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Altia and Walsh Whiskey Distillery Sign Partnership Agreement for Supply of Premium Irish Whiskey for the Nordic Markets

Deal is the first partnership agreement for the supply of whiskey by Walsh Whiskey since the March commissioning of the company’s distillery at Royal Oak

Royal Oak, Ireland & Helsinki, Finland – 31^st May 2016: Finland’s Altia (the leading wine and spirits company in the Nordic and Baltic countries) and Ireland’s Walsh Whiskey Distillery have signed a co-operation agreement for the production, maturation and storing of premium, hand-crafted Irish whiskey. Altia will use the maturated whiskey primarily for its Latitude brand, which is a strong and well-known whiskey in Sweden. Latitude whiskey is also notable for its environmentally friendly PET-bottle.

The two companies are already established business partners as Altia is the exclusive distributor of Walsh Whiskey Distillery’s The Irishman and Writers Tears whiskeys across Sweden and Finland..

The deal, which is for the supply of malt and grain whiskey, is the first such partnership agreement made by Walsh Whiskey since its distillery at Royal Oak in Ireland was commissioned in March of this year. The whiskeys will both be produced in the same still house which is the only one in Ireland to house both pot stills and column stills under the one roof.

Located just one hour from Dublin, Walsh Whiskey Distillery at Royal Oak is an ideal location for producing premium whiskey as it is located in the heart of Ireland’s main barley growing region and is positioned directly over the Barrow Valley Aquifer – the source of an endless supply (over 200 million cubic metres) of natural water for the distillation process.

Making the announcement the CEO of Altia, Pekka Tennilä, said: “We strongly believe in the growth of the whisky segment, particularly Irish whiskey, which is extremely popular in our Nordic markets. Demand for Irish whiskey currently exceeds available supply. This deal guarantees a high-quality, hand-made and triple distilled malt and grain whiskey to Altia, so we are very pleased to make this agreement with Walsh Whiskey Distillery.”

Bernard Walsh, the founder and CEO of Walsh Whiskey Distillery, said: “We are looking forward to a successful long-term partnership with Altia. We are allocating 15% of the output from our distillery at Royal Oak to the production of whiskey for a small number of selected international partners. We are particularly pleased that our first agreement is with a company like Altia which is a partner of choice for us. In addition to already being our distribution partner, they are an innovative and modern leader in the Nordic spirits and wine sector.”