Belfast Distillery revives historic whiskey brand
The Belfast Distillery Company (BDC) is to launch McConnell's blended Irish whiskey for sale in international markets including the US, France, Norway and Sweden, the UK and Republic of Ireland.
BDC has recently started work to transform the Victorian Crumlin Road jail into a 480,000-litre distillery. Construction is expected to be completed by early 2016. In addition to McConnell's, BDC plans several limited edition bottling. The brand is taken from the original location of McConnell's original distillery which closed in the 1920s. It's a 40% ABV, 15 year single malt which will retail around £120. The original McConnell's was the last whiskey to be distilled in Belfast.
Simon Ray, BDC chairman and majority shareholder, says: "We want to build the brand where we know people like Irish whiskey at the moment. We believe we can make a significant mark on the market with the liquid we've got. And on top of the liquid we've secured we have an option on more, in the event we oversell."
The brainchild of lottery winner and Belfast entrepreneur Peter Lavery, BDC will produce triple-distilled malt Irish whiskey from three 3,000-litre pot stills built by Forsyths in Scotland. Grain whiskey will be supplied through a long-term contract with another distillery, although the group has not ruled out plans to build its own grain distillery in the future. The fledgling company has been identified with the Titanic and Danny Boy brands. It plans to launch a Poitínnext year.
The company has also strengthened its management team. Darryl MacNally, formerly of Bushmill's, has joined as master distiller, while his former colleague Roy Goodlad is operations manager.
The jail is also being redesigned to boast a 'state-of-the-art' visitors' centre and restaurant, which will help generate tourism in the area. Other wings of the jail are now being used for visitors and for events.
"With the number of tourists that come to Belfast and the real lack of things to do in Northern Ireland currently, the visitor centre and the fact it's an iconic building, is really key," he adds.
While Ray is in the process of appointing a group chief executive, other members of the board include international sales director Michael Morris, and company founder Lavery, who will assume an ambassadorial role.
The group expects to be able to benefit from the success Irish Distillers has had in the market, especially in the US, with Jameson and its single pot still brands such as Redbreast and Power's.
The BDC board sees an opportunity for a large aggressively Irish independent distillery. The aim is to provide a large capacity distillery offering a substantial amount of whiskey in a short space of time. It revives an industry which was once synonymous with Belfast.
BDC has also recently signed a 125-year lease with the Northern Ireland Executive for the site. The group has also acquired some brown field land within 10 miles of the distillery on which to build warehousing facilities.