€35 million investment sees production return home after 60 years
17th September 2014: Tullamore D.E.W., the world’s second largest Irish whiskey today celebrated the opening of its new €35m distillery in its hometown of Tullamore in the Irish midlands. As the first spirit flowed from the stills, to the cheers of hundreds of invited guests, the milestone marked the return of whiskey production 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”.
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 exciting accomplishments to date in the Irish whiskey renaissance.
Among the special guests at the opening celebrations were the winners of the #PartingGlass competition, a global online search for the best toasts to mark the beginning of life’s new chapters. This exciting competition attracted hundreds of entries from around the world and was one of the most talked about social media campaigns of the summer. The winners joined a host of international guests and the Irish Government Minister, Simon Coveney T.D. who returned to open the facility having turned the sod on the distillery 12 months previous.
Also returning to Tullamore for the opening celebrations was Tom McCabe (84) a former employee of the original distillery who now lives in New Jersey, U.S.A. Tom spent three years working as a distiller in the original distillery before immigrating to America and was today reunited with his brother Fergal and sister Una, the first time all three siblings had been together in Tullamore since 1952. At the event Tom traded stories and memories with another former distillery worker and lifelong Tullamore resident, Paddy Lowbridge (90).
Commenting at the official opening ceremony Irish Government Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine Simon Coveney T.D. 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."
John Quinn, Tullamore D.E.W., Global Brand Ambassador also commented, “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..”
To commemorate the rising of the Distillery, Tullamore D.E.W. unveiled the very 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 a highly appropriate symbol for Tullamore and Tullamore D.E.W.. It is featured on the town’s coat of arms honouring the courageous rebuilding of the town after it was largely destroyed by fire following a devastating hot air balloon accident in 1785 and is a symbol of resilience, optimism and progress; attributes that have led to the opening of Tullamore Distillery.
The Tullamore Distillery 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. Tullamore Distillery draws the finest natural Irish water from the nearby Slieve Bloom Mountains and will be capable of producing the equivalent of 1.5 million cases of Tullamore D.E.W. annually.
ENDS
Notes to editor:
For full press materials, video content, images & fact sheets, please visit: http://grants.releasd.com/f9bb
About Tullamore D.E.W.:
Tullamore D.E.W. is the world’s second largest Irish whiskey brand and has seen global sales double to more than 850,000 (9L) cases since 2005. Known the world over for its smooth flavour, Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey is triple distilled and a blend of a combination of all three types of Irish whiskey – grain, malt & pot still. The sweet softness of grain whiskey, soft spice from the pot still and fruitiness of the malt create marks out Tullamore D.E.W. from all other Irish whiskeys. Tullamore D.E.W.'s award-winning range includes Tullamore D.E.W. Original, Tullamore D.E.W. Phoenix, Tullamore D.E.W. 12 Year Old Special Reserve and Tullamore D.E.W. 10 Year Old Single Malt.
To celebrate the opening of its new Tullamore Distillery, Tullamore D.E.W. released 2014 bottle of Tullamore D.E.W. Celebratory Phoenix Single Batch. This very limited release is available through a selection of exclusive Irish outlets.
For more information on the brand, please go to: www.tullamoredew.com
Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tullamoredew
About ‘A Parting Glass’:
In preparation for the opening of its new distillery Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey launched the ‘Parting Glass’ campaign, a global online search for the best toasts to mark the beginning of life’s new chapters.
The campaign was inspired by the award-winning short film ‘A Parting Glass’ which launched in late 2013 and has brought Tullamore D.E.W. into the hearts of fans all around the world. The film follows four young friends preparing to raise a glass to say goodbye to a friend – but not for the reason we are led to believe. Beautifully shot in the rolling Irish countryside, the film was created by New York agency Opperman Weiss and directed by Laurence Dunmore of Ridley Scott’s RSA Films.
The film can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/ThePartingGlass
About Tullamore:
Tullamore is a medium sized town in County Offaly, in the Irish midlands with a population of 15,000 and is approximately 100km west of Dublin. Slieve Bloom, to the north is believed to be one of Europe's oldest mountain ranges, and to the south is Lough Boora, a vast nature reserve. The town is connected to Dublin by the Grand Canal, an old merchant waterway linking the capital city with the mighty River Shannon in the West of Ireland.
Tullamore D.E.W. is the town's most famous export, dating back to 1829. Despite the original distillery's closure in 1954 the town has maintained a proud association with Tullamore D.E.W. and the Tullamore D.E.W. Visitor Centre, opened in 2012, has become a popular tourist attraction.
About Irish whiskey:
Today Irish whiskey is the fastest growing sector in the spirits category, as a new generation of consumers discover its smooth taste and accessible character.
The category has had a tumultuous past, from its heyday in the early 20th century when it was in huge global demand to being severely crippled first by Prohibition and then by Irish political instability and the Economic War with Britain.
In comparison Scotch, which was not handicapped by the same challenging trade environment, went from strength to strength and became the default import whisky of choice in large markets such as in North America and the UK.
Irish whiskey was all but wiped out in the US and in fact may have been saved because of its use in Irish coffee, which become very popular on the West Coast.
As the entire Irish whiskey production sector was rationalised Tullamore D.E.W. went through a number of different ownerships. It became part of the William Grant & Sons family in 2010.
About William Grant & Sons:
William Grant & Sons Holdings Ltd is an independent family-owned distiller and was founded by William Grant in 1887. Today the company owns some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world’s most awarded single malt Glenfiddich®, The Balvenie® range of handcrafted single malts and the world’s third largest blended Scotch, Grant’s®, as well as other iconic spirits brands such as Hendrick’s® gin, Sailor Jerry® spiced rum and Tullamore D.E.W.® Irish whiskey
For more information on the company, please visit www.williamgrant.com
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