Two Irish distillers have joined the number of whiskey producers in the country who have recently made changes to their production schedules, or had to take even more drastic measures in the face of financial difficulties.
Is this a problem that is specifically troubling the Irish whiskey industry, or are these circumstances caused by wider issues shared with the whisky world as a whole? Below we’re discuss these recent developments in Ireland and where they fit in the broader picture.
Firstly, Dublin-based Roe & Co have revealed that the distillery will halt production with immediate effect. However some operations such as blending and bottling existing stock will continue.
Roe & Co was founded by Diageo in 2017 and marked the drinks giant’s first foray into Irish whiskey after selling Bushmills in 2014. Production of their own spirit began in 2019, although whiskies had been released under the Roe & Co name since 2017 using stock bought from other distilleries.
A spokesperson from Diageo said: “In order to optimise resources and support the sustainable future growth of our business, we have made the decision to put an extended pause on distillation at the Roe & Co Distillery.
“The visitor centre will remain open to the public, and we will continue to blend and package Roe & Co to meet existing and new consumer demand using existing inventory.”
At the time of writing no other information has been revealed other than it is understood Diageo engaging in a consultation process with the affected staff. It has been said that production may be on hold for a year or more, with periodic reviews to asses the situation, but this timeframe has not been confirmed by Diageo.
This is not the first report of an Irish distiller scaling back or ceasing production. Their Dublin neighbours Liberties Distillery, Pernod Ricard-owned Midleton Distillery, and Tullamore have all announced temporary production pauses in recent months.
Elsewhere, Powerscourt Distillery have appointed a receiver to manage the company’s assets in the face of ongoing financial hardship. Powerscourt opened in 2019 and is best known for producing the Fercullen brand of Irish whiskies.
Last year, rumours emerged about a potential sale of the distillery. While this never came to pass, the distillery confirmed that they were “continuously examining options to secure additional growth capital” in order to increase production capabilities and develop their brands.
A statement confirming the receivership also stated that the distillery will remain open to the public for tours and that “all online retail sales will be honoured and dispatched in the normal course.” Beyond this, little has been said; Powerscourt have requested that all enquiries regarding this situation be directed to the receiver, Interpath Advisory.
Last year Waterford Distillery also entered receivership. The distillery launched their first whiskey in 2020 and had to endure what owner Mark Rayneir described as the “perfect storm” of the Covid-19 pandemic, a global cost-of-living crisis, rising energy and production costs, a slow-moving distribution network, and a mis-timed and relatively unsuccessful US launch.
At the time Reynier said on social media that is was “better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. Our Waterford team have been superb – I’m sorry to have let them down,” and pledged to fight “until my last breath” to save the distillery.
All of the above might give the impression of a crisis hitting the Irish whiskey industry, but its important to remember that these things are happening to distillers across the world.
For example, Scotch producers Glenglassaugh and Isle of Harris Distillery have recently announced changes to their production schedules, with news of the former giving rise to speculation about the future of the distillery. In the US, giant third-party producer MGP have also scaled down their production.
Sticking with America, Brown-Forman closed their cooperage in Kentucky earlier this year as part of a wider move to reduce their global workforce by 12%. Meanwhile, the American Craft Spirits Association reported that 49 craft distilleries closed between 2023 and 2024, with the rate of closures increasing throughout 2024.
And these are just some of the distilleries we’re aware of. There’s likely to have been more that taken steps such as decreasing or pausing production that simply haven’t made this information public.
Many of the aspects of that ‘perfect storm’ described by Reynier - the fallout from Covid, rising costs - also apply to the wider industry. Covid undoubtedly hit the sector hard and even though there was a relative ‘boom’ period of strong sales for spirits between 2021 and 2023, that recovery seems to have plateaued.
With sales slowing and demand decreasing, whisky makers will be keen to avoid overproduction. Stories from the 1980s and the ‘whisky loch’ - when many Scottish distilleries were forced to close in the face of overproduction and decreased demand - serve as a warning to distilleries the world over.
On the surface it seems some distillers have learned from the past and taken steps to prevent overproduction and being burdened with a massive inventory of casks that aren’t selling. This puts a positive spin on the otherwise worrying news of production pauses.
Unfortunately the decision to slow or cease production carries a degree of risk - having less stock available for when the market improves in an equally difficult and frustrating position for a brand to be in - and smaller producers who specialise in craft or niche spirits are in less of a position to take that risk when compared to larger producers with bigger name brands.
This appears to have been the case with some of the businesses that have already entered receivership. When receivers were appointed for Waterford, the company’s annual turnover was less than €3 million but had an inventory valued at €140 million.
While it might feel unlikely, hopefully the distilleries that have already entered receivership are able to navigate these trying times and are able to survive into the future - and don’t end up becoming another cautionary tale in whisky’s history.
