Cape Clear Island Distillery is the only offshore island distillery in Ireland, located on Gaeltacht-designated (Irish speaking) Cape Clear Island.  We've been distilling since November of 2019 under the watchful eye of distiller Christopher Mason.  Our 3 SQ. MILES gin has won awards at several prestigious international competitions, and we look forward to having it available in Los Angeles soon!  In the meantime, you can sign up for updates at capecleardistillery.com.

Their 3 SQ. MILES, Irish Coastal Gin recently won a gold medal at the 2020 Bartender Spirits Awards. So if you are wondering which Gin to order when you visit the Bar when COVID unfolds, try this one!

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Cape Clear is a Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) island eight miles off the southwest coast of County Cork; it’s a stunningly beautiful place. Though our island continues to experience a decline in its population, there is hope. We’ve produced a gin that has proven capable of winning awards at the most prestigious and competitive events in the world. We’ve been granted planning permission for a state-of-the-art whiskey distillery building. The tide is rising; please join us on our journey.

The Perfect Location for Ireland’s Only Island Distillery

Our island is one of the doers; we don’t just dream of ideas but work hard to realize our goals. It’s Ireland’s southernmost inhabited island and is proudly Gaeltacht (designated Irish speaking). It’s also an island that, like all Irish offshore islands, has experienced a population decline over the years due to a lack of employment opportunities. Cape Clear Island has 130 full-time residents and our school has seven students. Several years ago, some islanders got together to discuss the idea of building a distillery. One that would provide employment to islanders, that could one day provide an opportunity to the children in the island’s school, and most importantly, that would one day produce some of the finest Irish whiskey available. We received planning permission for this state-of-the-art facility in 2016 and have been working toward that goal since.

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Like many whiskey distilleries, the path toward producing whiskey involves starting with gin. Only we wanted a gin that could and would continue to stand on its own. We wanted a gin that reflected our unique island’s character and one that could be considered among the best in the world. After nearly a year of development, with involvement from the islanders and consultants from the mainland, we finalized a recipe that did just that. We began bottling 3 SQ. MILES in November of 2019.

While our gin accumulates awards, most recently a silver medal at the prestigious 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and Gold Medal from the 2020 Bartenders Spirits Competition, we continue to seek investment to build our whiskey distillery.