Irish Whiskey Distilleries Doubled in Number Between 2014-16

The Irish whiskey category continues to boom. A new report from the Irish Spirits Association says that the number of distilleries in Ireland doubled between 2014 and 2016.

That number now stands at 18 — with 16 more Irish whiskey distilleries set to open in the coming years. In 2011 there were only four operational distilleries in the country.

Among these new producers are the Slane Irish Whiskey Distillery (pictured atop) of Brown-Forman, which opened this September.

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The report also found that sales of Irish whiskey were up 11.3% in 2016. That makes Irish whiskey “the fastest growing spirits category in the world,” the report claims, with sales of premium Irish whiskey up by 135% in the last five years. 

The country expects its Irish whiskey exports to double by 2020. Sales in the U.S. of the spirit reportedly increased nearly 20% in 2016.

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