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William Grant & Sons invests in Tullamore whiskey with new Irish distillery

Published:  17 September, 2014

William Grant & Sons officially opens its new Tullamore state-of-the-art whiskey distillery today in Ireland to help keep up with international demand for what is now the second largest Irish whiskey in the world. It is the first time that whiskey has been produced in Tullamore for 60 years.

The new distillery was opened by Simon Coveney, Irish minister for Agriculture, Food, the Marine & Defence, who turned on the Spirit Safe to let the first spirit flow from the new stills. The new Tullamore Distillery is also the first distillery to be constructed on a greenfield site in Ireland in over 100 years and is seen by William Grant as a firm commitment to the overall Irish whiskey market.

The new distillery has the capacity to produce the equivalent of 1.5 million cases of Tullamore D.E.W. annually. 

William Grant has invested in a 58 acre site in Clonminch on the outskirts of Tullamore. It draws its water from the natural spring from the Slieve Bloom Mountains.

Stella David, Chief executive of William Grant said at the opening: "This new facility will secure our future production demands for the rest of the century as Irish whiskey embarks on its most exciting chapter yet.  Tullamore D.E.W. is 185 years old but this is a significant day in its history as the opportunities now open to the brand are unprecedented.  We are committed to Tullamore D.E.W. and are focused on building the brand and investing for the long-term."

The minister, Simon Coveney, added: "Irish whiskey is a star of the Irish food and drink industry and the fastest growing spirit on world markets. Today I am again impressed by the confidence of the companies investing €1 billion in Irish whiskey over a period of 10 years. This is something special. The government is committed to protecting the reputation and identity of Irish whiskey, produced by an industry committed to working together to further expand exports of a sustainable, quality, uniquely Irish product."

Production at the distillery will be headed up by Denise Devenny.

It includes four hand crafted copper stills, designed to resemble the original stills from the old Tullamore distillery, six brew house fermenters, each with a 34,000 litre capacity, and warehouse storage for 100,000 casks.

Caspar MacRae, global brand director for Tullamore D.E.W, said: "This development has been met with great anticipation in our markets around the world - with consumers in central Europe, the Nordics, North America and emerging markets like South Africa and Russia keenly following the success of Tullamore D.E.W. and Irish whiskey."

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