Quintessential buys Dublin Whiskey Company

International drinks group, Quintessential Brands today announced the acquisition of Dublin Whiskey Company as part of a €10 million investment that will see it build a new Dublin whiskey distillery and visitor experience for its established portfolio of Irish whiskey brands including The Dubliner and The Dublin Liberties.  The development will support up to 55 jobs over the next 18 months.  It also announced the appointment of renowned Irish whiskey distiller Darryl McNally as general manager and master distiller of its Irish whiskey operations.

The acquisition includes the historic Old Mill Street building in the heart of the Liberties, which was traditionally the centre of whiskey distillation in Dublin.  The site has full planning permission for a distillery and a unique natural spring water source to be used in the process. 

This latest investment follows Quintessential Brands Ireland’s acquisition of First Ireland Spirits in 2014 which included its extensive Irish creams and liqueurs brand portfolio and production facility in Abbeyleix, Co Laois, and is part of the Group’s ongoing strategy to grow its brands and operations in Ireland.

In 2015, Quintessential Brands Ireland invested €4 million in doubling the production capacity of First Ireland Spirits, including the introduction of a comprehensive whiskey bottling operation. It already employs a total of 40 people in Ireland.

Commenting on the acquisition, Quintessential Brands’ CEO Warren Scott says: “The addition of the Dublin Whiskey Company paves the way for us to create an Irish whiskey distillery and a home for our Irish whiskey brands in the famous Liberties area of Dublin which will allow us to further develop our Irish whiskey portfolio and become a leader in Irish spirits.

“The Dublin Whiskey Company distillery will produce single malt Irish whiskey and we will have the first spirit flowing from the stills at the end of summer 2017.”

The Dubliner Irish Whiskey and The Dublin Liberties Irish Whiskey are already sold in a number of markets including the USA, Ireland and the UK, which will extend to over 50 countries around the world.

The company’s existing portfolio of Irish whiskey brands includes The Dubliner and The Dublin Liberties which together with Feeney’s Irish Cream and O’Mara’s Irish Country Cream provide Quintessential Brands Ireland with a comprehensive portfolio of Irish spirits. The Irish cream brands are produced by First Ireland Spirits, one of Ireland’s leading spirits & liqueur producers, selling in excess of 1.3 million cases (16 million bottles) to international markets.

22 March 2016 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor