Belfast Distillery Company welcome arrival of stills to Crumlin Road Gaol

The new J&J McConnell’s Distillery and Visitor Experience has taken a major step forward with the arrival of three new state of the art whiskey pot stills.

The stills were transported by road and sea from Forsyths, a world leader in the supply of distillation equipment, based in the North East of Scotland, before being installed in A wing of the former gaol on the Crumlin Road in North Belfast.

To put the stills in place the roof of the Grade A Listed Building had to be opened. with a crane then hoisting each copper still into the air before carefully lowering them into place.

Once operational, the 5000 litre wash still, 3000 litre intermediate still and 3000 litre spirit still will produce Triple Distilled Single Malt Irish Whiskey. The production capacity of the distillery will be 500,000 litres of pure alcohol (LPAs) per year, which would account for over 4 million bottles of McConnell’s Irish Whisky.

Belfast Distillery Company plan to commission the stills in September this year, meaning the first bottle of McConnell’s Irish Whisky distilled from their own distillery could be available before the end of 2026.

Belfast Distillery Company chief executive John Kelly, above left, said: “Last August we celebrated the start of the building work for this project which is set to transform a part of this historic landmark in the heart of North Belfast. Nine months on, the arrival of our stills marks the significant progress we are already making.

“Later this year the J&J McConnell’s Distillery and Visitor Experience will become the new home of McConnell’s Irish Whisky.  We will be inviting visitors to come in and learn more about Ireland’s unique distilling process, the history of McConnell’s and it’s connections with Belfast over centuries, plus we will be producing our award-winning McConnell’s Irish Whisky on site. McConnell’s is very much ‘Back in Belfast’.”

Head of Supply and Operations,Graeme Millar, above right, oversaw the installation and is playing a key role in the creation of the landmark project.

The completed distillery will extend over three floors offering 1,000 sq. m. of distilling floor-space and 1,700 sq. m. for the visitor experience, with plans to host over 100,000 visitors each year. Visitor experiences will include whiskey tours, cocktail masterclasses, a tasting bar, shop, and events spaces for hire.