Regenerative biodynamic and organic, single origin Irish Whisky made like a fabled grand cru wine or grand marque champagne, rooted in terroir? How daring, and why not? Who wants to follow the herd? Is your interest piqued? Then read on.
Waterford's Biodynamic Cuvee Luna Whisky is distilled slowly by artisan whisky alchemists and salt of the earth, regenerative farmers schooled in the old ways for the discerning rebels and eccentrics and agent provocateurs amongst whisky connoisseurs! It's also for lovers of scrumptious, daring intense flavours.
For many years, Mark Reynier, the ebullient founder of Waterford worked as an importer of storied, fabled wines and often the best ideas are rooted in experience, passion and an ability to think differently.
I have never forgotten my first meeting with Mark for The Times Magazine. Mark drove me from Chelsea in his visceral, low slung Porsche 911, to the Waterside Inn at Bray, where I interviewed him and Michel Roux for a piece about food, wine, friendship and a mutual passion for excellence.
Reader it was a day I will never forget. The interview was conducted slowly, over a feast of a lunch, beside the Thames. I remember thinking that the great chefs, like Michel Roux really love the land and farmers and they respect mother nature because she provides their store cupboard. Naturally, the Michelin Star chef gravitates to produce grown slowly and organically because it yields the best flavours and textures and so it is with whisky done differently...
Reynier tells me on the phone from Scotland, “Whisky has become homogenised, an industrially manufactured product, propped up with additives and finishes. Yet it used to be authentic, localised agricultural produce – using barley, the most flavoursome cereal in the world. We go back to the start, explore the thousands of barley flavour compounds – and let terroir talk and natural flavour shine.” Mark Reynier, Founder.
A Remarkable Biodynamic Whisky that Taste Like Christmas Pudding
The purists might argue that it is heresy to make whisky like a wine, but the proof is in the tasting. The Waterford Biodynamic Cuvee Luna is a remarkable whisky that tastes like Christmas pudding. To that you can add a playful, energetic sense of vitality and fruitfulness on the palate. I'm going to make a prediction that this biodynamic whisky is going to be very popular with women. Who doesn't love Christmas pudding?
Single Origin Irish Organic Whisky
Waterford also produces a veritable eden of single origin organic whiskies each made from organic barley from a single farm for the whisky aficionado to explore. Waterford Distillery currently works with 101 Irish farms and they do it with transparency and integrity that is a breath of fresh air. The distillery is now the world's largest producer of organic and biodynamic whisky.
I declare that Biodynamic Cuvee Luna Whisky is my favourite. It is the undoubted star whisky. It's a vivacious, scrumptious whisky in a league of one.
A Return to Arcadian Farming
So what is biodynamic agriculture? To cut the chase, it's about turning the farm into a vibrant ecosystem where the focus is on soil health and nutrition. It's about what you put in, not what you take out or poison. The founding father of biodynamic ideas was Rudolph Steiner. He applied the same holistic principles to education and health and his ideas are being discovered and championed once again. I think some people focus too much on the esoteric aspects of biodynamic farming, which includes planting according the phases of the moon.
Then again, if it works, why the hell not? Doesn't nature know best?
Biodynamic farming is regenerative farming and after poisoning our soils with pesticides and herbicides for the past sixty years, it offers a way to repair the damage we have done to nature, biodiversity and ourselves and create healthy, nutritious, delicious food and drink and what is not to love about that?
"When the farm is viewed as a self-contained living organism, farmer, barley plant and soil must work together. To begin with, in organic agriculture there is naturally an absence of artificial treatments; furthermore soil fertility becomes key, with compositing, crop rotation – and in the case of biodynamics, the esoteric preparations – the humus layer becomes a vibrant, nutritious substrate for plants.
Barley thrives. Flavour intensifies. Everyone wins." - Mark Reynier, founder and CEO.
Look at these farmers, don't they look like a happy, contented bunch?
Biodynamic Farmers are the Professors and Keeper of the Soil
I should point out that Reynier is very smart and a pragmatist. He has turned to organic and biodynamic farming because it works and he is after flavour, personality and quality. The Cuvee Luna is the first biodynamic whisky, using exceptional, ancient, heritage varieties of biodynamic and organic Irish barley. The whisky, like wine is also about a specific terroir and the farmer who grows the barley from the field to the distillery. At last these artisan, regenerative farmers are being championed. They are the custodians of the soil and the plant. The barley is nurtured from seed to harvest, using classical biodynamic principles where the focus is on inputs to make the soil as healthy, vital and nutritious as possible.
The results speak for themselves. Biodynamic farming leads to crops with a heightened depth of flavour and nutrition which is a bit of a best kept secret amongst Michelin Star chefs, serious slow foodies and anyone who has experienced the joy of biodynamic husbandry.
Maybe, a rebel whisky like Waterford's biodynamic rebel Luna Cuvee can reach a new generation of slow and regenerative food and wine lovers and start a deliciously regenerative farming, slow food wine and whisky revolution - cheers to that!
The Distillery runs tours. Check the website for details.
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Copyright Alison Jane Reid/The Luminaries Magazine October 2024. All Rights Reserved. No copying or Ai Training Without Permission.
