Irish whiskey was once the most popular spirit in the world with many distilleries located across Ireland. Presenter Al Byrne delves into the history of whiskey and its production in Ireland. Al visits Middelton distillery to see firsthand the production of whiskey, hearing from whiskey tasters, coopers, production staff and the Power family.
There has always been a dispute over where whiskey was originated, it is widely agreed that it was from Celtic origin but was it the Irish or the Scots? In this documentary Al delves into the history of whiskey and hears from Richard Burrows, Managing Director of Irish Distillers LTD, Brendan Tierney, a whiskey taster in Middleton, Andy Ross, process manager, Frank O'Reilly, Theodora Fitzgibbon, Ben Kiely and the Power family.
Choosing a whiskey is a complicated business, selling it is even harder and Al hears firsthand the challenge of selling Irish whiskey abroad in a heavily dominated with competition from the Scots and American whiskey.
Irish Distillers Group was formed as Irish Distillers Limited (IDL) in 1966, when a merger took place between three Irish whiskey distilleries, Cork Distilleries Company, John Jameson & Son and John Power & Son. A site alongside the existing distillery in Midleton, County Cork was chosen as the location for the new distillery, as there was no room for expansion alongside the Dublin distilleries.
Presented by Al Byrne
Produced by John Skehan
First broadcast 29th December 1979
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