Irish Whiskey Association

All of us at the Irish Whiskey Association would like to congratulate the passionate team at Ahascragh Distillery whose commitment to sustainability was rightly recognised at #TheFoodies Awards in Brussels this week. Every year, FoodDrinkEurope celebrates the innovation and hard-work of Europe's SMEs - who make up 99% of our food and drink companies. With the support of spiritsEUROPE, Gareth and Michelle McCallister of Ahascragh Distillery were nominated for their efforts in developing Ireland's first energised zero-emissions distillery. The team at Ahascragh has consistently shown their commitment to sustainability, and this level of investment and effort has not always been easy. We're delighted that they have received this recognition in Brussels this week, and even happier that Barry Cowen MEP was on hand to congratulate them in person. We also understand that Gareth and Michelle advocated effectively for all the membership of the Irish Whiskey Association while in Brussels, and we thank them for exemplifying the best of collegiality and conviviality always! More media coverage here: https://lnkd.in/e-pRvbpd

We would like to offer our congratulations to Ahascragh Distillery who have been recognised by the EU food and drink trade association FoodDrinkEurope for their work and investment in ensuring the first zero-energy-emission distillery in Ireland. Our association was proud to showcase this distillery earlier this year with the Department of Agriculture as an example of the work being done by Irish Whiskey Association membership around the country to reduce carbon emissions and ensure sustainability remains front of mind as new investments and practices take place. We're so pleased that this distillery is now being internationally recognised!

We would like to thank all our members who joined us last night, and all those who worked so hard to ensure the 2024 Chairman's Awards was a success. It was an honour to be in your company, and in that of the Awardees, and we look forward to many more years of success.

The Irish Whiskey Association would like to thank Minister Charlie McConalogue TD for taking the time to be with us for this celebration of the Irish Whiskey sector tonight. The work and support of the Department is integral to what we do, and we look forward to continued support and continued growth in the years to come. It was especially fitting that our Donegal Chair, James Doherty of Sliabh Liag Distillers, was here to welcome our Donegal Minister.

Brian Watts, the Master Distiller and General manager of Great Northern Distillery (GND) died suddenly and unexpectedly on 13 October 2022 at the very young age of just 60 years. Born and raised in Scotland, Brian graduated from Dundee College of Technology in 1986 with an Honours Degree in Science and Mechanical Engineering. As a young graduate, he worked with Scottish Power on safety case arguments for major power stations, before moving to William Grant & Sons in 1992 to commence his career in whisky. He worked in a variety of project management and asset management-related engineering roles until 1995. He then took up a new role as a shift manager at the North British Grain Distillery before being promoted to production manager with responsibility for a plant and team producing over 68 million litres of alcohol annually. From 2012 Brian gained experience in the food packaging and agri-food sector before he came to Ireland in June 2017 to take up the role of General Manager and Master Distiller of the Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk. In this key leadership role in the Irish whiskey sector, he excelled as a mentor and friend to a great number of emerging brands and start-ups. Brian had the ability to make each brand owner feel as if they were GND’s most important customer when they visited the distillery. Brian added colour, innovation and diversity to the Irish Whiskey sector. This is a large part of Brian’s professional legacy.

Miriam Mooney is a qualified barrister and left the Bar to join the IWA as its Legal Counsel when it was established in 2014. She played a key role in the development of the three spirit GI Technical Files -Irish Whiskey, Irish Poitín and Irish Cream and most notably in the verification files of the GIs and worked tirelessly to get these across the line together with DAFM and Revenue. Miriam was instrumental in the development and roll out of the IWA mentoring programme linking established players with new entrants where they shared their knowledge and expertise as well as developing the IWA’s educational workshops now know as the Knowledge Still. At European level she has worked to ensue Irish Whiskey interests are represented and protected with all proposed legislative changes and has assisted members in navigating the EU regulatory framework. She has been committed to protecting the integrity of the Irish Whiskey category in pursing and taking enforcement action against infringement that threaten the reputation and undermine consumer confidence in Irish Whiskey. She has also sought to secure legal protection and recognition of Irish Whiskey in its export markets. Finally, she has also been a great support to member companies in the labelling and development of their Irish Whiskey brands. She is a greatly appreciated colleague of all of us in the Irish Whiskey Association and we are particularly heartened to see her hard work recognised by the panel of industry experts who chose these Awards.

Aoife Clarke holds a degree in Biotechnology and a Masters in Environmental, Health Risk Management. She is currently working as Vice President of Public Affairs & Alcohol in Society. Suntory Global Spirits (SGS) is one of the world’s leading premium spirits companies with brands that include Jim Beam, Markers Mark, Laphroaig, and Yamazaki to name but a few. Ms. Clarke represents Suntory’s interests on all public affairs issues in the International and APAC regions. She also has global responsibility for the implementation of SGS’s alcohol responsibility activity as well sitting on the Board of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking. Aoife has over 17 years in the alcohol beverage sector, is Chair of the Global Alcohol & Health Committee of spiritsEUROPE, Chair of the Scotch Whisky Association US Working Group and was the first female Chairperson of the Irish Spirits Association.   Regretfully, but perhaps fittingly, Aoife is currently in the United States as part of an Executive Development course – but we will be sure to present her with her Award at our upcoming Council meeting.

Johnny Harte is the co-founder of Five Farms Irish cream liqueur. Johnny is an experienced industry executive who started out his career in 1986 by joining the Old Tyrconnell Whiskey Company as Marketing Executive. For the previous 12 months Johnny had studied in The University of Southern Maine publishing a thesis on the ‘Market for Irish whiskey in the USA’. He moved in 1989 to the newly formed Cooley Distillery PLC. Dundalk, Ireland. During his time in Cooley he was promoted to the position of Marketing and Sales Director. This role’s responsibilities ranged from fund raising to finance whiskey stocks to launching products around the world. In 2003 John joined First Ireland Spirits as Director of Sales. He expanded his role in 2006 by becoming Sales and Marketing Director before leaving the First Ireland/Quintessential Brands group in 2015. Johnny has pioneered the introduction of Irish Whiskey and Irish Spirits products at all category and market sectors in many markets throughout the world. He has also been involved in the creation and restoration of a number of legendary Irish whiskey and Irish Liqueur brands that are now at the forefront of the Irish drinks’ renaissance. These brands include, Tyrconnell, Connemara, Kilbeggan, Lockes, The Liberties, Dubliner and Five Farms Irish Cream liqueur. Johnny was elected the Chairperson of the ISA (Irish Spirits Association) and appointed to the board of Drinks Ireland in December 2015.

David Quinn has provided a lifetime of service (41 years) to The Irish Whiskey industry, beginning his career with Irish Distillers in 1983 at Midleton Distillery. Throughout his career, David has had many roles, all contributing to the success of Irish Whiskey portfolio, including Master Distiller at The Old Bushmills Distillery and Technical Director of Irish Distillers. His technical expertise has led to significant advancements for Irish Distillers products, and this has positively impacted the overall Irish Whiskey category. He is THE senior scientific expert in the Irish Whiskey Industry and has been instrumental in advancing the science and understanding of Irish Whiskey both within Midleton Distillery and across the sector. David has also played a key role, along with other colleagues in the industry, in producing the Irish Whiskey Technical File, which underscores the GI status of the Irish Whiskey category. He has served on the Technical Committee of the Irish Whiskey Association since its inception. David is acknowledged and respected as one of the top experts across all aspects of whiskey including the science of Brewing, Distilling, Blending and Maturation. Through his open, supportive, and collaborative nature he has been an invaluable mentor to many of the new entrants to the Irish Whiskey industry, ensuring that Irish Whiskey remains a Premium Plus category.

John Quinn joined the Irish whiskey industry on July 1st, 1974, working for the Irish Distillers group in many roles, eventually managing the business in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Africa. His career continued with an export focus when he joined C& C International, the new owners of Tullamore D.E.W., with responsibility for Central & Eastern Europe, among others. The business in these areas thrived during his tenure and Irish whiskey is now a dominant player in the international spirits business in this part of the world. In 2012 he was appointed Global Ambassador for Tullamore DEW allowing him to advocate for the brand and the category across the globe. He semi-retired in 2022 but continues to spread the Irish Whiskey gospel, wherever and whenever needed. John is also a previous chairman of the Irish Whiskey Association.