Teeling Whiskey Gets Green Light For Dublin Distillery

January 29, 2014 – Whiskey distilling will return to Dublin later this year, now that planning permission has been granted for the Teeling Whiskey Company’s proposed distillery in Newmarket Square. Managing Director Jack Teeling told WhiskyCast’s Mark Gillespie in a phone interview today that construction will begin soon, with plans to start distilling by this autumn.

“There’s existing structures that we can utilise for the distillery,” Teeling said. “The main thing is that it’s a fully operational distillery with around 500,000 litres of triple pot still operation.” The Newmarket Square site is actually the site of the old Bosby Distillery, with a former brewery across the road. It is also 5 to 10 minutes by foot to the Teeling family’s original Dublin distillery on Marrowbone Lane, which opened in 1782. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a location on that street that was suitable for what we wanted to do, but where we found, Newmarket Square, is an area with a long association with brewing and distilling,” he said.

The €10 million ($13.65 million USD) project will also include a visitors center. However, Teeling said construction of the center will require demolition work that will delay the opening of the center until the spring of 2015. The distillery project is expected to create at least 50 construction jobs and 30 full-time jobs, and the announcement was hailed by Irish Jobs Minister Richard Bruton. In a news release, Bruton said the Irish government has targeted the food and drink industry for support in creating jobs with the potential to increase exports.

“Irish whiskey in particular is an area where there is rapidly-growing international demand, providing huge potential for jobs growth in Ireland. Today’s announcement by Teelings that it will invest €10million in a new distillery in the Liberties with the creation of 30 new jobs and 50 temporary construction jobs is great news and a strong indication of what is possible in this area. This will bring a huge boost to the local community.”

The distillery will also secure a whiskey supply for the Teeling whiskies going forward. The current Teeling cask inventory is based on casks Jack Teeling acquired in the years when his family owned the Cooley Whiskey Company before selling it to Beam at the end of 2011.  The company’s whiskies are currently sold in Ireland and 18 export markets, and Teeling signed a deal with Infinium Spirits earlier this month to make its whiskies available in the US starting in April.

This weekend’s episode of WhiskyCast will include more from our interview with Jack Teeling.

Links: Teeling Whiskey Company