Killowen Distillery

Killowen Distillery occupies a converted shed on Kilfeaghan Road in the townland of Killowen, near Rostrevor, where architect-turned-distiller Brendan Carty founded the operation in 2017. Carty designed and built the site himself, installing two handmade copper stills, Christoir and Broc, fitted with worm-tub condensers rather than the shell-and-tube coolers most Irish distilleries use. The whiskey, sold under the Barántúil name, is double-distilled in the old single pot still style, alongside gin, rum and poitín made on the same equipment. Tours run by appointment, typically on the last Saturday of the month, with groups of six or more walking the up-cycled production building before tasting spirit straight from the still.