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Amber Beverage Group announces plans to invest €35m in new distillery for Writers' Tears and The Irishman

The move is part of ABG’s commitment to becoming a major global producer of Irish whiskey.

Home, sweet home

Subject to planning approval, the new facility will produce Walsh Whiskey’s two flagship Irish whiskey brands: Writers’ Tears and The Irishman. The new distillery will be located on an 18th-century site by the River Barrow in Dunleckney, County Carlow.

ABG hopes it can begin building work in 2023, which it anticipates will take 18 months to complete. The new distillery, if all goes to plan, should be operational by 2026.

Jekaterina Stuģe, CEO of Amber Beverage Group, said:

This is ABG’s second major investment in the fast-growing Irish whiskey category following our acquisition of Walsh Whiskey and its super-premium Irish whiskey brands, Writers’ Tears and The Irishman, in 2021.

In keeping with our growth ambitions as a rapidly growing global spirits company, once commissioned our distillery will enable ABG to become one of the major global producers of Irish whiskey and to leverage the exceptional growth the category is predicted to continue to experience for the foreseeable future.

We will preserve the heritage of the historic site at Dunleckney, while introducing high-end production capabilities, married with a modern design to excite the senses of visitors to what will become a leading distillery and brand home for our whiskeys.

Bernard Walsh, founder and managing director of Walsh Whiskey, commented:

Located in the heart of Ireland’s barley growing region, with its own supply of natural water, the 18th-century riverside location of Dunleckney has been a special location for producing drink and food since the 1700s.

Milled corn, beer, and malted grain have all been produced at this site, so whiskey is a natural progression. Our immediate focus will be on producing pot still and single malt whiskeys in traditional copper pots.