Waterford Lacken

Lacken is a Single Farm Origin release drawing on barley from Francis Kehoe's farm in Co. Wexford, a coastal holding on the sandy soils that Waterford identifies as one of the most distinctive terroirs in its catalogue. The sandy, free draining profile gives the barley a different growing environment to the heavier loams found inland, which Waterford's terroir programme aims to capture and translate into the final spirit. Distilled in 2019 and bottled in July 2023 after four years of maturation, the release produced an outturn of 8,000 bottles. Every bottle carries the TÉIREOIR code linking to the full farm and cask records.

Maturation used the Waterford standard combination of first fill American oak, virgin American oak, premium French oak and Vin Doux Naturel casks. First fill Bourbon contributes vanillin and coconut lactones from the charred inner wood. Virgin American oak adds toasted sugar and raw lignin derived spice. French oak delivers finer grained tannins with clove phenolics. The Vin Doux Naturel casks, previously used for fortified sweet wines from southern France, add oxidised fruit esters and concentrated sweetness. Bottled at 50% without chill filtration or added colour.