Skellig Six18 Distillery

Skellig Six18 Distillery is an independently owned Irish Distillery and Visitor Experience producing Irish Whiskey & Gin, located on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean on the rugged Skellig Coastline in Cahersiveen, Co. Kerry on the Wild Atlantic Way and Ring of Kerry tourism routes.

In the 6th century, monks on rugged Skellig Michael in the Atlantic Ocean carved six hundred and eighteen steps to the monastery at the peak of the rock. There were no shortcuts they could take, with the monks demonstrating exceptional character and resilience in their effort. This feat, their journey inspires Skellig Six18 today.

These steps can still be visited today, and we are striving to build a brand similarly enduring and sustainable – and like the monks we are taking no shortcuts in doing so. We have been ruthlessly focused on quality from the beginning of the conversion of the Wilson textile factory on the Ring of Kerry into our distillery and visitor experience, and the switching-on of our pot still to produce Skellig Six18 Gin. We live this mindset on a day-to-day basis as we work with key suppliers to mature, blend and bottle top class Irish Whiskey at the Skellig Six18 Distillery, while we await the imminent installation of our own whiskey plant on-site and the maturation of our own distillate.

Throughout the centuries maritime trade has been central to life on the Skellig Coast, with casks which held wine often arriving from Europe. After emptying, these casks would be refilled with local goods to be sent back in the opposite direction for trade. We admire our early exporting forebears, and we seek to replicate their ingenuity by maturing Skellig Irish Whiskey beside the Atlantic in the finest wine casks, before exporting it around the globe.