William Grant & Sons Opens €35m Tullamore Distillery
Tullamore D.E.W celebrates true ‘Parting Glass’ moment as whiskey production returns home after 60 years
17th September 2014: Today, William Grant & Sons Ltd., the independent family owneddistiller and owner of Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey, officially opened its new €35 millionstate-of-the-art whiskey distillery in Tullamore, Co Offaly, Ireland.After two years ofconstruction, Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food, the Marine & Defence, Simon CoveneyT.D. officially opened the new distillery by turning on the Spirit Safe to let the first spirit flowfrom the newly installed stills.This milestone marked the return of whiskey production to Tullamore 60 years after the original distillery closed its doors.
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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.It is also one of the largest projects undertaken by WilliamGrant & Sons.Located on a 58 acre site in Clonminch on the outskirts of Tullamore, the Distillery draws on the finest natural spring water from the Slieve Bloom Mountains. Tullamore 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.Commenting at the officialopening ceremony Stella David, Chief Executive of William Grant & Sons Ltd said, “We aredelighted to celebrate the opening of Tullamore Distillery.This new facility will secure ourfuture production demands for the rest of the century as Irish whiskey embarks on its mostexciting chapter yet.Distilling began in Tullamore 185 years ago and this is a significantday for both the town and Tullamore D.E.W. as the opportunities now open to thecategory are unprecedented.We are committed to Tullamore D.E.W. and are focused onbuilding the brand and investing for the long-term. ”
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Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine Simon Coveney said “Irish Whiskey is a star ofthe Irish food and drink industry and the fastest growing spirit on world markets. Today Iam again impressed by the confidence of the companies investing €1 billion in Irish whiskey over a period of ten years.I was delighted to turn the sod on the site of this distillery in historic Tullamore and today, the first liquid gold flows into casks for skilful maturation with the promise of a premium product and great visitor experiences.This is something special. 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.”
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The Tullamore Distillery combines William Grant and Sons’ 127 years of distilling knowledgeand expertise with world leading innovation and technology.Production operations areheaded at the facility by Process Leader, Denise Devenny.The Distillery features four handcrafted 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.
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Another special guest at the opening was Tom McCabe (84) a former employee of theoriginal distillery who now lives in New Jersey.Tom spent three years working as a Distillerin the distillery on Bury Quay in Tullamore town and was today reunited with his brotherFergal and sister Una, the first time all three siblings had been together in Tullamore since1952.At the event Tom traded stories and memories with another former distillery worker and Tullamore resident, Paddy Lowbridge (90).
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Caspar MacRae, Global Brand Director, Tullamore D.E.W. also commented, “TullamoreD.E.W.’s success is built on its resilience, optimism and progress – attributes that havecertainly led us to the opening of Tullamore Distillery today.In many ways this is a‘Parting Glass’ moment for the brand as we toast achievements of the past and raise aglass to an exciting new chapter in our future.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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The construction project was led by William Grant & Sons’ Head Engineer, John Stevenson,with more than 1,200 specialist distillery engineers and construction workers spending acombined 475,000 working days to complete the build on-schedule and on-budget.WilliamGrant & Sons is an important employer in the Tullamore area with people employed locallybetween the distillery and the Tullamore D.E.W. Visitor Centre while William Grant & Sons currently employs over 90 people in Ireland – in Tullamore, Clonmel and Dublin.
