| Location | Cork |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°54′32″N 8°28′26″W / 51.909°N 8.474°W |
| Founded | 1795 |
| Founder |
|
| Status | Defunct |
| Water source | Kiln river |
| No. of stills | Initially 2 pot stills (1,168 and 544 gallons), later a Coffey Still was added. |
| Mothballed | 1870s |
| Demolished | Mid-1990s |
The Watercourse Distillery was an Irish whiskey distillery which was established in Cork City, Ireland in 1795.[1] In 1867, the distillery was purchased by the Cork Distilleries Company (CDC), in an amalgamation of five Cork distilleries.[1] Following the amalgamation, the distillery was mothballed for a period at the beginning of the 20th century. However, operations at the distillery were later resumed, with production of yeast, industrial alcohol and grain alcohol occurring at the distillery until the 1970s. Distillation ceased at the facility in 1975, when Irish Distillers, who at that stage owned the Watercourse along with several other distilleries in the Republic of Ireland consolidated its operations in a new, purpose-built distillery in Midleton.
The name of the distillery lives on in the name given by Irish Distillers to a subsidiary which runs the Jameson Experience at the former Jameson Bow Street Distillery in Dublin and the Old Midleton Distillery in Cork.
The Watercourse Distillery was where Cork Dry Gin, the most popular brand of gin in Ireland was originally produced.[2] In the 1960s, Cork Distilleries Company launched a whiskey, called Hewitt's, which paid homage to the Watercourse's original owners. Unusually for an Irish whiskey, Hewitt's was a peated blend.[3] However, this was later reformulated as an unpeated blend,[3] before being discontinued in the 2004.[4]
- ^ a b Townsend, Brian (1997–1999). The Lost Distilleries of Ireland. Glasgow: Neil Wilson Publishing. ISBN 9781897784877.
- ^ "Cork Dry Gin". www.cork.ie. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- ^ a b Mulryan, Peter (2002). The Whiskeys of Ireland. O'Brien Press. ISBN 0862787513.
- ^ "Five Myths about Irish Whiskey". 17 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2017.