Cooley Distillery Essay
2717 WordsMay 6, 201511 Pages
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