Sliabh Liag Distillers to raise €2 million towards Irish whiskey expansion

Sliabh Liag Distillers plans to raise €2 million in crowdfunding as part of a new equity round in a bid to further the reach of Irish whiskey.

The Crowdcube campaign, which is set to launch on 20 June and run for four weeks, has already begun its pre-registration via the distillery website and, it is hoped, will boost production capacity as demand for quality Irish spirits increase.

Speaking to db, Sliabh Liag Distillers managing director James Doherty explained how he hopes that this will give the chance for the distillery to reclaim Donegal’s heritage and offer up a return to the distinctive smoky style and said: “The new wave of growth in Irish whiskey, and the 15x category growth we have seen with the Silkie Irish whiskeys, reflects consumers embracing the depth and diversity that was once prevalent in Irish whiskey and who are now enjoying the return of styles that were almost lost. Our regionally distinctive soft drinking, smoky style that would have been typical in Donegal years ago is at the vanguard of this movement.”

Doherty said: “The Silkies are a journey in a new style of peated whiskey: soft, sweet, dry smoke which surprises people with its approachability. It is great to see most new blends containing some element of peated single malt for the richness it brings to a blended Irish whiskey.”

Sales volumes for all the Sliabh Liag Distillers’ brands – Silkie Irish Whiskeys, An Dúlamán Gin and Assaranca Vodka – were buoyant during the pandemic period, growing by 166% across 2021, despite the economic turndown, according to the company. However, it is now seeking to look towards future opportunities and wants to begin investing in the infrastructure and raw materials to produce stocks now that will be consumed in many years to come.

Doherty added: “The world is once again waking up to Ireland’s whiskey prestige and demand for our style of soft drinking, hard spirits is growing fast. The role of a smoky spirit is vital in this renaissance, and now is the time to lay down stocks to fully capitalise on the opportunity ahead. The demand we anticipate in the coming years means we need to invest in boosting our production capacity now to ensure we can bring as much of Donegal’s whiskey to the world as we can when demand should be at its highest. We know Donegal’s reputation is rapidly on the up, to which any of the rising numbers