Slane Castle May have just hosted yet another big concert last weekend but this time the infamous venue is the news for different reasons this week, as US Distillers Brown Forman, the company behind the world famous Jack Daniel’s whiskey, have announced that they have invested $50 million (€44m) in a new company called Slane Castle Irish Whiskey.
The US company made the announcement that a deal was made over the last few days. The company claim that up to 25 permanent jobs will be created at the facility, the investment will also see a brand new distillery being built on the 1,500 acre estate in Co Meath. The Slane Castle Irish Whiskey company was originally setup back in 2009 by the Conyngham family. The whiskey was originally distilled on behalf of the family by Cooley Distillery but production and distribution ceased after Irish-owned company Cooley was bought by US company Beam.
Meanwhile Lord Henry Mountcharles has welcomed the news saying: “The family will remain at the core of the business into the foreseeable future. This is a very long-term partnership and I am incredibly excited.” Lord Henry went onto say: “Brown Forman was absolutely the people we wanted to partner with because of their vast experience in the whiskey business. It is a publically quoted company and a member of the Brown family is still chairman of the board.”
It is understood that the newly builtt distillery will be situated on the old stable yards on the estate and production of Slane Castle whiskey will start sometime next year. Lord Henry has also reassured fans of the concerts that the new business will not prevent concerts being held at the venue. Lord Henry was quoted saying: “The concerts will go on.” It is believed that construction on the new distillery will begin within the next two months.