Tullamore Distillery is reborn

Ernie – Ernst J. Scheiner, The Gateway to Distilleries at www.whisky-distilleries.net

William Grant & Sons Ltd., announced on March 28th, 2012 it will invest in a new pot still whiskey and malt whiskey distillery in Tullamore, bringing whiskey production back to the town for the first time since the original distillery closed in 1954. In 2010 they aquired the brand Tullamore D.E.W. from the Irish drinks maker C&C Group plc – Frangelico and Irish Mist – for €300 million. Tullamore D.E.W. was largely produced by Midleton Distilleries in Co. Cork, Tullamore Malt came from Cooley Distillery in Co. Louth.

Offaly Council gave green light for the planners on December 18th, 2012. The new Tullamore distillery will be built at Ballard and Clonminch in Tullamore‘s north. Next to the distillery there will also be a new visitor centre with a restaurant.

See official briefing document of the proposed distillery.

New Start
On September 12th, 2013 the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Simon Coveney ‘turned the sod’ on the new Tullamore distillery.

Production will start in autumn 2014 and will bring back distilling to Tullamore after the original distillery had to close in 1954. About €35 million will be invested in the new state-of-the art distillery which will be situated on a 58 acre site at Clonmich on the outskirts of Tullamore. The grain and pot still whiskey distillery will emply about 25 people.

By breaking a ceremonial cask full of Tullamore whiskey with William Grant & Sons Global CEO Stella David the construction phase of the new grain and malt distillery started. The reborn Tullamore distillery will produce about 1.84 million litres of alcohol or 1.5 million nine-liter-cases annually when it is finished. In 2014 there will be two warehouses to hold 55,000 casks. Altogether there will 26 palletized warehouses and three dunnage warehouses. The water is piped for 14km to the production site.

The Scottish firm William Grant & Sons employs more than 90 people in Ireland, in Dublin, Tullamore and in Clonmel at its bottling plant.

Facts
Tullamore D.E.W. has doubled its worldwide sales to almost 850.000 nine-liter-cases since 2005. It is the world‘s second largest Irish whiskey brand (behind John Jameson) with enormous growing figures by over 20% anually. It is very popular in Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic but will also grow in the four big markets U.S.A., France, Britain and Ireland where Tullamore whiskey is under-represented.

In Germany it is the No. 1 among the Irish whiskeys with a market share of 65.3%.

The refurbished Tullamore Visitor Centre near the Grand Canal attracts about 40.000 visitors each year.

Information:
www.tullamoredew.com
www.williamgrant.com
www.whisky-distilleries.net

www.ralfy.com  tries rye with Whisky Review #395 – Pikesville Straight Rye

Brian Prewitt Named Master Distiller at A. Smith Bowman Distillery

Fredericksburg, VA. (Sept. 2013) – Brian Prewitt has been named Master Distiller at A. Smith Bowman Distillery. A native of Colorado, Prewitt has nearly 15 years of brewing and distilling experience.

Prewitt’s interest in the beverage industry was peaked when he landed a job at the New Belgium Brewing Company while attending Colorado State University obtaining his bachelor’s degree in food science. 

Upon graduation, Prewitt further honed his interest for brewing and distilling by completing the Master Brewers Program at University of California, Davis.  From there, he joined The Great Divide Brewing Company in Denver, Colo., eventually becoming its brewer.

When Prewitt saw an opportunity to try his hand at distilling spirits instead of beer, he jumped at the chance to join E&J Distilleries in Modesto, Calif. and was eventually named Senior Distiller.  It was at E&J that Prewitt was able to train under two Master Distillers with a combined experience of more than 70 years in the art of distillation, learning about raw material selection, fermentation, distillation, and maturation.

Prewitt is excited to carry on the Bowman family tradition of award-winning products while introducing some new offerings as well. “This is my dream job. To be able to work with the high quality spirits that are in the Bowman line already, plus have the freedom to try my hand at some experiments, well, I’m just ecstatic,” said Prewitt.      

Prewitt replaces former A. Smith Bowman Master Distiller Truman Cox, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year.  Prewitt lives in Fredericksburg with his wife and three children. 

About A. Smith Bowman

A. Smith Bowman’s distilling roots date back to the years before Prohibition when the Bowman family had a granary and dairy farm in Sunset Hills, Virginia. They used excess grain from the family estate to distill spirits. In 1934, after the Repeal of Prohibition, Abram Smith Bowman and his sons continued the family tradition and built a more modern distillery in Fairfax County, Virginia called Sunset Hills Farm.  In response to the rapid rise of taxes in Northern Virginia, the Distillery was moved in 1988 and is now nestled in Spotsylvania County near the city of Fredericksburg, 60 miles away from the original location.

As a small and privately owned company, A. Smith Bowman Distillery continues the time-honored traditions on which it was founded. Considered a micro-distillery by today’s standards, A. Smith Bowman produces an assortment of hand-crafted spirits distilled from only the finest natural ingredients and using the latest technology. This micro-distillery focuses on the production of premium spirits honoring the legacy of Virginia’s first settlers. For more information on A. Smith Bowman, please visit http://www.asmithbowman.com/.

Loch Fyne Whiskies Stocks Bruichladdich Octomore 6.1 Scottish Barley

Bruichladdich Octomore 6.1 Scottish Barley 57% abv

£110.00 inc vat
£91.67 ex vat

Best regards,
Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk

The Bruichladdich Octomore 6.1 Scottish Barley – now available to order only while stocks last…

Tasting Notes: Tomatin Cù Bòcan

Tomatin has crept under the radar recently to become something of the hipster-namecheck distillery of the moment. This unexpected turn of events is probably down to a number of factors which include the revamp of the range in 2010 (with … Continue reading >>

Tomintoul 1981 / Single Cask #5985 / 31 Year Old

The first vintage single cask to be released from Tomintoul distillery. Distilled in 1981 and aged for over 31 years in single bourbon cask #5985, bottled in 2013. Filled at cask strength 53.9% vol, only 196 bottles managing to escape the angel’s share.

£247.50

(£206.25 ex vat)

Click here to buy Tomintoul Single Cask 5985

“It is with regret that we pass on the news that John Black, a true Master Distiller within the Scotch Whisky Industry, passed away on Wednesday 18th September, 2013.

Born in 1942, John started his working life at Cardow (now Cardhu) distillery in 1958 and literally devoted the rest of his 55 years of life to the Industry and the making of Scotch whisky. John’s legacy lives on through the whisky he distilled at Glenburgie, Milton Duff, Ardbeg, Glencadam, Balblair, Pultney, Auchentoshan, Tormore, Ardmore, Scapa and last but not least Tullibardine.

John was as passionate about people as he was about distilling whisky and always had time for anyone who visited or called in for a chat. For those of us fortunate enough to have undertaken a tour of the distillery, or to have been guided through the history and process under his passionate tutelage we are eternally grateful. He had a story for every occasion & the saddest thing is that we probably never made the most of our time with him.

John Black, a friend, colleague, mentor and Master Distiller left his legacy in the whiskies he distilled and memories and thoughts instilled in the people he met.”

James Robertson, Tullibardine Distillery

TOMATIN AWARDED FOR EXCELLENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Tomatin Distillery has been awarded The Scottish Environment Protection Agency Award for Excellence in Environmental Sustainability award at the SCDI Highlands & Islands Annual Dinner & Business Excellence Awards. This prestigious event was held on Friday 13th September at the Drumossie Hotel in Inverness.

Having operated for over 125 years Tomatin Distillery is leading the way in efforts to reduce its carbon output by installing an environmentally efficient wood pellet fuelled steam boiler to be used in their production process.

They are the first distillery in Scotland to install a biomass steam solution of this type from Balcas, which will be fuelled by locally produced brites wood pellets. And were the first recipient in Scotland of funding from the Green Investment Bank.

This move will not just result in a reduced carbon output but will bring with it a financial benefit and help to safeguard them against the threat caused by volatility in the oil markets.

Commenting on their success Tomatin Distillery Chief Executive, Robert Anderson said: “We are delighted that Tomatin’s move to reduce its environmental impact is being recognised in this way. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the use of non‐fossil fuel are the cornerstones of the Scotch Whisky industry’s efforts to make manufacturing more sustainable and support a low carbon economy.

“Tomatin is the first whisky distillery to install a biomass boiler and its installation will not only help shield us from volatile oil prices, but will support job at the local wood pellet manufacturer Balcas in Invergordon.”

Neil Holland, Sales & Marketing Director, Balcas brites commented “This is a great achievement for Tomatin and one which is well deserved. We are delighted to be working with them on providing this fully integrated and unique heat solution, which despite the challenges was implemented within 8 months. We look forward to seeing more industrial manufacturers follow in their footsteps.”

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s Head of Operations, Andy Rosie added: “The investment made by Tomatin Distillery to seek a more sustainable means of production illustrates not only great initiative, but also sound business sense and we hope that it serves as a positive example for other industry sectors to follow.

“More importantly, it demonstrates a clear conscience of the impact of burning fossil fuels and the potential that biomass technology has to create long term benefits for both businesses and the environment – benefits that can already be seen through the Distillery’s reduction in carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

“Tomatin Distillery’s commitment to environmental management is clearly evident here, and represents an important contribution in support of the Distillers strategic environmental objectives led by the Scotch Whisky Association”.

“SEPA is delighted to be giving this award in recognition of the recent initiative taken by Tomatin Distillery and wish them every success in the future.”

 LOCHSIDE Thursday 03.10.13 £50/47*

at The Kilderkin, 65/67 Canongate, Royal Mile, Edinburgh

Macnab’s blend 40%

Macnab’s Lochside 10yo 40% (bottled 1992)

Lochside single blend 1964 – 2006 47.7% Scott’s Selection

Lochside single grain 31yo 05.1962 – 02.1994 56.7% Cadenheads

Lochside single malt 23yo 84-04/04 sherry hgshd 55.1% Cadenheads

*£3 off for first timers & members, membership = £10 for 13 months. Entry by pre-paid ticket only

http://www.jollytopertastings.co.uk/