Tullamore distillery edges towards completion

A new Irish whiskey distillery for Tullamore DEW has moved a step closer to completion as four copper stills are installed.

Four copper stills have been installed at Tullamore DEW’s new Irish whiskey distillery in Tullamore, County Offlay

The €35 million distillery marks the return of whiskey production to Tullamore, County Offaly, 60 years after the original Tullamore DEW distillery closed.

Handcrafted by Forsyths Coppersmiths, in Scottish town Rothes, the stills have been designed to replicate as closely as possible the originals used at the old Tullamore distillery, which ceased production in 1954.

“The arrival of the stills marks another step towards the return of the whiskey making tradition to Tullamore,” said Stella David, CEO of brand owner William Grant & Sons.

“We are excited to be marking this momentous event in a journey that has been almost three generations in the making”.

Tullamore DEW has doubled its global sales to 850,000 nine-litre cases since 2005, driven by increased demand from the US and emerging Irish whiskey markets Germany, Sweden and Eastern Europe.

The annual production of the new distillery will be the equivalent of about 1.5m cases of pot still and malt whiskeys.

Independent UK spirits group William Grant & Sons acquired Tullamore DEW from C&C Group in 2010.

Work began on the distillery in September 2013 and is set to be completed in autumn this year.

The new Tullamore DEW distillery in Tullamore, County Offaly