Henry Conyngham, the eighth Marquess Conyngham, US Ambassador Kevin F. O’Malley, Alex Conyngham, Earl of Mount, Brooke Brown Barzun Brown-Forman Corporation, Charles Brown-Forman executive vice president and chief brands & strategy officer Lawson Whiting at the ground breaking for the new $50 Million Slane Distillery on the grounds of Slane Castle.
Picture Fran Caffrey /Newsfile.ie

BROWN-FORMAN BREAKS GROUND ON
NEW $50 MILLION SLANE DISTILLERY

US Ambassador joins Conyngham and Brown families for historic occasion

Distillery and Visitor Centre to be completed late 2016

The US Ambassador to Ireland, Kevin F. O’Malley, was guest of honour today at the official ground breaking ceremony for the $50 million (approximately €44 million) Slane Distillery on the historic Slane Castle Estate in Co. Meath, home of Henry Conyngham, the eighth Marquess Conyngham, and his son Alex Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles.

The distillery, which will also include a Visitor Centre, is being built by leading US Drinks firm Brown-Forman Corporation, the owners of Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort and Woodford Reserve which bought all shares of Slane Irish Whiskey Company from the Conyngham family earlier this year. The Conynghams remain centrally involved in the development of the new distillery and the new whiskey brands which will be introduced in early 2017.

This is the first new distillery Brown-Forman has built outside of the US and represents its entry into distilling Irish whiskey, one of the fastest growing spirits categories over the last few years. When completed by the end of 2016, Slane Distillery will create nearly 25 new full-time jobs while the construction process will support approximately 80 jobs. The Slane Distillery and Visitor Centre will be a welcome new attraction to the Boyne Valley tourism trail.

The US Ambassador signed the first cask that will be filled with whiskey from the distillery and commented on the significance of the occasion, “There ar