Speciality Brands, the premium drinks agency representing some of the world's finest spirits in the UK, is launching what it claims to be the "world's first" biodynamic whisky. The new Biodynamic: Luna whisky is being launched under their Waterford brand.
The new 50% abv spirit was specially distilled from rare varieties of barley grown by three Irish farmers who explain that they run their farms " according to esoteric principles derived from a 1924 series of lectures by the Austrian polymath Rudolf Steiner" as explained on the Waterford Whisky website. Steiner created a codified agricultural system for post-WW1 farmers, who were worried about the industrialisation of agriculture, the degradation of the land and the loss of millennia of farming know-how – bios meaning life, and dynamos energy. Having been adopted by many of the world's greatest wine producers seeking the ultimate of pure and intense flavours, biodynamics today stands at the cutting edge of regenerative agriculture.
Mark Reynier, Waterford Distillery CEO, explains: "During the 1980s in the vineyards of Burgundy and Alsace, following decades of agro-chemical excess and the race for yield over quality, I witnessed the renaissance of terroir and modern winemaking. Out of this, biodynamics blossomed – a new philosophy that at first seemed outlandish, but after tasting the results increasingly proved its worth.
"During my career I've had the fortune to taste the world's greatest wines, it's no surprise to see the ever-increasing adoption of biodynamics in the search for intensity and purity of flavour. If for the grape, why not the grain?"
Find out more about the new whisky and its production process over on the brand's website.