€250m investment plan for new Cork distillery
Planning permission for a new distillery in Midleton is expected to be submitted before the end of the year, it was announced this afternoon.
Irish Distillers has announced that it will invest €250 million to build a new distillery in order to, it said, meet demand and ensure the necessary future production capacity for its portfolio of Irish whiskeys globally.
If planning for the project is successful, construction will commence in 2023 with plans for the distillery to be operational in 2025.
The distillery will produce some of the world’s most well-known Irish whiskeys including Jameson, Powers, Redbreast, Midleton Very Rare, the Spot family and Method and Madness.
The new distillery will be situated on a 55 acre site adjacent and connected to the well known Midleton Distillery.
Subject to a successful planning application and meeting all licensing requirements, the new distillery will distil pot still and grain whiskey with grain intake, brewing, fermentation, and distillation facilities incorporated into the new 55 acre site.
The new distillery is expected, it said, to generate up to 100 highly skilled new jobs for the region over time once the distillery is operational in 2025, and circa 800 jobs during the construction phase.
Irish Distillers also recently announced plans to invest €50 million to fund projects aimed at transforming Midleton Distillery into a carbon neutral operation by the end of 2026 by leveraging breakthrough emissions reducing technology to reduce energy use. In line with Irish Distillers’ ambition, the new distillery will also be a carbon neutral operation.
The new site will also incorporate various environmental projects which will be developed in order to enhance biodiversity and protect local wildlife, it has said.
An expanded distilling capacity is expected to increase Midleton Distillery’s requirement for barley and malted barley by up to 50%, which the company said it intends to source from Irish farmers.
An Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “The continued success of the Irish whiskey industry is something that we can be incredibly proud of as a nation. Irish Distillers has played an integral role in the development of the industry. Whiskey has been distilled in Midleton for nearly 200 years, and the €250 million investment will deliver hundreds of more jobs into the future, both during construction and once the distillery is operational. This announcement is an extremely positive development for Midleton and the wider region, and will further solidify Midleton’s reputation as the home of Irish whiskey.”
Nodjame Fouad, Chairman and CEO at Irish Distillers said: “The new distillery will be a beautiful, landmark development with sustainability at its core and will serve to further demonstrate our commitment to Midleton and East Cork, generating more jobs for the region and further driving recognition of Midleton Distillery as the beating heart of Irish whiskey.”
The Irish Distillers project team is partnering with engineering and architecture consultancy firm Arup on the initial design and with Harry Walsh Associates on the planning application.
Irish Distillers said it is engaging with all relevant stakeholders and consulting with community groups in the locality as part of the pre-planning process.