Tullamore DEW to open distillery on St. Patrick’s Halfway Day

William Grant is to open its new Tullamore DEW Irish whiskey distillery on 14 September, half way through the year until St. Patrick’s Day.

Having taken delivery of the distillery’s spirit safe this week, custom-built by Forsyths, Tullamore DEW is preparing to begin distillation exactly 60 years after the closure of the original site in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland in 1954.

Forsyths has designed the spirit safe in a unique triangle shape, in reference to the distillery’s triple distillation, triple blend and Grant family’s coat of arms which features a trio of crowns.

Denise Devenny, Tullamore Distillery process leader, said: “The installation of the spirit safe marks a momentous milestone in returning whiskey production to Tullamore.

“Installing the spirit safe we saw the heart of the distillery being put in place right between the hand crafted pot and malt stills. There is no better sight than seeing pure spirit washing around the mouth of the collection bowl and disappearing to be matured in casks knowing that it will only re-appear many years later to be enjoyed by generations of whiskey connoisseurs.”

Once operational, the €35m distillery will be capable of producing up to 1.5m cases of triple distilled pot still and malt whiskey, double the brand’s current global sales (850,000 nine-litre cases).

Currently the second-largest Irish whiskey brand in the world, Tullamore DEW’s range is comprised of Tullamore DEW Original, Tullamore DEW Phoenix, Tullamore DEW 12 Year Old Special Reserve and Tullamore DEW 10 Year Old Single Malt.