The Spirit of Kilbeggan

The limited release of Spirit from the refurbished pot stills in the Old Kilbeggan Distillery

Cooley Distillery, Ireland’s only independent whiskey distillery, has released a limited bottling of the new Spirit distilled by the 19th century refurbished still in operation in the Old Kilbeggan Distillery in County Westmeath.

The Old Kilbeggan Distillery is the oldest distillery in the world and to mark its 250th anniversary, a pot still from the 19th century was refurbished and distilling recommenced on the 19th of March 2007. This is the oldest pot still in use in the world and will revive a traditional age old style of distillation not seen in Ireland for many years. Earlier this year a second pot still, handcrafted by Forsyth’s Copper Smiths of Scotland to match the original still, was commissioned. The full distillation process is now on show to the public in the Old Kilbeggan Distillery.

There is significant consumer interest in the distillery and in the nature of the new Spirit produced by the ancient pot still. To satisfy this interest and whet the appetite for the launch of mature whiskey in mid 2010, Cooley has released this limited bottling of aged Spirit distilled in Kilbeggan. Cooley has bottled 3,000 small six centilitre bottles of Spirit, each matured for one month as well as another limited bottling of 1,000 packs of three by six centilitre bottles containing Spirit aged for one month, one year and two years, which will enable consumers to sample the maturing Spirit.

Jack Teeling, Sales & Marketing Director for Cooley Distillery commented, “For over 50 years the pot stills in Kilbeggan were cold until distilling recommenced in 2007. Since then there has been keen interest and intrigue in what style of whiskey the ancient pot still will produce. This limited release of the Spirit of Kilbeggan offers consumers a chance to anticipate the outcome.”

This limited edition bottling is exclusively available through the Visitor Centre Whiskey Shop in Kilbeggan and the Celtic Whiskey Shop on Dawson Street, Dublin 2 (www.celticwhiskeyshop.com).

For More Information:

Jack Teeling                                                                +353-1-8332833

Sales & Marketing Director

Additional Information
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The Kilbeggan Distillery dates back to 1757 and is acknowledged as the oldest distillery in the world. The distillery was a stalwart of the Irish whiskey industry through the glory years of the 1800’s when Irish whiskey was the spirit of choice around the world.
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However the early 1900’s saw the demise of Irish whiskey due to a combination of factors including the Irish War of Independence, Prohibition in the US and resistance to change to modern whiskey distillation techniques. This resulted in a major slump in traditional Irish whiskey export markets and caused many well established distilleries to close. The Kilbeggan distillery was a victim of the industry malaise and stopped distilling in March 19th 1954.
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The Old Kilbeggan Distillery was rescued in 1988 when Cooley Distillery bought the old distillery “lock, stock and barrel” with the aim of restoring distillation. While developing the company, Cooley kept the working distillery as a museum and utilised its extensive warehouses to mature whiskey. As part of Cooley’s strategy to resurrect ancient brand of Irish whiskey they named their flagship brand “Kilbeggan”.
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Kilbeggan Irish whiskey has won a host of different medals over the past 10 years including a Gold Medal and “Best in Category” at Los Angeles International Wine & Spirit Competition (LAIWSC) in 2009, and Silver Medal from International Review of Spirits 2009.
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The Old Kilbeggan Distillery and the Kilbeggan whiskey brand are celebrated their 250th anniversary in 2007. To celebrate this landmark Cooley decided to take a further step to resurrect the heritage of the Kilbeggan brand by re‐commencing distillation on site in the Old Kilbeggan Distillery. This began on the 19th of March 2007, 53 years since distillation stopped. One of the old stills was re‐commissioned and is the oldest pot still distilling in Ireland producing a style of whiskey not seen in Ireland for many years.
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This is another step in the rejuvenation of the Irish whiskey industry which has been enjoying tremendous growth on a global scale and has re‐emerged as the drink of choice for many people around the world.
www.kilbegganwhiskey.com
www.cooleywhiskey.com