Draft:Kilbeggan Distilling Company

The Kilbeggan Distilling Company  (stylized as, Kilbeggan Distilling Co.) are Irish Whiskey producers owned by Suntory Global Spirits since 2012. As a successor to 'John Locke & Co. Ltd.' and current owners of the historic Kilbeggan Distillery and its original 1757 license, the Kilbeggan Distilling Co. are Ireland's oldest licensed whiskey distillers.

Established in 1988 by John Teeling, the Kilbeggan Distilling Co. produces Whiskey in Cooley Distillery in Dundalk, Co. Louth and also in the historic Kilbeggan Distillery in Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath Kilbeggan is the oldest licensed distillery in Ireland and Kilbeggan Whiskey is their flagship whiskey.

Pre-Establishment
A license to distill was granted to an unknown distiller on the banks of the River Brosna in Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath in 1757. The License and subsequent distillery were eventually bought by John Locke in 1843. John Locke and the next three generations of his family would go on to grow the distillery (Then known as Brusna Distillery) into its most successful state and was famous for its 'Locke's Whiskey'. However, production halted in 1954 with the distillery shutting down in 1957. The buildings were allowed to fall into ruin and disrepair. In 1982 a group of local volunteers known as the KPDA began to restore the historic distillery buildings including its original water wheel which they restored to working condition. The distillery opened as a museum in 1986. No whiskey was being produced here at the time.

A.A. Watt & Co (Watts Distillery) was established on Abbey Street in Derry City. Watt's Distillery would go on establish its Flagship brand 'Tyrconnell (whiskey)'. The distillery would close in 1921. The buildings would be lost to time.



Establishment of Cooley Distillery
John Teeling bought a former State-owned industrial potato alcohol distillery in 1985. In less than two years, Teeling converted the distillery to have two column stills.

In 1988 Cooley Distillery bought the remains of Kilbeggan Distillery and its 1757 license, thus making it the oldest licensed distillery in Ireland. Kilbeggan was also bought for its key brands 'Kilbeggan Whiskey' and 'Locke's Whiskey' as well as its warehousing space.

The remains of the A.A. Watt & Co. were also purchased by Cooley, including its 1762 license and its key brands 'The Tyrconnell' and 'Inishowen'. Thus making the new Cooley Distillery PLC the successor to both John Locke & Co. and A.A. Watt & Co.



Teeling Era (1988 - 2012)
Cooley Distillery upon its establishment was the only independent distillery on the island of Ireland. Irish Distillers had owned both other operating distilleries at this time. The distillery featured both column stills and pot stills for distillation. Unlike most the other tow Irish distilleries, (and Irish Whiskey in general) which are usually distilled three times, Cooley's products are generally distilled twice. Cooley was to be the production end of the company while Kilbeggan was open to the public.

Restoration continued on the Kilbeggan distillery buildings. The KPDA had been leasing the buildings off its previous owner. After the sale to Cooley, the lease remained intact with the KPDA then leasing the museum from Cooley. In practice the buildings in Kilbeggan were effectively split with the KPDA running a tours of the old production areas while Cooley controlled the offices and warehouses.

The Kilbeggan warehouses including its famous Ctesiphon Warehouse, were used to age and store Cooley's new make spirit.

Cooley were producing Grain whiskey in its column stills, and Single Malt Whiskey in its Pot Stills.

Cooley also began to produce Peated Single Malt, becoming the first known Irish distillery to do so.

Cooley began releasing its first whiskeys in the 1990s. This included its core blended whiskeys, Kilbeggan Whiskey & Locke's Whiskey. Its key Single malt 'The Tyrconnell', its key Peated Single Malt 'Connemara Whiskey', and its key Grain whiskey 'Greenore', alongside other brands.

Cooley Distillery was well known to supply whiskey to many third parties and eventually the new generation of Irish distilleries which would eventually emerge post 2010.

In 1998, Cooley received a trophy at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) for outstanding quality, and for earning an impressive reputation over time. Cooley was the first distillery to be awarded the trophy.

In 2007 distilling began in the old Kilbeggan Distillery once again. This was done the mark the 250th anniversary of its 1757 licence. An old Tullamore Dew pot still had been uncovered in storage and was used to finish off whiskey began in Cooley. This still would be the world's oldest working pot still at this time.

In 2010 a wooden mash tun and 4 wooden fermentation vats were installed in an old empty warehouse in Kilbeggan. A second pot still was built in the style of the historic Tullamore still. This meant from 2010 Kilbeggan distillery became a fully functioning whiskey distillery once again. Whiskey in Kilbeggan is still produced with its original 1757 license.

Kilbeggan would become a small batch production site producing limited release whiskeys, while Cooley would remain the mass production site.

In 2010 Kilbeggan began to produce Single Pot Still Whiskey in its new boutique distillery. This was the first time the company had produced this style of Irish whiskey, with Cooley using only malted barley or corn. This was in honour of the Locke Family who had produced Pot Still whiskey on site decades earlier. Kilbeggan also experimented with oats and rye in their pot still mash. Since 2010 onwards Kilbeggan has only produced Single Malt.

In 2011 the KPDA ended its lease with control of all buildings in Kilbeggan now resting with John Teeling and Cooley Distillery.

Beam Suntory (2012 - 2024)
On 16 December 2011 Beam Inc. announced plans to purchase Cooley and Kilbeggan for around US$95 million (€71 million).[7] The sale closed on 17 January 2012.[8] Beam was then purchased by Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan on 30 April 2014 becoming Beam Suntory.

In 2012, 2 Gingers Irish whiskey was purchased by Beam. This is a US-exclusive Irish Whiskey produced in Cooley.

Over the years the Kilbeggan Distilling Co. has begun to simplify its portfolio and retired many of its brands in order to focus on its core three. This saw the halting of 'Greenore' and the 'Locke's Whiskey' brands.

In 2017 the Kilbeggan distillery its first whiskey the 'Kilbeggan Small Batch Rye'. This had been intended to be a Pot Still whiskey. It featured a mash of 1/3 Malt, 1/3 un-malted barley and 1/3 Rye. However while the whiskey was ageing, the classification of Single Pot Still whiskeys were redefind. Due to the percentage of Rye in this mash it would no longer qualify. This was the first rye heavy Irish Whiskey in over 100 years.

In 2018 the company released its first Single Pot Still whiskey. 'Kilbeggan Single Pot still' was unusual for containing 2.5% oats in the mash.



Suntory Global Spirits (2024 - present)
On 30 April 2024 Beam Suntory was renamed to Suntory Global Spirits. No other significant changes were made alongside this change.

Kilbeggan Whiskey
Kilbeggan Whiskey is the Flagship brand of the Kilbeggan Distilling Co. It is the only brand which features whiskey produced in both Kilbeggan Distillery and Cooley Distillery. Kilbeggan has been in use since the 1990s. Kilbeggan is famous for its standard blend, however throughout the years Kilbeggan whiskey has gone on to feature practically all styles of Irish whiskey. This has included Blended whiskeys, Single Malt whiskeys, Single Pot Still whiskeys, Rye whiskeys, Peated whiskeys, Grain whiskeys and many aged variationss of many of those styles.

The Tyrconnell
The Tyrconnell is the Kilbeggan Distilling Co.'s flagship Single Malt brand. This brand had previously come from Watt's Distillery and had been named after his racehorse 'The Tyrconnell'. It was revived by Cooley in the 1990s after Watt's Distillery closed in 1943. The Tyrconnell features a standard single malt without any age statement as well as many aged variations. Typically, 10 years, 15 years, 16 years, 17 years, and 18 years. Many of their aged variations feature finishing cask. These are typically, Sherry, Port, or Madeira. However other finishes have been used.

Connemara Peated Whiskey
Connemara was Ireland's first commercially released Peated Whiskey. The style is more typical of Scotch Whiskey. However, with a desire to do things differently, Cooley distillery began to produce peated single malt. The name Connemara was inspired by the region in the west of Ireland, which would typically feature the smell of turf burning fires. A standard Connemara without an age statement exists. Connemara has also featured age statements, typically 12 years, and 22 years. Special releases have also existed. Connemara is not as intensely peated as many peated Scotch whiskeys. It is typically 14 PPM (parts per million peat).

2 Gingers
2 Gingers is an USA exclusive brand. 2 Gingers is also a blended whiskey, similar to the standard Kilbeggan Whiskey. This whiskey is mainly found in the US state of Minnisota.

Former Brands

 * Locke's Whiskey
 * Greenore
 * Inishowen
 * Millar's