The 1988 acquisition of Irish Distillers Ltd (IDL) by Pernod Ricard is the great drinks industry acquisition that almost never happened. As the story goes, the French company – then a fraction of the size of today’s colossus – originally only wanted a small slice of the Irish whiskey pie.
James MacPhail buys back MacPhail Family Wines
MacPhail worked at MacPhail Family Wines for five years after the sale, before leaving in 2016 to start as an independent winemaker.
Conor Reynolds August 28 2024


