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Killowen is Ireland’s 24th operational distillery

Another Irish whiskey producer has joined the fast-growing category and become the 24th operational distillery in Ireland: Killowen Distillery in County Down.

Killowen Distillery is the 24th operational site in Ireland

The distillery marked the turning on of its stills with a special event on Saturday (16 March), as it begins to make Irish pot still whiskey.

The news came just ahead of St Patrick’s Day (Sunday, 17 March). The Irish Whiskey Association expected more than five million bottles of Irish whiskey would be bought in 135 markets globally in the week leading up to the celebratory day of Ireland’s patron saint.

William Lavelle, head of the Irish Whiskey Association, said: “The Irish Central Statistics Office [CSO] earlier this week published final export data for 2018 showing that €654 million (US$742m) worth of Irish whiskey products (distillery-gate prices, not final retail price) were exported from the Republic of Ireland last year.

“This marked an increase of 13%, which confirms that the Irish whiskey renaissance shows no signs of abating.

“This CSO data confirms our projections that the US maintains the largest market for Irish whiskey, accounting for 43% of sales, with Canada, Australia and Central/Eastern Europe set to be the key growth regions for Irish whiskey in 2019 and coming years.”

Earlier this month, Cork-based Clonakilty became Ireland’s 23rd working distillery.

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