This week our Irish Whiskey Weekly News features articles on a massive increase in visitor numbers to Irish distilleries, whiskey-fuelled car inventor nets OBE and alcohol promotion ban could be bad for whiskey business.

So let’s see what’s been happening this week in our Irish whiskey weekly news.

 

Irish Whiskey Weekly News - Jan 11 - 2018

Irish whiskey distilleries see visitor numbers rise by 11%

The number of tourists travelling to Ireland’s whiskey distillery centres increased by 11 percent last year, the Irish Whiskey Association said on Monday. Some 814,000 people visited the 12 distillery visitor centres on the island of Ireland in 2017, up from 733,000 the previous year.

The 12 centres, including the Slane Distillery in Meath and the Pearse Lyons distillery in Dublin which opened last year, attracted visitors mainly from the US, the UK, Germany, France and northern Europe, the association said. “Continued double-digit growth proves that Irish whiskey tourism is a hot trend right now and an increasingly important part of Ireland’s tourism offer,” said William Lavelle, head of the Irish Whiskey Association.

 

Irish Professor gets OBE for fueling cars with whiskey

A professor at Edinburgh Napier University and an expert in biofuels, last year he oversaw the first successful test drive for a whisky-powered car powered by biobutanol – a direct replacement for petrol. Tangney used draff, the sugar-rich kernels of barley soaked in water to facilitate whisky’s fermentation, and pot ale, the yeasty liquid heated during fermentation, to create the new biofuel.

The Scottish malt whisky industry produces 500,000 tonnes of draff and 1.6bn litres of pot ale each year; only 10% of what flows out of the distillery is future whisky.

 

Irish Whiskey Weekly News - Jan 11 - 2018

Alcohol promotion ban would spirit away whiskey industry’s future growth

The Irish Whiskey Association (IWA) claimed that the new Public Health (Alcohol) Bill could have a devastating impact on its industry and threaten everything from the success of new visitor centres to spin-off tourism sales.Irish whiskey is, by sector, the fastest-growing drinks type in the world.Jameson sales alone are set to reach €1bn by 2020, with the number of cases sold worldwide each year has increased by 1,000pc since 1988.

The American market, for 70 years the dominant whiskey market in the world, leads the way, with Jameson sales soaring by up to 37pc each year in some US states.Irish Distillers’ parent, Pernod Ricard, is celebrating the fact that a top US industry magazine has dubbed Jameson “one of the top 20 hottest brands in North America”.The number of people visiting Irish whiskey heritage centres last year soared by 11pc.

 

Thanks for reading our Irish whiskey weekly news.

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Dublin Whiskey Tours offer you the perfect introduction to Irish whiskey in the heart of Dublin city. You will get to sample five great tipples while relaxing in some of the best bars the city has to offer. We offer a tour to suit every budget – choose from our Whiskey Tasting Tour, Premium Food & Whiskey, or our Deluxe Food & Whiskey. We can also organise whiskey events or parties for any size business – check our Corporate page for details.

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