Organic, Terroir-Driven, Single Farm Irish Whisky, Waterford's Grace O'Reilly

The Alexi Cashen Podcast

Grace O’Reilly is an Agronomist for Waterford Whiskey, where she combines passion with agriculture. Grace grew up on a sheep and suckler-to-beef farm in the northeast of Ireland and is from a fifth-generation farming family. Her previous roles include working at Minch Malt, where she gained valuable experience working in different parts of the country.

Grace attended University College Dublin, where her desire to work in the production and harvesting industry led her to a major in Agricultural Science in Animal and Crop Production. She believes that you must have passion for what you are doing and to do what you love.

In this episode…

There are many complex layers around growing barley — cultivation, soil, and climate are all things to consider when crafting a spirit.

Biodynamic farming is a relatively new implementation to grow barley. Unfortunately, this means there is little data on how barley environments create and shape taste. Grace O’Reilly is changing that. She is implementing new ways to track data and source it down to the farm where the barley was born. Grace looks at older art forms of distillation, having brought back several antique strains of barley, and merges them with modern, organic ways of farming to produce unique whiskey.

Listen to this episode of the Alexi Cashen podcast to hear from Grace O’Reilly, Agronomist at Waterford Distillery. Alexi and Grace discuss Grace’s foundation in agriculture and how it sprouted her love of barley, the renaissance of organic farming, how it shapes the production, fermentation, and distillation of barley, and the importance of consumer education. Get your hands dirty and plant the seeds in this episode!