Distilling
has begun at the Roe & Co distillery in
Dublin ahead of it opening to visitors
later this month.
Diageo has announced that their
conversion of the old Guinness Power
House site at St James’s Gate, Dublin is
now complete and the new Roe & Co
Distillery which is located in the
former Guinness Power House has began
production of Irish single malt spirit
ahead of the doors opening to visitors
later this month.
The doors to the new €25
million urban distillery and visitor
experience are set to open on the 21st June but
ahead of the distillery doors opening
the new distillery will is already
distilling 14,000 litres of Irish malt
whiskey spirit in every run, with an annual
maximum capacity of up to 500,000 litres
of alcohol.
Positioned in the
heart of Dublin’s buzzing Liberties
district, the new distillery houses a
three copper still set up, which under
the talented eye of Head Distiller Lora Hemy
and her team can do both triple and
double distillation runs which should
make for an interesting head to head
comparison if they do release both
triple and double distilled single malts
in the future.
In the
19th century, George Roe helped build
the golden era of Irish whiskey and put
Irish whiskey on the global map. The Roe
& Co blend which was launched early last
year marked Diageo's return to the Irish
whiskey category, the blend was crafted
by Master Blender, Caroline Martin, who
chose an intense, fruity malt whiskey
and smooth grain whiskies which were
matured in first fill Bourbon casks.
Time will tell what the style of the new
Roe & Co single malt will be but I
suspect it will not be far off the style
of the blend with which they launched
the Roe & Co Irish whiskey brand with.
It looks like Diageo has invested a lot
into the whiskey tourism side of the
distillery, something which is booming
in Dublin at the moment, the new Roe &
Co visitor experience will allow guests
to explore Roe & Co in its working
distillery, with tour groups able to
trace the rise and fall of Irish whiskey
and celebrate its current revival. At
the start of this decade, there were
four working Irish whiskey distilleries,
now with the coming-on-stream of
Diageo’s Roe & Co Distillery, there will
be 27.
Fun and flavour will be at the centre of
every aspect of the Roe & Co visitor
experience, which will transport guests
on a journey of taste and discovery. The
boutique experience, which will have a
maximum of 16 guests per tour, will
consist of a fully immersive 75-minute
tour, with visitors clocking in and out
as they commence a ‘shift’ at the Power
Station with a time card, a nostalgic
nod at the building’s past. Guests will
get the chance to observe the
operational live distillery and witness
the copper pot stills and mash tun from
an impressive elevated glass walkway.
Visitors will be invited to explore the
unique process that makes Roe & Co a
whiskey like no other in Room 106, named
after the number of blends it took to
perfect the Roe & Co whiskey. The
Flavours Workshop will encourage guests
to explore the five pillars of flavour;
sweet, sour, bitter, salt and umami, and
discover their ideal taste profile when
it comes to whiskey cocktails. The
showstopping Power House Bar, designed
by Drinksology, the creative minds
behind some of the world’s best bars,
will use a wide variety of Irish
wildflowers and home-grown ingredients
from the distillery’s landscaped garden
to create seasonal Roe & Co signature
serves created by world class
bartenders.
Gráinne Wafer, Global Brand Director for
Roe & Co at Diageo said: "Our master
blender, Caroline Martin began the
journey of reimagining Irish whiskey,
but we didn’t stop the reinvention
there. Today we are launching a
state-of-the-art distillery and
experience like no other, led by our
extremely talented distiller, Lora Hemy.
This boutique experience, which will
have a maximum of 16 guests per tour,
will ensure visitors can get up close
and personal with our remarkable
distillery and whiskey, focusing on the
five pillars of flavour.
"The distillery will provide direct
employment for 18 people and will
complement what is already the country’s
most popular tourism offering, The
Guinness Storehouse. This €25m
investment into the Roe & Co Distillery
further demonstrates Diageo’s commitment
to the growing vibrancy of The
Liberties, one of the City’s most
dynamic districts and the heart of
brewing and distilling."
Roe & Co Distillery Tours
Roe & Co Distillery Tours cost €25 per
guest, this includes a whiskey taster,
flavours workshop and complimentary
cocktail in the Power House Bar.
Tours run from 11am-5pm daily, seven
days a week. and you will find the Roe &
Co Distillery at 8 James St, Ushers,
Dublin, Ireland.
If you want to taste Roe & Co blended
whiskey which is non-chill
filtered and bottled at 45% ABV
you will find it available to buy from specialist
online whisky retailers such as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop and
Master of Malt
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