Killowen Distillery

Killowen Distillery – our story

Killowen Distillery, nestled in the Mourne Mountains, is Ireland’s Smallest Distillery. We produce a range of award winning Irish whiskies, poitín’s, dark rum, gin and a coffee liqueur. We are the second highest ranking Irish Distillery on the Worlds Most Admired Whiskies 2024 and won the Global Award for Craft Producer of the Year 2025 at the Icons of Whiskey.

We believe our distillery’s location—nestled between mountain and maritime environments—combined with the local ingredients and water we use, infuses a unique flavour profile into the very DNA of our spirits.

Our connection to the landscape

The location on the slopes of Knockshee on the south eastern part of the Mournes overlooking Carlingford Lough and the Irish Sea provides us with a unique mini-ecosystem that plays a mayor role we feel in the production of our spirits. When possible we do wild fermentations so the unique yeast and bacteria of the area can become apart of our spirits creating what we like to call the DNA of Killowen. Something that can’t be replicated elsewhere.

The country laneway we are situated on was once a smugglers route from the sea up into the mountains and is said to have had its own illegal distillation happening back in the day. To now be here and legally distilling whilst paying homage to those that came before sits well with us and the neighbours we have.

Our products

Killowen Distillery produces the best in craft spirits straight from the Mourne Mountains – Award Winning Irish Whiskey, Poitín, Dark Rum, Gin and our amazing Gloria Coffee Liqueur.

Using as much as possible locally sourced grain for the production of our whiskey and poitín. We also forage locally around the Mournes and the distillery for the botanicals used in our gins.

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