FDBusiness.com

A luxury Irish vodka, unlike any other, has been created by new Irish drinks company, Origin Spirits Ireland. Kalak Vodka is four times pot distilled from Irish malted barley, a process which is more commonly used in the production of Irish whiskey. The unique spirit uses 100% Irish ingredients and derives its name from the phonetic spelling of ‘An Cailleach’, the Irish Celtic Goddess and queen of winter.

Patrick Shelley (pictured), founded Origin Spirits Ireland in 2013 and Kalak Vodka is the company’s first product. Patrick Shelley previously worked in the international luxury goods market, holding senior positions with LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) in France, UK, Germany, Austria, South East Asia, and Russia where he had the opportunity to represent some of the world’s top wine and spirits brands such as Hennessy, Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Krug, Glenmorangie, Ardbeg and Belvedere.

He says: “Having worked for years in the international drinks industry, I was struck by the fact that vodka was often more about packaging than substance. I was not a vodka drinker until recently, as I found it in general to be odourless and tasteless. I wanted to create a vodka that ‘I’ could enjoy, one with taste, character and depth as well as purity and smoothness. I was also keen to build on Ireland’s strong heritage and create a vodka using an inherently Irish distilling process, featuring the best of Irish ingredients.”