High spirits for Jameson with €100m spend

The €100m investment in the Irish Distillers-run distillery in Midleton, Co Cork, will allow the company to produce 16.5m litres of whiskey every year. 

But the facility has the capacity for even further expansion, according to its master distiller, Brian Nation. He said that eventually it could produce up to 22m litres annually — or 75m bottles.

The distillery in east Cork manufactures Paddy, Powers and Jameson.

But it’s the sales of Jameson which have really taken off.

In 1988 the company sold 466,000 cases of Jameson. Last year that jumped to 4.9m and forecasts for next year suggest that worldwide sales will rise even further.

Company chief executive Anna Malmhake said 30 glasses of Jameson are now consumed every second around the world.

The new investment will result in 60 extra jobs. Half will be in Midleton and the others at the company’s Dublin headquarters.

Meanwhile, the company, which is a subsidiary of the giant Pernod Ricard, is investing another €100m at a “satellite maturation site” in the nearby village of Dungourney, which it hopes to start using by the end of this year.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny officially opened the new pot still. He turned the sod on the project 15 months ago and said he was delighted to return for the opening ceremony.

“It’s a premier company investing money in Irish jobs and making an Irish product,” he said.

Ms Malmhake said the company’s annual exports were almost €1.3bn. Source: Irish Examiner