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Raising a glass: Pictured at the opening are William Grant & Sons CEO Stella David (right) with fifth generation Grant family member Peter Gordon |
Tullamore D.E.W., the world’s second largest Irish whiskey, has marked the opening of its new €35 million distillery in its home town of Tullamore in the Irish midlands. The move means production of whiskey returns to the town 60 years after the original distillery closed its doors.
“This is a true ‘parting glass’ moment for Tullamore D.E.W., as we raise a glass to celebrate the beginning of an exciting new chapter in our 185-year history,” said Tullamore D.E.W. Global Brand Director Caspar MacRae. “Irish whiskey is the fastest growing spirits category in the world right now and our new distillery will enable us to meet our production needs over the coming decades.” This is the first new distillery to be constructed on a greenfield site in Ireland in over 100 years.
It features four hand crafted copper stills, designed to resemble the original stills from the old distillery; six brew house fermenters each with a 34,000 litre capacity; and warehouse storage for 100,000 casks. The facility will be capable of producing the equivalent of 1.5 million cases of Tullamore D.E.W. annually.
Among the guests at the opening celebrations were the winners of the brand’s #PartingGlass competition, a global online search for toasts to mark the beginning of life’s new chapters. The winners joined international guests and the Irish Government Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine Simon Coveney, who returned to open the facility having turned the sod on the distillery 12 months previously.
The Minister said: “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. 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.”
William Grant & Sons CEO Stella David 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.”
Tullamore D.E.W. Global Brand Ambassador John Quinn said: “This new distillery brings Tullamore D.E.W. back to its origins. We are incredibly proud of the Tullamore distillery and know that its opening has been awaited with great anticipation in our key markets throughout the world. We look forward to building on our great success to date and helping new fans all around the world discover the magic of Tullamore D.E.W.”
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To commemorate the opening, Tullamore D.E.W. unveiled the limited release of 2014 bottles of Tullamore D.E.W. Celebratory Phoenix Single Batch an exclusive expression of the Tullamore D.E.W. Phoenix range. The phoenix is featured on the town’s coat of arms honouring the rebuilding of the town after it was largely destroyed by fire in 1785.
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Stella David and Peter Gordon mark the new facility’s opening last week |
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