Walsh Whiskey Distillery in pictures

Earlier this summer, SB was among the first to witness the grand opening of Ireland’s €25 million Walsh Whiskey Distillery in the historic Royal Oak estate, County Carlow.

Walsh Whiskey Distillery held its grand opening in June this year

In June, Walsh Whiskey became the first Irish whiskey producer to make malt, pot still and grain liquid with the opening of its new site.

Based of the 18^th century Royal Oak estate, Walsh Whiskey Distillery has capacity to produce 650,000 cases, or eight million bottles, annually, and will distill line extensions for the company’s Writers Tears and The Irishman brands.

Plans to build the site were first unveiled in 2013 when Italian drinks group Illva Saronno acquired a 50% stake in Walsh Whiskey Distillery.

Click through the following pages to take a look around one of Ireland’s newest distilleries.

Guests including journalists, industry luminaries and members of the local community came along to Walsh Whiskey Distillery’s grand opening earlier this summer. Situated on the glorious 18^th century Royal Oak estate, its opening brought Irish whiskey production back to County Carlow for the first time in 200 years.

Walsh Whiskey Distillery was founded by Bernard Walsh, who spoke to guests about exciting plans for the distillery, which has capacity to produce 650,000 cases, or eight million bottles, annually and will distill line extensions for the company’s Writers Tears and The Irishman Irish whiskey brands. The site allows Walsh Whiskey to “take control of its own destiny”, said Walsh, who also paid tribute to Augusto Reina, CEO of Illva Saronno – which owns a 50% stake in Walsh Whiskey Distillery.

The distillery itself is the only independent Irish whiskey production site in Ireland to make malt, pot still and grain liquid. Its capacity will allow Walsh Whiskey to bolster distribution in core markets such as the US, Russia and Europe, and also target new markets including India and China.

All 300 guests were invited to take a tour of the distillery, in organised groups of course, enjoying an outside view of the very modern distillery, designed by architect firm Bluett & O’Donaghue, as they crossed the distillery’s local water source.

Bernard Walsh, his wife Rosemary and Augusto Reina unveiled a commemoration plaque and took part in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the distillery’s highly anticipated opening.

In what will become the boardroom of Walsh Whiskey Distillery, guests were taken through the history of the company and its aspirations for the future. Plans are in place to open a visitor experience in the near future, while the company will also start building two maturation warehouses with capacity for 60,000 barrels at Royal Oak next year. Currently, stock is transported to warehouses in nearby Kilkenny.

Bernard Walsh said that his distillery’s total annual capacity is the equivalent of 10% of global Irish whiskey exports. While Walsh Whiskey will principally use the distillery to grow its own range of whiskeys, it will also allocate up to 15% of annual production to contract sales and has sealed its first deal with Nordic company Altia.

Walsh Whiskey Distillery is the only independent Irish whiskey producer to create malt, pot still and grain liquid. Unusually, all still types are contained in a single stillroom.

Augusto Reiner gets a look inside mash tuns at the distillery. His company, Illva Saronno, acquired a 50% stake in Walsh Whiskey Distillery in 2013, securing funds needs to build the site.

Walsh and Reina toast their partnership, which marks an exciting new chapter in Irish whiskey. “After 17 years in business, the opening of our own distillery is both the fulfillment of Rosemary and my own dreams and a game changing moment for the company,” said Walsh. “We are now in control of our destiny and have the capacity, variety and relationships to play our part in the continued revival of Irish whiskey which is one of this country’s great traditions.”