Cooley Distillery: The Independent Spirit of Ireland Cooley Distillery, found in Dundalk, Co. Louth, was the first new whiskey distillery to be set up in Ireland in over 100 years and it is Ireland’s youngest, smallest and only independent whiskey distillery (“The Cooley Distillery”). John Teeling, a successful business enthusiast, investor, and Harvard Business school scholar, who found great interest and opportunity in Irish whiskey, established it in 1987. Cooley began distilling in 1989. The origins of Irish whiskey dates back to around 600 A.D., when Irish monks brought the alembic and the secret of distillation from the Middle East, according to the history of Irish Distillers. The Irish name “uisce beatha” translates to “water …show more content…
Cooley is a non-listed public company with 290 shareholders and 9,098,935 shares outstanding (Kennelly, 1).
The macro environment surrounding alcohol sales and consumption has generally been stable and has experienced incremental growth throughout history. In the United States, the number of per capita consumption of alcohol has declined slightly, but has consistently remained around 2.5 gallons, per person, per year. The lower class, specifically females in the lower class are responsible for a majority of alcohol consumption in the United States. The highest per capita consumption worldwide is as follows: Luxembourg, Ireland, France, Hungary, and Denmark, (the US ranks 22nd.) According to one article, “the beverage alcohol industry contributed over $21 billion directly to state and local revenues during 2010. Of that amount, distilled spirits accounted for over $8.8 billion or 41% of this direct revenue” (“Distillery Spirits”).
The Irish whiskey industry in particular has suffered tremendously in the 20th century. in 1779, Ireland had 1,200 distilleries that accounted for nearly 60% of the world market. However, into the 80s, there were only two remaining distilleries. At its lowest point, Irish whiskey sales accounted for only 2% of scotch whiskey sales, and seemed that it would inevitably be obsolete. However, there was a
"Cooley Distillery: The Independent Spirit of Ireland" is a "David and Goliath" case surrounding Cooley Distillery, which is the only independently owned Irish whiskey distiller in the world. Located in Ireland, the company has managed to survive strong competition in the oligopolistic category of Irish whiskey in the global spirits industry for 25 years. The non-listed public company has remained a niche player despite gaining a staggering reputation for quality and innovation in its offerings. One of the biggest problems faced by the company is that in all these years, Cooley Distillery has never managed to pay any dividends to its 290 shareholders and John Teeling, the founder and chairman
Consumption of alcohol changed greatly after the war as well. Whiskey became the America's favorite liquor, and a deeply valued trade item. It was efficient to make, saved materials, and cheap for people to buy. Whiskey was suddenly being consumed in record amounts, and was even used to instead of water and milk in cities, where the water was often polluted and the milk expensive (Blocker 9). Drinking changed in ways other than higher consumption rates and cheaper whisky in cities. Whereas in the colonies drinking took place in community situations, in the cities drinking often took place outside the home. It was no longer being produced by families but had to be purchased with money that can ultimately hurt the family. People began drinking more in informal individual situations instead of closely tied community events, creating hostility
The Whiskey Rebellion was caused by on man and his believe on how to reduce the National debt. “In 1791 Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury, sought a way to reduce the national debt, and he convinced Congress to pass the first internal revenue tax in the form of an excise tax on distilled spirits.” This tax law that Alexander Hamilton created made a lot of people very angrey especially the farmers. The farmers would relay on their crops that they would grow to provide for them and their families. When the farmers had extra grain left over one of the main ingrediants in whiskey they would make whiskey out of the extra grain. It provided them extra money for them and their families and it was very easy to move whiskey. The
Other influential people like John Adams and James Madison drank every day and owned stills. For example, George Washington owned one of the most prosperous whiskey distilleries in Virginia . After the birth of our nation in 1776, Congress passed a law to tax whiskey. Since whiskey making and drinking was a large business for Americans, this caused uproar among the people. A small army of whiskey makers and tax protesters went on a rampage against anything that had to do with taxes. This became known as the “Whiskey Rebellion” and was quickly ended by George Washington, but this showed that whiskey and alcohol not only are importantly culturally, but also economically.
All whiskey must be aged for a certain amount of time, and so it makes
The Teeling 26 Year Old single malt whiskey is a unique Irish whiskey that has been partly matured in white Burgundy wine casks. Double distilled at a distillery that is more renowned for its triple-distilled single malts, this started off in an American white oak ex-Bourbon cask and the addition of wine cask ageing has added some glorious fruit characters that are very much in harmony with the whiskey. One must note that availability is limited as just a thousand individually numbered bottles
Alcohol consumption and underage drinking has been a major social problem and public health concern for centuries. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States, more than tobacco and illicit drugs, and is responsible for more than 4,300 annual deaths among underage youth (Fact Sheets - Underage Drinking). Alcohol has always been part of our culture as well as a debatable topic in our society and the controversy over alcohol consumption, in general, has been a long-standing issue in America. In fact, the legal history of alcohol helped shape our country because of the way that it closely correlates with both economic and social shifts. People who oppose the use of alcohol have made several failed attempts to put restrictions on its production, sales, and consumption. This dates back to the late 1700’s, starting with the Whiskey Rebellion, followed by the Temperance Movement in the early 1800’s, and subsequently by the more renowned era of Prohibition, which started when the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed in 1919.
The site of the Glen Grant Distillery, in Speyside in the Scottish Highlands, was deemed ideal to make this happen, with the nearby port of Garmouth, fields of barley surrounding it, and the River Spey to the south.
In North America there is Canadian whisky and American whiskey, which has a number of regional classifications including Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey. Each product in North America is unique and is regulated by the government. Canadian whisky is the number one imported spirit into the United States and is second in consumption only to vodka.
The regions of Scotland confused me; how could I ever remember that The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich both arose from the Speyside, while Glenmorangie hails from the Highlands region? I struggled at first between the differences in a single malt versus a blended whiskey. Add in the intricate old fashioned, manhattan, and whiskey sour (Egg whites? In a cocktail?) recipes, and I automatically assumed I would be screwed!
The latter of which went on to become the world famous Buffalo Trace Distillery, based in Frankfurt, Kentucky. It is said to be the oldest continually operated distillery in the USA dating back to 1775, and is a designated National Historic Landmark. Even during Prohibition the distillery remained open to make whisky for ‘medicinal’ purposes.
Whiskey has a long history in North America, and is in some ways very closely related to the national image of both the United States and Canada. Both countries have strong and legally well-defined whiskey making and drinking traditions, as well as a creation story that marks whiskey production as a serious footnote in each country's heritage.
Whiskey is an expanding market in the U.S. and many new companies are coming out and introducing smaller whiskeys that are not made by large brands such as Jim Beam and Jack Daniels. The problem that these smaller companies
And they create lots of interesting ways to drink whisky, which I think is very attracted to consumers, not only for young ones.
Jameson is currently the world’s favorite Irish whiskey. It is the world’s most recognizable Irish whiskey and is also the best-selling by a long shot. Over 30 million bottles of Jameson’s whiskey is sold every year. There are seven main whiskies within the Jameson brand (Straightwhisky, 2013).