Ireland welcomes fifth Irish whiskey distillery

Kentucky spirits company Alltech is to become the fifth major Irish whiskey distiller in Ireland.

Alltech Spirits has shipped a 1,900 litre wash still and 1,000 litre spirits still from its Lexington Brewing Company in Louisville, Kentucky to the Carlow Brewing Company at Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow.

The Venodome whiskey stills will become part of Ireland’s fifth major whiskey distillery, joining those belonging to Beam, Diageo, William Grant and Pernod Ricard.

At this stage the stills are in the process of being installed, and Alltech are yet to decide on a name or style of whiskey to produce. It is thought a finished product will be some way off in the future but the company is keen to get started.

Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech said the installation marked 221 years since the Whiskey Rebellion in the US, and 221 days since Cooley was purchased by Beam and ceased being the last remaining independent distillery in Ireland.

“A truly momentous event has happened as the first stills are shipped from Kentucky to Ireland, completing the cycle with this fantastic craft finally returning to its place of origin,” he said. “This will set the stage for a new Irish whiskey with a Kentucky flair.”

Alltech, which specialises in brewing beer, already produces Alltech Town Branch Bourbon and Pearse Lyons Reserve Single Malt Whiskey in the US. The company is also nearing completion of a US$4.5million distillery project in Lexington, Kentucky, which is due to open this month.

The group is also this weekend launching its Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale – produced in collaboration with the Carlow Brewing Company – at the Irish Craft Beer festival in the RDS in Dublin.