Dublin’s first new whiskey distillery in 125 years will open its doors to the public on Saturday morning.
The €10 million Teeling distillery in Dublin’s Newmarket Square will be both a working distillery and a visitor attraction.
The distillery is owned by brothers Jack and Stephen Teeling, the sons of John Teeling. Cooley Distillery, which was founded by John Teeling in 1987, was sold to Jim Beam for €71 million in December 2011.
The brothers located the site in Newmarket three years ago and it has taken that length of time to get it up and running. A four part TV3 series currently broadcasting on Monday nights Whiskey Business chronicles the brothers attempts to get the business across the finishing line.
Teeling Whiskey managing director Jack Teeling said they already had 150 people booked on some tour groups for the first day.
A tour of the whiskey distillery will cost €14 which includes whiskey and cocktail tastings. The distillery also has a retail space and café.
Mr Teeling said the company was fortunate in already having product to sell as it bought a consignment of whiskey from Jim Beam as part of the sale of Cooley Distillery.
Teeling Single Malt was named 'World's Best' at the 2015 World Whiskies Awards and Teeing Small Batch was awarded 'best blended Irish whiskey' at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Irish whiskey by law must mature for at least three years before it can be sold. Many new Irish distilleries are producing gins, vodkas or poitin to bring in cash flow while they wait for the product to mature.
Mr Teeling said it could be six years before the distilled product is sold as whiskey. The distillery plans to produce between 250,000 and 300,000 litres of alcohol in the first year though it has capacity for twice that.
“We won’t be forced to sell our whiskey before it is ready,” Jack Teeling said. “In three years time there won’t be a gun to our heads. We are lucky that we can bide our time and ensure that our product is up to scratch. There’s no quick buck in the whiskey industry, that’s for sure.
“Our visitor attraction is for marketing purposes as well as cash flow. If you are not open to the public you are missing an opportunity to build your profile and get people aware of what you are doing.”
Whiskey Business is at 8.30pm on Mondays on TV3.
