by Sean Hillen

Aside from high-quality whiskey, a distillery in northwestern Ireland may be unique among hundreds of such distilleries worldwide – it has its own ghost.

Granting new meaning to the term ‘spirits,’ the ghost of a soldier is believed to haunt the Crolly Distillery (Croithlí in Irish) in the heart of the Donegal Gaeltacht on the ‘Wild Atlantic Way.’  

Spine-tingling ghost stories emerged during the Irish War of Independence between 1919 and 1921 when the site where the distillery is located was used as a temporary barracks for British soldiers of ‘The Rifle Brigade.’ Returning from a social outing one night, one of the soldiers was shot and killed at an upstairs window. At the exact spot where he fell and where blood from his fatal wound seeped into the floor, a pool of blood continued to mysteriously appear. 

Despite numerous efforts to wash away the bloodstains, the stain continued to appear through the floor even when the building became home to carpet maker, Alexander Morton, whose work can be seen at the White House and in Dublin Castle. Strange stories continued when it later became a factory for the once famous ‘Crolly Dolls.’

One frustrated manager put heavy linoleum down which worked for a short time, until a worker arrived one morning to discover a dark-red patch on the surface. 

Such ghostly stories have added to the intrigue and enjoyment of visitors travelling to the distillery for special tours who are told about Otherworldly happenings.

Opened four years ago in a restored stone-cut building constructed in 1901 – with public tours launched last July – the Crolly Distillery continues a tradition of whiskey-making dating back almost 200 years, when 60 per cent of whiskey (or uisce beatha – the water of life – in Irish) was made in Ireland. The last legal distiller in Donegal closed in 1842, a year after the US introduced heavy import taxes.

Under its motto ‘grain to glass’ and using copper stills sourced in the Cognac region of France, the distillery uses water from nearby Loch Caol and homegrown barley from the Donegal town of Burt which is then sent to Athy in Kildare to be malted. The whiskey is stored at the Crolly Distillery in madeira, sherry, cognac and vino blanc barrels from countries such as Croatia, France and Slovenia.

Visiting recently with international travel writers hosted by Ireland Writing Retreat I was impressed to see inscribed on a wall the names of individuals and groups who are members of the ‘180 Club,’ people who have purchased 200-liter casks of whiskey for 7,000 euro each. They include the Celtic football club in Glasgow, as well as sister singers, Moya and Eithne Brennan (the latter known by her stage name of Enya). Other Grade A bourbon casks filled with single malt are now available to purchase.

After the tour, as the international writers and I sit comfortably at a table with three different types of whiskey in front of us, we try to identify the various notes described in the presentation brochure: Sessile single malt, ‘sweet vanilla, caramel and green apple, lemon sherbet with a hint of sweet almond, with a woody oak taste;’ Quercus Robur single malt, ‘a deep redcurrant fruitiness with rich winter spices, ginger, clove and nutmeg, with fruit and spice taste;’ and Quercus Alba single malt, ‘a delicate, apricot, cherry blossom and a hint of sweet nutmeg, mace and pear drops, and a taste of green fruit and verdant oak.’

Furnishings at the distillery are eclectic, including pews from a church in nearby Gartan which visitors sit on to watch a short introductory video and an ornate lamp that survived the bombing of Nelson’s Column in the center of Dublin. Decorations such as vintage photographs, posters, framed paintings, maps and handwoven carpets create a cosy atmosphere for enjoying the golden drink.

Reflecting a blend of the ancient and modern, the distillery was founded by three Donegal businessmen who received 1.5 million euro from the national job-creation group, Údarás na Gaeltachta, which also owned the building.

Whiskey being described as ‘liquid sunshine,’ a tour of the Crolly Distillery may well be an ‘enlightening’ experience in more ways than one, especially as friendly guides such as Pól have a few colorful stories to tell.