FDBusiness.com

A new distillery, craft brewery and visitor centre is scheduled to open next year in Ireland with the creation of 80 new jobs. The Boann Distillery and Visitor Centre has ambitious plans to become one of Ireland’s leading independent distilleries and craft breweries. The project is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.

Opening in 2016, the €20 million Drogheda-based facility will include a whiskey distillery ,craft brewery and taproom, an architecturally designed visitor centre, which will host distillery and brewery tours, a 120 seater restaurant, whiskey bar, private event space, and a gift shop.

With plans to produce craft whiskey, gin and an innovative range of craft beers for the domestic and export market, craft beer production is nearing commencement in the 50,000sq ft building located in the Boyne Valley.

The Boann whiskey distillery will create a range of Irish single malt, pot still and blended whiskies from technologically advanced nano-copper pot stills. A small batch premium gin will also be produced in a custom made 500 Ltr Bennett Still.

With a 3 vessel 35HL Kasper Schulz brewhouse at its heart and using traditional brewing methods, the Boyne Brewhouse will debut with a range of three craft beers.The core Boyne Brewhouse craft beer range will be available in bottle, can and draught and will follow up with a range of speciality food beers and seasonals.

The Boann Distillery and Boyne Brewhouse are the realisation of a long held ambition of the Cooney family who have a long tradition in the Irish drinks industry. Pat Cooney built the Gleeson Group to be a major player in the Irish manufacturing and wholesale drinks business over the last 40 years with €300 million turnover and employment of 750 people. Part of this business was sold in 2012 to C&C but a cream liqueur facility and cidery were retained by the Cooney family.

Pat Cooney, chief executive of the Boann Distillery and Visitor Centre, says: “I’ve been in the drinks industry for the past 40 years and it has been a nagging ambition to establish a distillery of my own. To be able to realise this ambition, with the encouragement and participation of my wife and family, is a great bonus and to be able to establish this project in this super building in my home town is a multiple bonus.”

He adds: “To add to the attraction of the location, we are also putting in a Craft Brewery. Marrying these two pillars of the Iindustry with cream liqueur and cider allows us to tick all the boxes of the drinks industry. The business will have a strong export focus without neglecting the domestic market.