Fifteen jobs to be created in new whiskey business in Ballytarsna, County Carlow 

THE Larch Grove family farm in Ballytarsna, Carlow is to become the home of Flying Tumbler Irish Whiskey, creating 15 jobs for the rural area over the coming years.

The company, founded by Carlow brothers Thomas and Patrick Walsh during Covid, secured €200,000 in funding for the new business through the government’s LEADER programme for rural development. The brothers will use the funding to repurpose a number of outbuildings on their family farm into bonded whiskey maturation and blending warehouses, as well as a craft bottling line.

“The farm at Larch Grove has been in our family for generations and we wanted to create a new farming future for generations to come,” explained founder Patrick Walsh.

The brand is named after the flying tumbler pigeon, a bird known for its acrobatics and innate ability to always return home. The company has gained a strong following in the USA, particularly in Massachusetts, where co-founder Thomas Walsh lives.

Alongside the farm diversification project, the Flying Tumbler is launching two new products: The Roller, a non-age-stated single grain, and The Tippler, a blend of single pot still and single grain. These bottles will soon be available for export alongside The Bird, a triple-distilled blend of single malt and single grain matured in bourbon casks and bottled at 43%, currently retailing in the USA for $38.

The project is expected to create 15 jobs for the locality – ten in the initial construction phase with Thcoda Contractors, and a further five over the coming years. Works are expected to be completed on the site by September.

“We are extremely grateful to the Carlow County Development Partnership and their programme for their help in realising our vision. We are looking forward to the year ahead and expanding our reach across Europe and beyond,” said Patrick.