Co Down whiskey innovators set for fast growth in world’s biggest marketplace

The Co Down businesses, which also produce other premium spirits such as gin, vodka, poitin and rum, have linked up with California’s Foley Family Wines (FFW), a hugely successful family-owned wine and spirits company.

FFW has just announced that it has partnered with Newry’s Ireland Craft Beverages (ICB) to import and distribute premium spirits from its subsidiaries Two Stacks and Killowen Irish Spirits through its extensive wholesale and supplier network in the US.

The agreement is a major boost for the two local producers in the world’s most important and fastest growing marketplace for Irish whiskey. It will see their products on sale throughout the nation. It’s a further success for both companies in their drive to grow export sales for Irish whiskey in particular.

Two Stacks and Killowen produce a range of premium spirits including Irish whiskeys, gin, vodka and poitin. Killowen operates a distillery, near Rostrevor in the Mournes, while Two Stacks creates, blends and bottles award-winning Irish whiskeys and cream liqueur.

The small company also won international acclaim and exports for its pioneering Dram in a Can, the first Irish whiskey to be produced in a can.

Entrepreneurs Shane McCarthy, Liam Brogan and Donal McLynn founded ICB in 2015 and Two Stacks bonding and bottling in 2020. They are also closely involved in the development of Killowen Distillery.

Located near the Mourne Mountains, Two Stacks works with Ireland’s leading Irish distilleries to commission heritage recipes, as well as source, and access whiskey from a wide range of casks and distillates, creating unique and contemporary

whiskey products.

The impressive Two Stacks core portfolio includes The First Cut - Signature Blend, The Blender’s Cut – Cask Strength Blend, Smoke & Mirrors – Peated Single Malt, Double Barrel – Single Grain, Double Barrel – Single Pot Still, Double Barrel – Single Malt, and Double Irish Cream Liqueur. FFW will also import The First Cut and Double Barrel whiskeys, the unique Double Irish Cream Liqueur and ‘Dram in a Can’

The company won double gold for its Irish Double Cream Liqueur and gold for innovation in the World Liqueur Awards.

Killowen Distillery, founded and run by master distiller Brendan Carty, originally an architect, in 2017 is one of Ireland’s smallest, most authentic and innovation-led distilleries on the island. It is focused on producing historic peated Pot Still Irish Whiskey, as well as poitin, gin, rum, and liqueurs.

Liam Brogan, Donal MacLynn and Shane McCarthy, founders of Irish Craft Beverages and Two Stacks in Newry

Killowen’s unique Rum and Raisin, for instance, a 100 percent single malt Irish whiskey was awarded double gold in New York earlier in the year.

“As we expand our spirits portfolio, the addition of Irish whiskey and other beverages will complement our growing range of spirits from Scotland, New Zealand, Mexico, Kentucky, Texas, and Nevada,” says Shawn Schiffer, FFW President.

“Two Stacks and Killowen represent the history of classic Irish distilleries and the creativity and innovation that consumers across the US are seeking.”

“Two Stacks operates an independent bottling and bonding facility in Newry that is a modern revival of Irish whiskey bonding, helping script a new and exciting chapter for where Irish whiskey can go, through the custodianship of some of Ireland’s oldest and newest whiskey distillates, harmonising blends to create unique and exciting flavours within the category,” continues ICB’s Shane McCarthy, a founding director of the Newry business.

“Foley Family Wines shares our commitment to quality and craftsmanship and is the right partner for us as we expand our sales and distribution into the US,” he adds.

The latest statistics indicate the US opportunity for Irish whiskey. In 2023, 12.9m nine litre cases of Irish whiskey were sold, a 3% increase from 2022 .

Approximately 91% of Irish whiskey retail sales in the US are in the premium+ category. The US was also the leading export market for Irish cream liqueurs in 2023.

Established by Bill Foley in 1996, FFW is a portfolio of highly acclaimed wines and spirits from some of the world’s greatest estates. The company owns more than 24 wineries, including some of the finest in California, and a distillery, each with its distinct style, legacy, and approach to hospitality.

FFW has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of fine wine, adding some of the industry’s most valuable wineries, located in the most recognized winemaking regions, including Napa, Sonoma, the Pacific Northwest, and New Zealand.

Today, the Foley Family Wines portfolio boasts a number of the most-celebrated names in wine, including Chalk Hill Estate, Chalone, Ferrari-Carano, and Sebastiani.