Production at Ireland’s Midleton Distillery will go on “as normal”, despite the closure of its visitor space following the impact of Storm Babet, Irish Distillers has said.
In a statement sent to Just Drinks, the Pernod Ricard subsidiary said no damage was found at the production site in Midleton, East Cork.
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Closure of the Midleton Distillery Experience was announced earlier this week following “devastating flooding” from the storm that hit the region on 18 October.
Irish Distillers added that it was “assessing the extent of the damage”, predicting “clean-up and repair work will take some time”.
While production is set to continue, Midleton Distillery Collection is not taking on any new orders due to damage at the fulfilment site (where online customer orders are prepared for delivery).
It remains unclear how severely damaged the space is, as well as how long it might be until orders can be taken again. Updates will be published on the company website, Irish Distillers said.
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By GlobalDataBuilt in 1992, the visitor centre had only just reopened at the end of September following a €13m ($13.7m) redevelopment.
The new space had been hosting a range of “upgraded” whiskey tours and experiences, such as tastings, cask openings and cocktail-making classes.
A new immersive auditorium, café and modern retail space had also been built, with the goal of bringing in more than 200,000 Irish and international visitors.
The distillery produces seven major whiskey brands, including Jameson, The Spot Whiskeys, Redbreast, Powers, Method and Madness, Knappogue Castle and Midleton Very Rare.
Irish Distillers added that the flooding has not brought any changes to the structure of the organisation, nor has it affected permanent jobs at the visitor centre.
Commenting further, it said that a number of seasonal employees would be leaving the business in November, but that this was “in line with their contracts”, and “the norm in our business every year.”
