Powerscourt Distillery has been granted planning permission for the construction of a craft distillery and visitor centre at Powerscourt Estate, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
Powerscourt Distillery CEO and Co-Founder Gerry Ginty said:
“We are delighted with the planning permission granted for this unique and ambitious project. Whiskey from Powerscourt Distillery will be recognised for its authenticity and unique taste. We will combine certified mineral water from the Estate with barley grown on the Estate to create something that is extra special. In essence it will be the ultimate Irish whiskey, created from barley to bottle on Powerscourt Estate.”
Powerscourt Distillery is a joint venture with Powerscourt Estate, supported by an agreement with the Slazenger family to locate the distillery on the estate, which has an 800 year history stretching back to a castle built in the 13th century. The Slazengers are the owners and custodians of Powerscourt Estate and Gardens, developing it into a hugely popular tourist attraction, with over 500,000 visitors each year and visitor numbers to the gardens from both the US and China rising over 49% and 39% respectively in the past year alone.
Sarah Slazenger, Managing Director of Powerscourt Estate said:
“We are very pleased to see this key milestone achieved and look forward to progressing the development of this exciting new venture for the Estate which will help attract more visitors to Powerscourt who are interested in seeing authentic Irish craft excellence brought to life.”
The project will refurbish the Estate’s old mill house into a world-class distillery set against the stunning backdrop of the Sugar Loaf Mountain and Powerscourt’s award-winning gardens. Master Distiller Roy Court will mix barley grown in the surrounding fields with certified mineral water from Powerscourt Estate’s well, using traditional pot still techniques. Powerscourt Distillery will create a portfolio of unique whiskeys that will stand out in the rapidly growing Irish whiskey market.
Local entrepreneurs Gerry Ginty and Ashley Gardiner are co-founders of the new venture and are planning a €10m investment that will create 30 jobs in the construction phase and 18 full-time jobs once the business is fully operational.
At full production the distillery will have the potential to produce over 1 million bottles of whiskey per year. By early 2018 the first batch of whiskey will be distilled and placed in oak casks to mature. Bord Bia forecast demand to quadruple in size to over 24m cases worldwide by 2030 and Powerscourt Distillery plans to capitalise on the rapidly growing international demand for Irish whiskey.
