Inish Turk Beg Island & Single Malt Whiskey
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Inish Turk Beg – the meaning of which is "small island of the wild boar” - is an island of approximately 25 hectares located in Clew Bay, off the coast of Co. Mayo, in the West of Ireland. The island’s history is an agricultural one: inhabitants reared cows, sheep, pigs and grew potatoes. Much of the land on Inish Turk Beg even has a "rippled" look, testament to the centuries of growing potatoes in drills.
For entrepreneur and successful businessman Nadim Sadek, it was love at first sight - so much so that he decided to purchase the island in 2000! Since then, he has devoted his energy to creating a unique place to reflect what he feels is the magic and essence of the island, integrating wherever possible, the West of Ireland’s heritage and traditions. His vision has been very much to preserve artisan practices and to combine them with a sense of renewal and innovation. Life on the island is continually evolving as new ideas emerge – Nadim likes to say that it is the energy that surrounds the island that gives him and his team the passion to do things as they do. Inish Turk Beg is home to many activities, and is presently active with a Connemara Stud, private island accommodation rentals, annual arts residencies and exhibitions, smoked fish, music (the Brilliant Series which is globally available), and of course, its very own whiskey.
In 2010, Nadim launched the maiden voyage of Inish Turk Beg whiskey – 2,888 bottles of Irish Single Malt whiskey, bottled at 44% strength in hand-blown glass bottles. The island is not home to a distillery (yet!), so the whiskey was sourced from the award winning Cooley Distillery in Co. Louth. Matured initially in American bourbon barrels, the malt whiskey was then given several finishes – a port and sherry finish and most unusually, a finish in old poitín casks. Poitín is the Irish moonshine, or illegal spirit, distilled illicitly and in secrecy, which flourished for centuries throughout Ireland. Poitín distillation has now become somewhat of a dying art, but Nadim thought it a fitting tribute to the island’s previous inhabitants to let his whiskey rest a while in old poitín casks which had previously lain empty, absorbing the unique climate and flavours of island life.
To reduce the whiskey from cask to bottling strength, rainwater from the island was gathered, cleansed by thousands of miles of journeying across the Atlantic. The whiskey was then bottled in hand-blown Mooring Buoy bottles, each using some sand hand-gathered from the island’s shores.
Spectacular 360° views spread out from the island’s highest point, and these views, touched by the temperament of the Atlantic, are constantly changing, along with the changing tides which can alter water levels by up to 5 metres each day. The island can be booked privately and can accommodate up to 36 people in 6 separate buildings. The houses were designed by Andrew Wright, a former ‘European Young Architect of the Year’, and all buildings have a modern, airy feel with the emphasis on comfort and relaxation. The philosophy behind offering the island for private use is to provide guests not only with complete privacy but also with breathtaking scenery, indoor activity and outdoor adventure and the luxury of having the freedom of doing what they wish, when they want, and being helped to do so every step of the way.
Inish Turk Beg has also become known since 2009 for its art residencies, where artists are invited to spend a week on the island and encouraged to produce work inspired by their experience of the island philosophy of ‘life vividly lived’. This ongoing project – and the passion and emotions evoked by this island – have best been captured in words by Nadim himself. Even for anyone who has never set foot on the island, the sheer enthusiasm and deep respect expressed by Nadim, makes you once again believe in all those old fashioned qualities that can justify his title of Chief Islander.
Let's be realistic: renting the island privately is not within most ordinary people’s budgets, however we think you would be heartened by the beauty and inspiration of the place itself which can be quite simply captured in two easy steps – first by reading through Nadim’s amazing description of life on the island and second by sipping a glass of Inish Turk Beg Single Malt. This whiskey, due to its limited bottling, is somewhat elusive, but you will find it in the Celtic Whiskey Shop, in the Irish Whiskey Collection in Terminal 2 Dublin Airport and also in some of the pubs on the Whiskey Trail, such as Courtney’s in Killarney. Enjoy and as Nadim would say, live life at a tilt!
Inish Turk Beg – Clew Bay, Westport, Co. Mayo
Tel. +353 (0)98 36957
Email: info@inishturkbeg.com
Web: www.inishturkbeg.com
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