Gortinore Distillers & Co. has been granted planning approval for a distillery to be built at the site of The Old Mill in Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford.
The independent whiskey company was founded by cousins and entrepreneurs Aidan Mehigan and Lisa Mehigan in 2019.
When complete, the distillery will house three traditional copper pot stills, an ageing rackhouse and a visitor centre, the whiskey-maker said.
Aidan Mehigan, Founder and CEO of Gortinore Distillers & Co. commented: “We’re in this for the long-haul and this project is part of our strategy to futureproof our supply chain."
Once in operation, the distillery is expected to produce one million bottles of whiskey a year, the company said.
"It will also allow us to be nimble and continue to push limits with our product line, playing with small batch limited editions, experimenting with local produce, and will allow us to continue to strive for innovation in the Irish whiskey space. Given our growth profile in China and the US, supply chain will be a core focus for us over the next five years,” Mehigan added.
Development Process
Having passed the proof of concept stage, Gortinore said that it has appointed Lafferty to project manage the tender and development process, aiming to break ground in the first half of 2021.
The project, which will be completed in phases, is expected to cost €7 million in total, with €1 million of contingency funds accounted for and is being funded through a mix of private investors, EIIS and banking support, it added.
According to Gortinore the first phase costing €1.5 million will include the tidying up of the site, waterproofing and removal of asbestos.
Phase 2 will include the insertion of the distillery, with phase 3 seeing the development of the visitor centre and the rack house.
© 2020 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
