Slane Distillery, the recently-opened whiskey distillery, marked a milestone this week when it filled its first barrel.
The inaugural cask contains new make malt whiskey using barley harvested on the Slane Castle Estate filled into a sherry hogshead.
Brown-Forman, a leader in whiskey since 1870, in collaboration with the Conyngham family of Slane, began construction of Slane Distillery in late 2015 and introduced Slane Irish Whiskey in mid-2017.
Slane Distillery is the first to be built by Brown-Forman outside of the United States. Brown-Forman invested €44 million in the distillery's construction.
"This is an important milestone for any new distillery but one we are especially grateful for at Slane Distillery," said Alan Buckley, assistant manager of Slane Distillery at Brown-Forman. "It's rare that you get to build a distillery from the ground up, particularly one on grounds as historic at the Slane Castle Estate. That's part of what makes this first barrel that much more special."
Now in full production, Slane Distillery has capacity to produce 600,000 cases.
Alex Conyngham, Slane Irish Whiskey Co-Founder, said filling the first barrel was a very special occasion for his family. "We could not have accomplished this much in such a short space of time without the partnership, knowledge, and expertise of Brown-Forman, the talented production team at Slane Distillery and the support of the local community in Slane. I am honoured to play a part in bringing whiskey production back to the Boyne Valley."
