THE BIRTH OF THE IRISH WHISKEY ASSOCIATION

FEW THINGS are hotter in the sprits world right now than Irish whiskey. After experiencing several years of major growth for the category, the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA) came into being on April 9 with 15 charter members: Alltech Burren Irish Whiskey (Castle Brands), TJ Carolan (Gruppo Campari), Cooley Distillery (Beam Inc.), Bushmills Distillery (Diageo), Dublin Whiskey Co., First Ireland Spirits, Glendalough Irish Whiskey, Great Northern Distillery, Irish Distillers (Pernod Ricard) Slane Castle Whiskey, Teeling Whiskey Co., Tullamore DEW (William Grant & Sons), Walsh Whiskey Distillery Co., West Cork Distillers, and Wild Geese Irish Whiskey. The association is headed by Peter Morehead, Production Director at Pernod Ricard’s Irish Distillers, who said: “There has been sustained growth in Irish whiskey over the last 2O years, with the category experiencing double-digit growth since the turn of the millennium, and the trend is set to continue.” The IWA will promote Irish whiskey both in Ireland and internationally – with “legal protection” much the same as does the Scotch Whisky Association. The Association stated that it believes Irish whiskey will double to 12 million cases by 2O2O with 15 new distilleries planned in Ireland. Currently, the US, France, Germany, Russia, and the UK account for about 75% of total Irish whiskey sales. The group’s goals are to promote the Irish whiskey category in Ireland and internationally; to work with government agencies (North and South) and the European Commission; to support new market entrants; to ensure the legal protection offered by the Geographic Indication is applied in Ireland and internationally; and to ensure public policy supports the sustainable growth of the Irish whiskey sector.