Quintessential buys Dublin Whiskey Co.

Quintessential Brands has confirmed its acquisition of the Dublin Whiskey Company as part of a €10 million investment, taking on plans to build a new distillery in the city.

Warren Scott (left), CEO of Quintessential, and Darryl McNally (right), newly appointed general manager and master distiller of Quintessential’s Irish whiskey operations

The acquisition will see the company take over the distillery’s plans to build a new Dublin whiskey distillery and visitor experience for its portfolio of Irish whiskey brands, which includes The Dubliner and The Dublin Liberties. The Dublin Whiskey Company, founded in 2012, was granted permission to build a 25,000 square feet distillery at a 300-year-old site in Dublin’s Old Mill Street almost two years ago.

“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”, said Quintessential Brands’ CEO Warren Scott.

It also announced the appointment of Irish whiskey distiller Darryl McNally as its general manager and master distiller of its Irish whiskey operations, previously operations manager and master distiller at Bushmills Distillery.

“With his experience creating Irish whiskey and managing one of Ireland’s leading distilleries, he brings extensive knowledge and expertise to the Dublin Whiskey Company which will help us create a dynamic, brand-led business with a working distillery at its heart,” said Scott.

McNally confirmed that The Dublin Whiskey Company distillery will produce single malt Irish whiskey, with the first spirits set to flow from the stills at the end of summer 2017.

This acquisition follows Quintessential Brand’s purchase of First Ireland Spirits in 2014, which included its range of Irish creams and liqueurs and production facility in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. It invested €4 million in doubling the production capacity of First Ireland Spirits in 2015.

“This is a long-term strategy for our business and we shall be investing €10 million in our Irish whiskey operations, including the distillery and maturation of stock.

“Through First Ireland Spirits we have been in the whiskey business since 1994 and now we are set to take this to an entirely new level. We plan to become a leading player in the Irish spirits industry with an award-winning and exciting portfolio of brands selling half a million bottles globally,” added Scott.