Tullamore D.E.W. Marks Major Milestone
Irish whiskey brand Tullamore D.E.W. celebrated St Patrick’s Day 2014 with the arrival of four hand crafted copper stills, in preparation for the landmark opening of its new distillery in Tullamore in the heart of Ireland. This is the first public glimpse inside the distillery building and marks a major milestone in Tullamore’s history by bringing Tullamore D.E.W. whiskey production back to its roots after 60 years.
The copper pot stills are the heart of a whiskey distillery and play a vital role in creating Irish whiskey’s distinctive taste. Forged by the famous Forsyths Coppersmiths in the town of Rothes, the imposing stills were painstakingly hand crafted to replicate the originals, which were in use at the old Tullamore distillery until its closure in 1954. The custom-designed copper stills travelled 775 km in six separate pieces across the Irish Sea from Northern Scotland, before being riveted and welded together on arrival at the distillery in Tullamore, County Offaly.
Stella David, chief executive of independent distiller William Grant & Sons, which owns the Tullamore D.E.W. brand, comments: “The arrival of the stills marks another step towards the return of the whiskey making tradition to Tullamore. We are excited to be marking this momentous event in a journey that has been almost 3 generations in the making.”
The rapid international growth of Tullamore D.E.W. sales worldwide has played a role in reviving Irish whiskey into the world’s fastest-growing spirit. As the second largest Irish whiskey brand in the world, with global growth of around 10% per year, Tullamore D.E.W. is a key contributor to the growth ofIreland’s exports.
Worldwide sales of Tullamore D.E.W. have doubled to almost 850,000 (9L) cases since 2005. With construction now well under way, the distillery ensures that family owned distiller William Grant & Sons can cope with demand as the brand continues to grow globally in the USA, Germany, Sweden and Central and Eastern Europe where Tullamore D.E.W is already a leading player. The annual production of the new distillery will be 1.84Mla of triple distilled pot still and malt whiskeys – the equivalent of about 1.5m cases.
