Brown-Forman to build $50m distillery

Brown-Forman, the makers of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, has announced plans to build a $50m Irish whiskey distillery at the historic Slane Castle in a bid to capitalise on the category’s continued growth.

Ireland’s Slane Castle, also known for hosting the likes of U2 and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers

The distillers announced today that it had purchased all shares of Slane Castle Irish Whiskey Limited and will invest $50 million in building a new distillery and consumer experience at the site, currently home to Henry Conyngham, the eighth Marquess Conyngham, and his son, Alex Conyngham, the Earl of Mount Charles.

“We are very excited about this new venture into Irish Whiskey,” said Paul Vargasaid, Brown-Forman’s CEO. “Brown-Forman has a long history of bringing great whiskey to the world, such as Woodford Reserve, which we introduced in 1996 and has since grown to become one of the world’s leading super premium bourbon brands.”

The Slane Irish Whiskey Distillery is expected to open in late 2016 and will introduce its first new Irish whiskeys in the spring of 2017. Its first expressions will be made using whiskey purchased from other Irish distilleries and then finished by Slane’s distillers.

“We’ll use proprietary methods to create unique and high quality taste profiles to position our brands in the premium and super premium segments, with a range of blended, pot still, and single grain Irish whiskeys that will delight whiskey aficionados and consumers alike,” added Lawson Whiting, executive vice president and chief brands and strategy officer for Brown-Forman.

Slane Castle is located in the middle of a 1,500 acre estate in the heart of the Boyne Valley, 30 miles north of Dublin.

Its owner, Henry Conyngham, said his family would be a “key part” of building the brand.

“We are thrilled at the prospect of working for many years to come with Brown-Forman on developing the trademarks and to welcoming friends to the new distillery, right next door to our ancestral home”, he added. “We know that Brown-Forman is the perfect partner to take these new Irish whiskeys to the U.S. and other markets across the globe.”