Tuesday, 18 March 2014 Google searches). Let's do a quick run around the existing and proposed distilleries to see where we are and where we are going in 2014 and beyond. I have only included announced projects. I have seen plans for more distilleries and heard rumours of others but until they are ready to go public I won't mention them here. There are eight whiskey distilleries currently producing. There could easily be another five by the end of the year. Operational Distilleries Midleton Without missing a beat, Midleton completed its project to double capacity in 2013 and passed the Master Distiller baton from the legendary Barry Crockett to Brian Nation. The distillery fuels the remarkable volume growth in Irish whiskey (via Jameson) while simultaneously releasing some of the best whiskeys in the world (most recently Redbreast 21 year old). Expect more of the same this year. Bushmills They still make good whiskey but don't seem very interested to talk about it or to release new expressions. But they do launch wooden headphones and sunglasses, and promote indie music bands. Please, Bushmills, give me something to write about in 2014. Cooley / Riverstown During the Noughties, Cooley was garnering the appreciation of enthusiasts with lots of experimentation, innovation and fine whiskeys. Cooley's new owners, Beam, abandoned that approach for a pure volume play. With Beam now due to be swallowed by Suntory, I am hoping the good times are on the way back. Kilbeggan When Cooley was independent, Kilbeggan was their small, experimental distillery that was building up a stock of all sorts of interesting spirit like pot still, rye and so on. Beam renamed the whole company after Kilbeggan and tasked the distillery with producing a standard malt that could be vatted into the signature blend along with the far greater volumes produced at Riverstown. Perhaps Suntory will allow Andrina Fitzgerald, Kilbeggan's distiller, play around with the mashbills again. Dingle Distilling since the end of 2012. Not just whiskey, but vodka and gin too. The gin (just launched in the US) has been very well received and I expect it to kindle an interest in craft Irish gins. I'm surprised among all the announced distillery projects that there hasn't been one targeting gin exclusively but chances are high that some will try their hand at gin anyway, just for the immediate return on investment. Echlinville Distilling since June last year. They recently acquired a defunct but well-known Belfast whiskey brand, Dunville's. This will be handy when their own whiskey matures (their other brand is the jokey Feckin Irish Whiskey) but they have somehow managed to put Dunville's on the market already (a rebadged Cooley blend, one presumes). Alltech / Carlow Distilling since November 1st, 2012 on Carlow Brewing Company premises but due to move to James's Street in Dublin in 2014. They have recently announced a cask pre-purchase scheme. West Cork Distillers West Cork are well known for their innovative brown spirit drinks (like Drombeg, Lough Hyne and Kennedy) but they are also laying down whiskey spirit that is maturing in first-fill bourbon and sherry casks. They tell me they have an Irish whiskey on the market already, which I missed but hope to get information on soon. West Cork are also fuelling the attempt to launch poitín as a viable spirit category. They have their own Two Trees brand and supply some of the other labels on the market too. Not yet operational Tullamore Tullamore Dew is made under contract by Irish Distillers in Midleton but William Grant, who bought the brand in 2010, have been building a huge new distillery in Tullamore to take production back in house. It recently took delivery of four copper pot stills from Forsyths, replicas of the originals from the old Tullamore Distillery that closed in 1954. It should begin distilling in the autumn. Teeling Recently secured planning permission for a new distillery in Newmarket Square, Dublin 8. Aims to be in production by the fourth quarter of this year. Of course Teeling has been releasing quality whiskeys already, distilled elsewhere but finished in their own wood and custom blended by Alex Chasko. We can look forward to more of that in 2014. Slane Castle Received planning permission for a new distillery last July. Camus Cognac was involved back then but its two directors have since resigned from Slane Castle Whiskey. I believe the project proceeds regardless. Glendalough Glendalough Poitín is an attractive range of spirits with an affinity for red lemonade. Currently made under contract, the team is looking to build a distillery close to Glendalough itself. I haven't been able to find an associated planning application but I'm told this is happening, and sooner rather than later. Dublin Whiskey Company A planning application has been submitted for a distillery in Mill Street, Dublin 8. The team includes Dr Jim Swan who has consulted for distilleries such as Penderyn and Kavalan.
So there are about 5 whose whisky you could actually buy (or want to drink) since it hasn't yet had a chance to age long enough. I'd be surprised if Dingle was a pot still distillery (but I'm too lazy to look it up). Gin, vodka and white spirits are usually made in grain distilleries by fractional distillation. Although some grain spirit for blended Scottish is also made this way (rather a lot of it, actually). So there could be some single grain Irish whiskey, why not? But it won't be triple distilled in the normal Irish manner.
i like these. A to Z of Single Malt Whisky : The Whisky Exchange and these. A to Z of Blended Whisky : The Whisky Exchange
Only 8 out of 20 (I am a whisky drinker, but clearly not a terribly knowledgeable one). I'm sure some of the right answers were down to my having visited the relevant distilleries on Scottish holidays (one advantage of the other half disliking whisky is that I generally get to drink his samples on any distillery tours!) Dalwhinnie is my usual choice (one of the few good things that came from a university friendship that turned sour was a taste for Dalwhinnie) although at the moment my Scottish supply consists of 4 miniatures of Johnnie Walker Black Label handed out by a very generous South African Airways air steward who couldn't believe I only wanted a soft drink on the plane! Not keen on the peaty island whiskies which are all kipper and Fisherman's Friend.
You're welcome! The other old piece of famous advice was to hang your hat on the end of the bed and keep drinking whisky until you can see two of them. Then turn the light out and go to sleep.
