Small town Offaly whiskey with mighty global impact

THE popularity around the world of Tullamore DEW whiskey, is probably not fully comprehended in its home town.

However, across Europe and the US the whiskey is in demand and can be seen on shelves just about everywhere.

Tullamore DEW is the second-biggest Irish whiskey after Jameson. In 2020 during the height of the pandemic it sold 1.2million cases.

In Germany a billboard spotted in the last few weeks at a local train station reads, 'The World's Small Town Whiskey' with the words 'Mehr Prosten Statt Posten,' translated 'More Cheers Instead of Posts.'

The prominent positioning of the billboard means commuters cannot miss it while embarking and disembarking or even while looking out through the train window.

Recently a hotel receptionist in Cologne, Germany, on observing the Tullamore address of one guest, remarked ''it's like the whiskey'' . When he was told it was the same town he seemed amazed and said ''it's good stuff.''

The whiskey is also on sale in shops and on ferries around Europe. For example the Amorella ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki features it on its shelves, as does the Silja Symphony cruiseferry where it sits alongside one particular bottle of brandy which is selling for a whopping €4,699.

According to Sarah Kehoe the biggest markets by volume for Tullamore DEW are the US, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany and Sweden. ''In 2021, we had sales of 1.45m (9 litre cases) globally,'' she said.

Tullamore DEW opened its new visitor centre at Clonminch in March of this year following the closure of its facility at Bury Quay which attracted 40,000 visitors per year.

As of August this year, 46 per cent of visitors to the new centre at Clonminch came from the USA/Canada, followed by 27 per cent from Ireland and 13 per cent from Germany.

''From the last week in March (when the new visitor centre opened to the public) to 30.9.22 we had 6,303 visitors here at the visitor centre,'' said Sarah.

Not quite the heady days of pre-pandemic numbers, but William Grant and Sons will no doubt be hoping that as people begin to holiday again those figures will rise.

Tullamore DEW was established in Tullamore in 1829. The old distillery closed in 1954 and the brand was sold to John Powers & Co. In 2010 it was purchased by William Grant & Sons.

The initials DEW stand for Daniel Edmund Williams.

In 2012 the Tullamore DEW Visitor Centre opened at Bury Quay. It came as a shock to the town when William Grant announced it was to close in September 2020. The premises has since been bought by golfer Shane Lowry along with hotelier Alan Clancy.

William Grant opened its new visitor centre at the Tullamore DEW distillery at Clonminch in March of this year.