultimately for us, it's not always about cost. There is a commercial benefit there but it's about quality of spirit that we can produce."
Ards Maltings was once the largest floor malting house on the island of Ireland, supplying to businesses such as Bushmills and Guinness.
Preparatory work is underway to get the malthouse back to a usable state, as efforts begin to bring the historic red brick building back to life.
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