Plans unveiled for new €250m Midleton distillery

Increasing global demand for Irish whiskey is to be met by a state-of-the-art new €250m distillery in Midleton, Co Cork.

The new distillery will be built on a 55-acre site adjacent to its existing facility in the town, will employ 100 people and will be fully operational by 2025.

Last week, Irish Distillers announced financial results revealing that, for the first time, its Jameson whiskey had sold more than 10 million cases worldwide in the financial year to the end of June.

Jameson is now the fastest-growing Irish whiskey in the world.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin unveiled the project which he said was of enormous economic and tourism benefit for Cork and Ireland.

“The continued success of the Irish whiskey industry is something that we can be incredibly proud of as a nation,” he said.

“Irish Distillers has played an integral role in the development of the industry. Whiskey has been distilled in Midleton for nearly 200 years, and the €250m investment will deliver hundreds of more jobs into the future, both during construction and once the distillery is operational.”

“Today’s announcement is an extremely positive development for Midleton and the wider region, and will further solidify Midleton’s reputation as the home of Irish whiskey.”

Irish Distillers chief executive Nodjame Fouad said: “At Irish Distillers we are always planning for the future growth of Irish whiskey and today is a momentous day for Irish Distillers and the team at Midleton Distillery as we announce a €250m investment plan to deliver a new, state of the art distillery which will be a carbon neutral operation.

“We are immensely proud of the continued strong performance of our full portfolio of Irish whiskeys, led by Jameson which sold over 10 million cases in our 2022 financial year.

“The new distillery will be a beautiful, landmark development with sustainability at its core and will serve to further demonstrate our commitment to Midleton and east Cork, generating more jobs for the region and further driving recognition of Midleton Distillery as the beating heart of Irish whiskey.”