William Grant & Sons Ltd, the independent family owned distiller and owner of Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey, has officially opened its new €35 million whiskey distillery in Tullamore, Co. Offaly.
After two years of construction, minister for agriculture and food, Simon Coveney officially opened the new distillery by turning on the Spirit Safe to let the first spirit flow from the newly installed stills. This milestone marked the return of whiskey production to Tullamore 60 years after the original distillery closed its doors.
The Tullamore Distillery is the first new distillery to be constructed on a greenfield site in Ireland in over 100 years and is one of the most significant investments to date in the resurgent Irish whiskey sector. The Distillery will be capable of producing the equivalent of 1.5 million cases of Tullamore D.E.W. annually.
The distillery was built to meet the growing international demand for Tullamore D.E.W. which is now the second largest Irish whiskey in the world. Stella David, chief executive of William Grant & Sons said, “We are delighted to celebrate the opening of Tullamore Distillery. 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. Distilling began in Tullamore 185 years ago and this is a significant day for both the town and Tullamore D.E.W. as the opportunities now open to the category are unprecedented. We are committed to Tullamore D.E.W. and are focused on building the brand and investing for the long-term.”
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 ten years.
"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."
The Distillery features 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.
