Dublin Whiskey Company to create 30 jobs
The company will be investing over €10 million in developing a 300 year-old site in Mill Street, Dublin 8, in the very heart of the Liberties – the historic birthplace of Irish whiskey. Over 60 people will be employed during the construction phase beginning in early 2015 with 30 permanent jobs coming onstream on completion of the project at the latter end of the year. DWC’s historic Mill building dates back to 1691 and was once the malting house of local distiller and brewer John Busby. Marie Byrne, Edmond O’Flaherty and Pat O’Brien founded DWC in 2012 and it was recently granted planning permission by Dublin City Council to establish its distillery and visitor centre just 300 metres from St Patricks Cathedral. The distillery will create a range of single malt and Irish pot still whiskeys with the capacity to produce up to two million bottles annually at its 25,000 square feet premises. Its output is for both domestic and export markets and the company expects to be in production in late 2015. Once completed, the working distillery and fully immersive visitors centre will be able to facilitate over 75,000 visitors a year. The development of the whiskey range will be overseen by DWC’s Master Distiller and global whiskey consultant Dr Jim Swan. Pat Burke, industry veteran and Enterprise Ireland mentor, is also part of the management team in a consultancy capacity. In the last decade, the Irish whiskey category worldwide has grown by almost 200%. In 2013, more than 6.2 million, 9-litre cases of Irish whiskey were exported to over 100 countries around the world. This figure is set to double to 12 million by 2020 and double again to 24 million by 2030 according to the Irish Whiskey Association. Marie Byrne, Managing Director of Dublin Whiskey Company, explained,“Figures from the Irish Whiskey Association show that there is a ‘global renaissance’ in Irish whiskey and now it’s the fastest-growing spirits category in the world. Potential investors will be attracted to our business by the knowledge that they’re investing in a rapidly-growing market set against a backdrop where the international prospects for Irish whiskey are bright.” Prospective investors will also have the opportunity to become part of the revival of whiskey in Dublin as the company will be raising additional funds through the Government’s EII Scheme (formerly the BES).
