New Irish whiskey proving to be global success

The award winning Quiet Man Irish whiskey is now on the shelves in 24 countries worldwide including the US, where it is being distributed by Luxco of St Louis, Missouri.

Significant business has also been developed in key European markets.
Niche Drinks, a specialist in Irish cream liqueurs, recently received planning to develop the first whiskey distillery in Derry in over a century.

Construction work in the new £12 million Irish whiskey distillery was recently given the go-ahead by Derry & Strabane District Council. Distillation of whiskey is scheduled for early 2018.

The Quiet Man has won international awards and was recently named 'Dram of the Year' by The Whisky Lounge.

Housed in four existing buildings on Ebrington Square, the development carries forward the heritage of distilling in Derry - the city was once home to one of the world's biggest whiskey producers.

The Ebrington site will solely produce malt whiskey, with a total capacity of 500,000 litres of pure alcohol per year.

In its current format, The Quiet Man is produced using third-party sourced liquid, with the stocks matured by Niche Drinks.

"This is tremendous news for us as a business and also for the city - we intend to build a top class visitor centre at the distillery, focusing on Derry's long history as an Irish whiskey-producing city," says Ciaran Mulgrew, Niche Drinks managing director.

"This will be a major attraction for the city and the renewed interest in Irish whiskey and whiskey tourism will give the city a boost.

"The project has been in the planning stages for quite some time and we can press on now and arrange delivery dates for the stills and other key pieces of equipment. A lot of preparation has been done and we are aiming for first distillations to take place in early 2018."

Miriam Mooney, head of the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA), adds: "This is fantastic news and is further evidence that the renaissance of Irish whiskeys is occurring throughout the island of Ireland, creating jobs and supporting local economies.

Irish whiskey is now the fastest growing premium spirit category in the world, with exports valued at €505 million last year, an increase of more than 300 per cent in the last 10 years.

"In 2013, there were only four distilleries operating in Ireland, now there are 16 distilleries in production and a further 14 in planning. We are really ambitious for our sector, there is huge potential for growth for both small and large entrants to the category.

"Last year we launched the Irish Whiskey Tourism Strategy which is an all island strategy that proposes the development of an Irish whiskey trail across the island. We believe that given the right government supports and collaboration of state agencies north and south of the border, Irish whiskey tourism will increase from 650,000 a year to 1.9 million by 2025 across the island."

Niche Drinks is known for its Irish cream liqueurs production, and will keep the existing operation alongside the new distillery development. The company currently employs 65 people, and uses 25 per cent of all milk produced in the North West in its Irish creams.

The Quiet Man distillery is one of 30 new or proposed Irish whiskey production sites across the island of Ireland. Irish food and drink agency Bord Bia calculates that Irish whiskey exports increased by eight per cent in 2016 to over £400 million and are on track to double by 2020.