“It’s a slightly false choice to say that it is us or Jameson” – Interview, William Grant & Sons CEO Simon Hunt and Tullamore Dew global brand director Caspar MacRae

Last month, William Grant & Sons inaugurated a new grain distillery and bottling plant at its Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey site. The opening ceremony, held on a windy, rainswept afternoon in central Ireland, was one of the final stages in the group’s Irish whiskey venture, launched when it bought the Tullamore Dew brand in 2010. In that time, the company has built a greenfield distillery in the brand’s original home of Tullamore, including a malt whiskey distillery that started production in late 2014. Under Irish whiskey rules, those first casks are now of legal age. But, it is the new grain distillery that will do most of the work at Tullamore, creating the triple-distilled grain spirit needed to compete in the increasingly-competitive Irish whiskey market. Ahead of the opening ceremony, just-drinks sat down with William Grant CEO Simon Hunt and Tullamore Dew’s global brand director, Caspar MacRae, to discuss Tullamore Dew’s future, the importance of innovating with stock and why new technology should never get in the way of a consistent brand story. 

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