James Doherty is co-founder of the Ardara Distillery.

The Ardara Distillery has strengthened its international credentials after securing two significant accolades at leading global spirits competitions, highlighting growing recognition for its distinctive Donegal whiskey style.

The County Donegal producer was named Best Irish Craft Distillery at the Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition, while its Ardara Single Malt Cask Strength earned a Double Gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, one of the industry’s most respected benchmarks for spirits quality.

Founded by James and Moira Doherty under the Sliabh Liag Distillers portfolio, Ardara has built its reputation around heavily peated, triple-distilled, all-grain-in whiskey, a style rooted in Donegal’s historic distilling traditions and largely absent from Irish whiskey production for more than a century.

The awards represent a significant milestone for the distillery as it continues to champion a regional whiskey style that differs from more traditional Irish whiskey profiles.

James Doherty, Co-Founder of The Ardara Distillery, said: “San Francisco is arguably the toughest room in the world of spirits to be judged in. To come away with a Double Gold medal for our first Ardara single malt release is powerful, and a strong signal that grain-in, heavily peated Irish whiskey has a serious place on the international stage. We make whiskey the way it was made in Donegal a century ago. It’s not a style everyone expected the market to embrace, but awards like this tell us otherwise.”

The recognition in Japan is equally significant given the market’s reputation for whisky appreciation and technical expertise.

Moira Doherty, Co-Founder of The Ardara Distillery, added: “Ardara’s mission has always been singular: to remain true to Donegal above all else. It is wonderful to see that recognised in Japan, a market that takes its whiskey seriously. To be named Best Irish Craft Distillery there, making the kind of whiskey we make, means the world is genuinely ready for what Donegal has to offer.”

Located in the town of Ardara, the distillery operates with three copper stills supplied by Forsyths of Scotland and remains the only distillery on the island of Ireland dedicated to producing peated whiskey using the all-grain-in method. The production approach is designed to maximise flavour extraction while preserving the smoky, robust character traditionally associated with Donegal whiskey.

The latest awards add to growing international interest in regional Irish whiskey styles as producers increasingly focus on provenance, heritage and distinctive production methods to differentiate themselves in the premium spirits market.

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