DISTILLERY
Lora Hemy, Head Distiller of Roe & Co
than the more normal 40% ABV) and this was very necessary as, according to Caroline, “The cocktail-makers we consulted said at 40% ABV the whiskey was being lost in the mix. It needed to be that bit higher in order for the whis- key notes to emerge from the cocktail.” The distillery I visited the Roe & Co Distillery in late July this year. The building which houses the new ‘urban distillery’ is the imposing former Guinness Power Station, mothballed in the mid-90s fol-
lowing the installation of a new gas- red CHP plant. The building, sited directly opposite the Guinness Brewery itself and fronting onto James’s Street, has been saved from slow decline by this project. A new lease of life has been breathed into this very solid structure, which has every sign of having been built for the ages. It has always reminded me of London’s Battersea power station. I was welcomed by Lora Hemy, the Head Distiller who was coming to the end of a rather extended commissioning
distillery is newly opened (June 2019), Diageo’s Master Blender Caroline Martin had spent the previous years producing that particular blend from a range of Irish malt and grain whiskeys, matured in bourbon casks procured on the open market. The new whiskey was launched in March 2017. Caroline said that the whiskey itself was challenging to make because it had to be exible. “It needed to have three serves: served neat, served with a mixer and nally served as a cocktail.” The whiskey is at 45% ABV (higher
The beautiful copper stills seen from the visitors’ mezzanine oor level. The front gate of Diageo’s Guinness Brewery is visible through the glass
october 2019 I BREWER AND DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL ● 23
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