FDBusiness.com

Planning permission has been granted for a new £12 million whiskey distillery and visitor centre in the historic Ebrington square in Derry town, Northern Ireland. The new distillery will be run by a local Derry company, Niche Drinks, which is aiming to have first distillations by early next year.

Niche Drinks has been manufacturing and exporting Irish cream liqueurs from its site on Rossdowney Road since 1983 and this will continue alongside the new distillery development. The company currently employs 65 people and uses 25% of all milk produced in the North West in the production of its Irish creams.

Commenting on this exciting new development, Miriam Mooney, head of the Irish Whiskey Association, says: “This is fantastic news and is further evidence that the renaissance of Irish whiskeys is occurring throughout the island of Ireland, creating jobs and supporting local economies.  Irish whiskey is now the fastest growing premium spirit category in the world, with exports valued at €505 million last year, an increase of more than 300% in the last 10 years.”

She adds: “In 2013, there were only four distilleries operating in Ireland, now there are 16 distilleries in production and a further 14 in planning. We are really ambitious for our sector, there is huge potential for growth for both small and large entrants to the category. Last year we launched the Irish Whiskey Tourism Strategy which is an all island strategy that proposes the development of an Irish whiskey trail across the island. We believe that given the right government supports and collaboration of state agencies north and south of the border, Irish whiskey tourism will increase from 650,000 a year to 1.9 million by 2025 across the island.”