Slane Castle to build Distillery

07 March 2013

THE SPIRITS BUSINESS

*Slane Castle submits plans for Irish whiskey distillery *
7th March, 2013 by Becky Paskin

Slane Castle in County Meath, Ireland, has submitted plans to build a new €10 million distillery and malting plant on its grounds, with a view to begin producing Irish whiskey in 2014.
Slane Castle distillery

An architect’s impression of the Slane Castle distillery

Alex Mountcharles, managing director of Slane Castle Irish Whiskey, has submitted a planning application to Meath County Council to transform a group of existing 18th and 19th century courtyard buildings into a distillery, alongside the build of a new malting plant.

If approved, Slane Castle will become the first Irish whiskey producer to grow, malt and distil its own barley; it currently grows around 2,000 tonnes a year.

Mountcharles said that having its whiskey supply cut off by Beam when the multinational acquired the Cooley business in early 2012, he and his father, Lord Henry Mountcharles, were encouraged to begin work on plans to build their own distillery.

“It was a bit of a knock when we lost the supply but I always wanted to do a distillery from the outset, so all that situation did was force the hand and move the project forward,” he told The Spirits Business. “Now our priority is to get up and running as soon as we can but do it in the right way.”

Slane Castle plans to eventually produce a triple-distilled single malt whiskey alongside a traditional Irish single pot still whiskey, which uses both malted and unmalted barley, all under the Slane Castle brand.

“In the longer term we’re aiming to specialise in older maturation and special cask finishes as well,” added Mountcharles. “I’m particularly interested in port and sherry cask finishes as one of my ancestors, the guy who built the castle at the end of the 18th century, travelled extensively through Spain and Portugal, so we’ll be looking to retrace his steps for inspiration.”

Mountcharles hopes the planning application will be approved shortly, with work beginning on the site before the end of the year. He expects to start producing liquid by the end of 2014, with an initial annual production of 600,000 litres of pure alcohol.

While it waits for the whiskey to mature, Slane Castle will offer a poitin and range of aged ‘whiskeys’ showcasing the liquid’s evolution at the distillery’s visitor centre. In addition, consumers are able to purchase a cask in advance.

This year also sees a return of the Slane Castle music festival this summer, an event that was cancelled last year due to the financial strain caused by Beam’s decision.

Mountcharles has not ruled out the possibility of supplying third parties with whiskey from Slane Castle, but would “be very selective about who we chose”.

Whiskey Distillery Planning has been submitted!

28 February 2013

It’s official!
Plans have been submitted for The Slane Castle Irish Whiskey Distillery on the Estate, for further details see http://www.slanecastle.ie/castle/pdf/press/MeathChroniclePlanningNotice.pdf

Signature Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Magazine

17 August 2012

Click here to download the article from Signature Magazine August 2012

Irish Spirits Business Magazine - May 2012

07 June 2012

Click here to download the article from The Spirits Business Magazine May 2012.

Irish Times Article

16 April 2012

See below article from today’s Irish Times

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0416/1224314763778.html()

Slane Castle Whiskey now available in London

10 November 2011

We are delighted to announce that Slane Castle Whiskey has now crossed the Irish sea and will be available on a limited basis in London. Lea & Sandeman (Lea & Sandeman), the independent ‘Most Original Wine Merchants’ will stock the award winning whiskey. Alex Mount Charles stated “We were keen to get a presence for the brand in the UK and are thrilled to be working with Lea & Sandeman who stock an excellent portfolio of world wine and spirits. I now look forward to growing our presence in the UK over the coming year”.

If you have an outlet in the UK and would like to stock Slane Castle Whiskey, please contact Alex Mount Charles on +353 41 98 24080

SLANE CASTLE WHISKEY WINS GOLD MEDAL AT IRISH WHISKEY MASTERS

08 August 2011

PRESS RELEASE: 5TH AUGUST 2011

Slane Castle Whiskey, from Ireland’s home of rock n’ roll, has won a Gold Medal at the 2011 Irish Whiskey Masters in London. This builds on the whiskey’s recent success in the USA where it was awarded 94/100 in the 2011 Ultimate Spirits Challenge in New York.

Lord Alex Mount Charles, Managing Director, stated “We worked hard to ensure that the quality of Slane Castle Whiskey can compete with the mainstream Irish whiskey brands. Winning this Gold Medal confirms that Slane Castle Whiskey punches well above its weight in the blended Irish whiskey category”.

Slane Castle Whiskey was launched at the Oasis concert in 2009 and is now sold in the USA and Ireland with plans for expansion into other markets in 2012. The business is a joint venture between Alex Mount Charles and his father Henry.

About the Irish Whiskey Masters
The Spirit Masters series has become one of the most respected and high profile blind tasting competitions in the spirits industry, attracting entries from leading brands all over the world. They are the only trade blind tasting competitions that use completely independent judges that are not connected to any brands.

Further information
Alex Mount Charles, alex@slanecastle.ie, +353 41 98 24080

Slane Castle Irish Whiskey awarded Finalist Position in the '2011 Ultimate Spirits Competition'.

15 July 2011

Slane Castle Whiskey was awarded 94/100 and a finalist position at the 2011 Ultimate Spirits Competition held in New York. This competition was judged by industry experts and was a blind tasting of spirits across the spectrum. With a score of 94/100, Slane Castle Whiskey was rated as ‘Excellent and highly recommended’ Alex Mount Charles commented ‘It is a great endorsement to achieve such a high rating in a blind tasting by a highly regarded judging panel and against a high level of competition. We are delighted that the Ultimate Spirits Challenge have given us this award’

Slane Rocks NYC Celebration of the launch of Slane Castle Irish Whiskey

14 May 2011

Slane Castle Irish Whiskey made its debut in New York on Friday, May 7th at Slane Public House on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village. Lord Henry Mount Charles, 8th Marquess Conyngham hosted this exciting event where celebrities, VIP guests and media enjoyed this unique spirit and special Slane cocktails created by his son, Lord Alex Mount Charles.

There is a very special connection between Slane Public House and the Mount Charles family. The owner of the bar, Glenda McGovern was Lord Henry’s neighbor when she was a child which added to the magic of the event. Adam Clayton, U2 was also in attendance.

Pre Launched Slane Castle Irish Whiskey was enjoyed at the American Ireland Fund Dinner on May 6th where Bono was guest speaker along with Bill Clinton, Mayor Bloomberg, Gabriel Byrne and 1,300 members of the Irish-American business, political and arts communities. Slane Castle was the only Whiskey available on the night and was very well received.

For more photos provided by James Higgins -The New York Pub Guide, log onto our Facebook Page.

Slane Whiskey in NYC

01 May 2011

Lord Alex Mount Charles has just returned from another successful trip to New York, where he joined the owners of Ulysses Bar, who were celebrating their 7th anniversary. Slane Castle Irish Whiskey will now also be available at one of New York’s top steak houses Del Frisco’s.

Slane Whiskey in NYC

08 April 2011

Lord Henry and his son Alex will be in New York in early May for the launch of Slane Castle Irish Whisky in the New York market. The official launch is set to be held in the aptly named Slane Public House! This follows on from a recent trip that Lord Henry made to Massachusetts, Connecticut and Florida.
The Launch in Slane Public House is set to be an exciting evening.

Bottle Signing in the US

30 December 2010

Lord Henry, accompanied by his wife Lady Iona, have just returned from their second successful trip this year to the United States, promoting Slane Castle Irish Whiskey in Connecticut and Florida. Lord Henry did a successful bottle signing in Amity Wine & Spirits in New Haven and also visited Anna Liffeys Bar, and met Patrick Mansfield the owner, who comes originally from Waterford. In Florida he was met by his son Alex, who had been visiting bars and outlets in the Boston area and they then called into several outlets in the West Palm Beach vicinity. They ended their visit by calling into O’Sheas’s on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach where they met owner Maurice Costigan.