Loading AI tools
Brand of Irish whiskey From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tullamore Dew, rendered in most branding as Tullamore D.E.W. (typically with the dots de-emphasised using colour and font size), is a brand of Irish whiskey produced by William Grant & Sons.[1] It is the second-largest-selling brand of Irish whiskey globally, with sales of over 1,500,000 cases per annum as of 2020.[2]
| |
| Type | Irish whiskey |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | William Grant & Sons |
| Country of origin | Tullamore, Ireland |
| Introduced | 1829 |
| Alcohol by volume | 40% |
| Website | www |
The whiskey was originally produced in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland, at the old Tullamore Distillery which was established in 1829.[3] Its name is derived from the initials of the brand's creator, Daniel Edmund Williams (1848-1921),[4] a general manager and later owner of the original distillery.[3] In 1954, the original distillery closed down, and with stocks of whiskey running low, the brand was sold to John Powers & Son, another Irish distiller in the 1960s, with production transferred to the Midleton Distillery, County Cork in the 1970s following a merger of three major Irish distillers.[5]
In 2010, the brand was purchased by William Grant & Sons, who constructed a new distillery on the outskirts of Tullamore. The new distillery opened in 2014, bringing production of the whiskey back to the town after a break of sixty years.[6]
In 2012, a visitor centre was opened in a refurbished bonded warehouse previously belonging to the original distillery. The centre offers guided tours and tutored tastings ranging from 50 minutes to 5 hours in duration.[7]
The origins of Tullamore D.E.W. date back to 1829, when a distillery was established in Tullamore by Michael Molloy.[3] On his death, the distillery eventually passed to his nephew, Bernard Daly who later appointed Daniel E. Williams as the distillery's General Manager.[3] The distillery was originally named Daly's Whiskey and sold mainly to the U.K. and Australia.[8] In 1893, Williams helped bring about electricity to the town of Tullamore as well as install the first telephone in town. On top of the distillery, Williams also imported tea, seeds, and various grains.[8] Under Williams's watchful eye, the distillery expanded and prospered and, following Williams death, his family came to own the distillery and added his initials (D.E.W.) to its name.[3][8]
In 1954, the distillery ceased production, having, like many of those in Ireland at the time, been hit by declining sales due to a number of factors such as Prohibition, the Anglo-Irish Trade War and high taxes introduced by the Irish Free State.[3]
In the 1960s, with whiskey stocks running low, rather than reopen the distillery, the owners opted to sell the brand to John Powers & Son, the Dublin distillers.[3] In 1966, John Powers & Son merged with two other Irish distilleries to form Irish Distillers. In the 1970s, Irish Distillers closed their existing distilleries and consolidated production at a new distillery built in Midleton, County Cork.
.jpg)
In 1994, Irish Distillers, then concentrating their international focus on promoting Jameson Irish whiskey, sold the brand to the C&C Group.[9] Subsequently, the C&C Group divested their entire liqueur and spirit business (including Tullamore D.E.W.), which was acquired by William Grant & Sons for €300 million in 2010.[10] At which point, Tullamore D.E.W. was still being produced under license at the Midleton Distillery.[11] Therefore, as expansion of the brand was dependent on the availability of whiskey from Midleton, and with significant growth envisaged, William Grant & Sons opted to construct a new distillery in Tullamore, rather than depend on outsourced production.[11]
Construction of the distillery is to take place on a phased basis.[11] Phase one was completed in 2014, which saw production of whiskey return to Tullamore for the first time in sixty years.[6] The new distillery has the capability to produce both malt and pot still whiskey. However, it does not yet have a Coffey still installed to allow the production of grain whiskey. Therefore, as Tullamore D.E.W. is a blend of all three varieties of Irish whiskey,[12] the grain whiskey component of the blend will continue to be sourced from Midleton until phase two is completed.[10]
As of 2015, the whiskey sells about 950,000 cases per year (an amount that has doubled since 2005).[13]
As of 2023[update] a range of seven whiskeys are sold under the Tullamore D.E.W. brand:[14]
Past releases include:
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
