25-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Opening of Irish Distillers' new €250m facility in Midleton, pushed back to 2027 at the earliest
The comments from Kevin O'Gorman are the first indication of how long the much-anticipated project in Midleton, Co Cork, has been delayed. The Jameson, Red Breast, and Powers producer shared that construction had slowed at the new distillery in March but did not reveal by how long.
During an interview with WhiskyCast, an industry podcast, O'Gorman was asked if the latest Midleton distillery project for the whiskey giant was on track to open next year.
'We don't have an exact date yet,' he replied. 'But it won't be next year. As I said, we are just on the brewhouse and the grains intake at the moment, and that in itself will take six, seven, eight months to get right.
"And then we have the rest of the building structure to do as well. We are looking at longer than next year,' O'Gorman added. 'Over the next few months, we will see how we get on, but overall, it is progressing very well.'
Irish Distillers, part of French alcohol giant Pernod Ricard, first announced the new Midleton distillery in 2022. At the time, the company said it was being built in the Co Cork town 'to meet demand and ensure the necessary future production capacity for its portfolio of Irish whiskeys globally'.
The announcement said the new distillery – on a site adjacent and connected to its current one – would be expected to generate up to 100 highly skilled jobs for the region once it was operational in 2025.
Irish Distillers also announced plans to invest €50m to fund projects aimed at transforming Midleton Distillery into a carbon-neutral operation by the end of 2026.
Irish whiskey, like other spirits, is currently battling an oversupply problem. The sector has also been hit with uncertainty amid US tariffs on imports, one of its most important markets.
Earlier this month, the Sunday Independent reported that the vast majority of distilling in Ireland had been paused.
Irish Distillers is among those to have paused production at its Midleton facility. The business said the pause would be from April until summer as it was 'adjusting its production schedule for a routine, periodic review'.
In response to questions, it said it had previously confirmed the timeline for the new distillery had 'evolved, as is the case with many projects of this scale'.
'Construction is still progressing on-site and Irish Distillers remains absolutely committed to the delivery of the new distillery and to the production of Irish whiskey at Midleton Distillery into the future.'
