These copper pot and column stills will make up to 8 million bottles of Irish Whiskey each year
The makers of Writers Tears Irish whiskey, distributed in Australia by the island2island Beverage Company, has taken delivery of copper pot and column stills that will distil up to 8 million bottles of whiskey annually.
In what is set to be one of the largest independent whiskey distilleries in the country, the Walsh Whiskey Distillery at Royal Oak in County Carlow, took a big step closer to being commissioned next January with the arrival of almost 30 tonnes of copper and steel whiskey distilling equipment.
The precious cargo made its first and last ever journey all of 1,046 kilometres (650 miles) by road and sea from the north-west of Scotland. The crown jewels in the shipment are the three giant copper pot stills and column stills that will be the prime engines in the distillation of up to 8 million bottles of premium, craft, Irish whiskey annually.
There to greet the convoy as it arrived at the 18th century estate were Bernard and Rosemary Walsh, (the founders of Walsh Whiskey) and their family, company employees and the community of the small village of Royal Oak which has been very supportive of the €25 million project since it was announced in 2013. The whiskey distillery is the first to be developed in Carlow and the south?east in 100 and 200 years respectively.
An illustration of how the new distillery will look
Weighing between four and five tonnes each and scaling up to 6.5 metres in height, the largest of the pot stills will have a capacity of 15,000 litres. Both of whiskey’s main ingredients, water and barley, will be in plentiful local supply from the surrounding barley-growing farms and the Barrow Valley Aquifer, a massive natural underground reservoir containing 200 million cubic metres of water.
Les Page, Managing Director of island2island comments, “The expansion of the distillery is undoubtedly great news. We distribute Walsh’s premium Irish Whiskeys, Writers Tears Pot Still and Writers Tears Cask Strength, in Australia. Writers Tears is a great seller for us. It is now available in over 450 premium venues throughout Australia and that number is growing each quarter. We look forward to what the development might bring.”
The distillery will produce Walsh Whiskey’s critically acclaimed, award winning, ultra-premium Irish whiskey brands – The Irishman and Writer? Tears. The distillery will be unique as the only distillery in Ireland to produce all three types of Irish whiskey in one still house, namely – pot, malt and grain.