Altia and Walsh sign partnership agreement

The leading wine and spirits company in Nordic and Baltic countries Finland’s Altia has signed a co-operation agreement with Ireland’s Walsh Whiskey Distillery for the production, maturation and storing of premium, hand-crafted Irish whiskey.

Altia will use the matured whiskey primarily for its Latitude brand, a strong and well-known whiskey in Sweden.

The two companies are already established business partners with Altia the exclusive distributor of Walsh Whiskey Distillery’s The Irishman and Writers Tears whiskeys across the Nordic countries.

The deal supplies Altia with malt and grain whiskey, the first such partnership agreement made by Walsh Whiskey since its distillery at Royal Oak in Ireland was commissioned last March. Both will be produced in the same still house, the only one in Ireland to house both pot and column stills under the one roof.

“We strongly believe in the growth of the whisky segment, particularly Irish whiskey, which is extremely popular in our Nordic markets,” commented Altia’s Chief Executive Pekka Tennilä, “Demand for Irish whiskey currently exceeds available supply. This deal guarantees a high-quality, hand-made and triple-distilled malt and grain whiskey to Altia.”

Founder and Chief Executive of Walsh Whiskey Distillery Bernard Walsh, commented, “We’re allocating 15% of the output from our distillery at Royal Oak to the production of whiskey for a small number of selected international partners”.