PJ dreamt of opening his own distillery, but not just any distillery. He was a developer of novel recipes, an innovator, and an experimenter. The setting was critical: it had to be wild and untamable in the midst of rural Ireland. A destination of wonder and inspiration, surrounded by nature and steeped in history. PJ felt he had found the perfect place for his distillery when he discovered the lovely town of Drumshanbo on the banks of Lough Allen, in the foothills of Sliabh an Iarainn (The Iron Mountain).
The cherished practise of distilling Irish Whiskey returned to the Western region of Connacht with the solar passage of the Winter Solstice sun in 2014. PJ and Denise Rigney, along with their devoted crew of distillers, put down the first whiskey in Connacht in over 101 years on the 21st of December. The distillation began even before the new distillery was finished — PJ and Head Distiller, Brian Taft, have always been extremely enthusiastic and committed to their endeavours. With this, PJ Rigney’s Shed Distillery was established, and PJ, ever committed to his goals, set out on a mission to distil only the finest Irish spirits.
