Waterford Distillery has bottled its first Heritage whisky, Hunter, by resurrecting a rare barley variety from a bygone era. The barley used in this release is named after pioneering plant breeder, Dr. Herbert Hunter and the barley was first introduced in 1959. Hunter barley was acclaimed for its flavors for almost two decades before yield-enhancing varieties took preference.
The new single malt whisky is the latest milestone in Waterford Distillery’s journey to uncover unique flavors, through different agricultural techniques, terroirs, grains and seeds. Working alongside partners Minch Malt and the Irish Department of Agriculture, it took Waterford more than eight years of leveraging lost breeding programs from the 1990s, to discover the flavors and when barley first evolved with, and adapted to, Ireland’s fields and climate – its terroirs. The barley used in Heritage: Hunter was grown in nutritional soil with a higher humus content, ideal for carbon storage and enhancing climate protection.
Costing three times as much as regular barley, Hunter seeds were upscaled from 50 grams into enough barley to produce 50 barrels from the first harvest. Waterford Distillery then extracted spirit from two other long-forgotten heritage varieties, Goldthorpe and Old Irish, to create a run of 10,000 bottles.
While Heritage: Hunter was developed purely for flavor, it also has environmental benefits. The barley was grown in soil with a high humus content, which retains water more efficiently than conventional soil and therefore protects crops against periods of drought. This protection is enhanced by the fact that Hunter barley has a larger root ball than modern varieties and better access to soil nutrients.
Mark Reynier, Waterford Distillery Founder and CEO explained, “malt whisky gets its flavor, its complexity, from barley. Over time, this inherent flavor has been compromised as distilleries prioritized yield. However, because Waterford Whisky is agricultural produce not a manufactured product, we took the step to resurrect iconic yet forgotten barley varieties. In doing so, we have been able to uncover remarkable insight into what whisky would have tasted like decades ago.”
“Our ultimate aim is to identify the most flavor-expressive genes from these legendary barley varieties and cross them with modern breeds, so they have more agronomic potential. This will give us a ‘greatest hits’ of barley flavors and the ultimate variety for the most intense and naturally flavorsome whiskies,” said Reynier.
With Waterford Distillery’s TÉIREOIR code on every bottle, drinkers are given access to every detail of its individual journey from barley to bottle. Every detail of the whisky is openly offered, showcasing the diligence and dedication to which every ingredient harvested, stored, malted, and distilled.
Waterford’s Heritage: Hunter is 100 proof, with 10,000 bottles being released globally and 1,000 bottles in the U.S. for $129.99.
