By Clyde Mooney – editor Australian Hotelier
Renowned Irish whiskey Tullamore D.E.W is gearing up to meet increasing global demand with a massive new distillery and roadshow by the global brand ambassador.
William Grant & Sons reports Irish whiskey is the fastest-growing spirits category in the world, with sales of Tullamore D.E.W increasing 86 per cent in Australia in the past three years – in line with the global trend.
Winding up his ‘educational tour’ of Australia and New Zealand last Friday with an intimate whiskey tasting and blending session at Alexandria’s The Potting Shed, John Quinn hosted the unique event and spoke of the brand’s new state-of-the-art distillery.
The new €35 million distillery, set on a 58-acre site and back in the town of Tullamore for the first time in 60 years, represents a major development for the brand and will “fuel its projected growth”.
“The opening of Tullamore D.E.W’s distillery is designed to fill the brand and the category’s long-term needs globally,” said Quinn.
The distillery will be able to produce 1.84 ML (1.5 million cases) of triple-distilled pot still and malt whiskey annually, and will begin coming online this September.
Tullamore D.E.W is the only triple-blended, triple-distilled Irish whiskey, and the educational sessions deconstructed the components of grain, malt and Irish pot still, which Tullamore D.E.W marketing manager Nathan Fisher says was intended to highlight the qualities that have sparked “the international resurgence”.
“There is a growing trend, particularly in Australia, for smoother tasting spirits.
“The smoother and lighter body of Irish whiskey makes it a perfect introduction to new whisk(e)y drinkers, which has been a large contributing factor to the category’s growing popularity,” suggests Fisher.
The D.E.W in Tullamore D.E.W derives from the initials of an early owner, Daniel E Williams.