FDBusiness.com

Irish Distillers has announced the appointment of Kevin O’Gorman (pictured) as the new Master Distiller at Midleton Distillery. He takes on the role from Brian Nation, who has served as Master Distiller since 2013 but is now set to take on the role of Master Distiller at a start-up distillery in the US.

As part of his new role Kevin O’Gorman will be responsible for protecting the rich heritage of the world’s most famous Irish whiskeys, ensuring the quality of all new pot and grain distillates produced at Midleton while supporting future innovation.

A Cork native, Kevin O’Gorman is a Technology graduate from The University of Limerick and holds a Diploma in Distilling from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. He is a master craftsman having started his career in Midleton in 1998, working as a distiller under the tutelage of Master Distiller Emeritus Barry Crockett. From there he moved to Maturation where he honed his skills under then Master of Maturation Brendan Monks before assuming the role of Master of Maturation on Brendan’s retirement in 2007.

Kevin O’Gorman successfully continued the ongoing innovation in maturation that has made Midleton famous, while working with the team in facilitating spirit options for new brands like Method and Madness and brand extensions in the Jameson, Redbreast, Powers, Midleton Very Rare and Spot range. In his previous role, Kevin spent much of his time travelling the globe to source only the highest quality casks from world renowned cooperages, while overseeing the full maturation process across the portfolio.

Conor McQuaid, Chairman and CEO of Irish Distillers, comments: “I am delighted to announce Kevin O’Gorman as the new Master Distiller at Midleton Distillery. Kevin’s exceptional leadership and talent as Master of Maturation has impressed the whiskey world ever since he took on the role in 2007. We know that he will continue to impress as Master Distiller, an evolved role which will see him lead both distillation and maturation at Irish Distillers. I am looking forward to working closely with Kevin as he drives the constant pursuit of excellence and innovation that has been exemplified by the entire team in Midleton for centuries.

“We are immensely grateful for everything Brian has done for Irish Distillers, and the entire Irish whiskey category, and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavors as he passes the baton to Kevin.”

Part of Pernod Ricard, Irish Distillers is one of Ireland’s leading suppliers of spirits and wines, and produces some of the world’s most well-known and successful Irish whiskeys, led by the Jameson brand. Jameson is the world’s bestselling Irish whiskey, experiencing 30 years of consecutive growth and hitting sales of 8 milion cases in 2019.

Irish Distillers was formed in 1966, when a merger took place between John Power & Son, John Jameson & Son and Cork Distilleries Company. In 1988 Irish Distillers joined Pernod Ricard. Since 2012, Irish Distillers has invested over €400 million to double its production and bottling capacity to meet global demand for its products. The company employs over 600 people across its operations in Cork and Dublin.