Stillgarden Distillery

Stillgarden Distillery Logo Viki Stillgarden

Stillgarden Distillery, founded in February 2020 by married couple Viki Baird and Pat O’Brien, is new independent distillery in the heart of Inchicore, Dublin 8.

Stillgarden create unique spirits, aperitifs and cocktails, while placing circularity and community at the centre of its business. The Distillery brings their own spirit of prosocial disruption to the world through science, community & nature. “Everything we do is with purpose, allowing nature, science and a sense of curiosity to inspire great tasting spirits and unique experiences designed to make people feel that little bit closer.”

Inspiration

Founders Viki and Pat have always been very sociable people and between them they have extensive experience in the drinks industry and company management.

“Pat has a deep passion for creating unique liquids and I love creating experiences that bring people together (albeit in a socially distanced manner nowadays). From concept to launch, Stillgarden had grown so organically and we believe this is because we have stayed aligned to our ethos of Science, Community and Nature, which to us means there are infinite possibilities.” Explains Viki.

Research & overcoming hurdles

Once Viki was confident that she wanted to launch the new venture, she set to work. She convinced a friend of hers, who had over 25 year experience in the spirits industry, to come on board as a special advisor. From there, she found a suitable location and building. Viki knew she wanted to find good business partners to work with. By overcoming this hurdle, she was able to focus on getting the business off the ground with funding, start-up grants and investments.

Becoming Self Employed

Viki made the decision to become self-employed in August 2019. “It was a big jump leaving my job after nearly 10 years service but I have no regrets!”

Challenges & Opportunities

“Covid for both! A huge challenge for us was having to temporarily lay off staff during lockdown. This was one of the most difficult decisions we had to make. Stillgarden’s ‘Boss Lady’ Viki Baird oversees a team of distillers, gardeners, bar tenders and brand managers.

"We were disappointed that the launch we had planned for 24th March 2020 (invites for the launch party had just been printed) could not happen but we adapted. We turned to focus on community projects firstly making hand sanitiser, which we donated to the local community. Then we put a big emphasis on launching the Social Botanist Project.

Shortly after we saw a new trend emerging and that was the demand for online drinks so we launched the Distiller Edition Gin and shortly after our bottled Cocktails, gift boxes and glassware. We now have a full range of 12 spirits, cocktails and aperitifs available in the distillery and online shop. We don't think we would have had such an extensive range if lockdown hadn't happened. We also offer a wide range of experiences, including an outside option which was developed while restrictions only allowed outside events.”, Viki says.

Experiences include a distilling academy, cocktail & gin masterclasses and distillery and botanical garden tours.

LEO Supports

Stillgarden Distillery have availed of the Trading Online Voucher training

“We have had great support throughout from the Local Enterprise Office”, says Viki

Adapting to Covid 19

With the pandemic, Viki and her business partners had the time to develop a range of services and products in Stillgarden Distillery. They developed outdoor socially distant tours when it was safe to do so and created gift boxes and at home cocktail kits.

The Stillgarden Distillery team developed new safety protocols to keep visitors safe.

“The safety of our guests and hosts is paramount and we have undertaken strict staff training in this area and we have recently been awarded the Failte Ireland COVID-19 Safety Charter.

We have created glass booths in the academy room. The glass panels spans the host area and also screens off each pod.
The lab area is super spaced out (2 people to each work station)
The building is very well ventilated.
Guests must wear masks when they are not sitting in their booths, hosts wear masks throughout
Part of the tour includes a visit to our garden so this being outside means participants can be socially distant.

"We use a product called Zoono on the bottles, this protects for up to 30 days", Viki explains.

Winning the MODOS Innovation Award

With its MODOS Innovation Award, Stillgarden is planning an initiative to collect and reuse its beautifully designed bottles and to transform local unloved spaces into green areas. The campaign is aimed at both trade and direct customers.

“ It was great to recognised for the re-use work we have done and for the community garden.”, says Viki. Our main aim is to reduce the waste output of businesses in Dublin 8, both our own and others. We encourage reuse over recycling. Any bottles returned to us are washed and sanitise and reused. Any food waste is repurposed and we can educate other businesses in adopting these practices.” She explains.

2022 & Beyond

Exporting is the next big plan for Stillgarden Distillery. With an extensive range of spirits and cocktails, it makes perfect sense to share the Stillgarden Distillery brand with the world. Viki is also planning to extend their expertise to further community garden projects and want to expand their bottle reuse campaign.

Product 3 Product 4 Stillgarden drinks