One of the world’s leading Irish whiskeys. The drink is devoid of the sweetness of American bourbon and smoky scotch, its characteristic shades are barley malt and charcoal. Created in County Cork, “Tullamore Dew” is most popular in Western Europe – in Germany, Greece, Sweden, Denmark and Latvia.
Historical reference. The distillery in the small town of Tullamore near Dublin was built by a descendant of Irish farmers Mike Mallow in 1829. Despite the lack of experience, the twenty-year-old entrepreneur managed to create a quality drink and attract customers, first from all over the area, and then from remote areas of Ireland. The family helped Mike by supplying selected barley from their plots.
Mallow did not pursue the goal of entering the foreign market with his drink, he did not increase the capacity, the production volumes corresponded to the demand of regular customers. Only after his death, when the distillery passed into the hands of his great-nephew Bernard Daley in 1887, did production begin to be done professionally. The heir himself was too busy with horses, racing and playing polo, but he appointed experienced distiller Daniel Williams, who had worked at the distillery since the age of 14, as manager.
Tullamore, at the suggestion of Bernard Daly, was renamed “B. Daly Distillery, and the stubborn Williams, who turned out to be a talented manager, began to improve the business:
- He electrified the distillery (the plant became the first city enterprise with electric lighting) and made a telephone connection at a time when the inhabitants of the town only heard about it.
- Built new warehouses, a plant for bottling and packaging products.
- He changed the name of the whiskey, adding to it the first letters of his name (Daniel E. Williams) Dew, and came up with a logo – a red jug.
- Before other Irish producers introduced their drink to the markets of the USA, Germany and France.
Daniel Williams first became a shareholder in B. Daly Distillery ”, and in 1903, when the Daly family finally lost interest in production, – the full owner. But then followed years of trade wars with England, which once again increased duties on Irish goods, the First World War, Prohibition in the United States. Sales dropped so much that production had to be suspended.
Restored production in 1947 is the grandson of Daniel Williams – Desmond. He brought the idea of blending from the USA, where he was looking for clients to supply Tullamore Dew. Tullamore Dew Blended Whiskey was the first Irish whiskey to be blended. In addition, the talented young man managed to recreate the recipe for the ancient Celtic drink “heather honey” – an alcoholic herbal tincture with honey, and start the production of Irish Mist liqueur based on Tullamore Dew.
In 1959, as small businesses began to merge across Ireland, the brand became the property of Powers, and in 1965 Powers became part of The Irish Distillers Group. Another 30 years later, in 1994, the trademark was bought by the alcohol company Cantrell & Cochrane (C&C). And then world fame came to Tullamore Dew – the first awards at the international competitions The Irish Whiskey Master, IWSC, International Spirits Challenge and the first title of “Best Irish Whiskey” in 2001.
Today, Tullamore Dew is sold in 80 countries – 2,5 million bottles annually.
Brand symbols
The slogan “Give Every Man His Dew!”, or “Give everyone his dew!”. It played on the correspondence of the initials of Daniel E. Williams (DEW) to the English word for “dew” – Dew.
The modern Tullamore Dew logo appeared in 1950. Desmond Williams decided to abandon the red jug invented by his grandfather and placed the image of two Irish wolfhounds on the emblem. He believed that the power and strength of giant dogs (the height of an Irish wolfhound can be 120 cm at the withers) corresponds to the character of whiskey. At the same time, Williams also changed the label – it became the traditional green color for Ireland.
Three interesting facts about Tullamore Dew
- This is the lightest of all Irish whiskeys. Experts attribute the drink’s light golden color to the recipe’s secret ingredient and the use of soft water made from melted snow and ice.
- Based on Tullamore Dew, two liqueurs are produced: Irish Mist – with honey, heather and herbal extract, and Carolans – with chocolate, cream and honey.
- The production technology is traditional for Irish whiskey – smokeless drying of malt in ovens and triple distillation takes place in the same way as with other brands. But stills for distillation are made according to original drawings, they are distinguished by their high height and tapering to the top design, which ensures the production of light and pure alcohols.
Types of Whiskey Tullamore Dew
Tullamore Dew (40%). A premium blend aged seven years in oak bourbon casks. Light aroma with notes of malt and vanilla. The taste is tart with woody-nutty undertones. In 2005, Tullamore Dew received a gold award at the International Spirits Challenge in London.
Tullamore Dew 10 Year Old (40%). Single malt Tullamore Dew, unlike light golden blends, has a rich honey color. This is the only Irish whiskey that has been matured for ten years in four types of barrels – bourbon, madeira, port and sherry. This is due to the multifaceted taste with hints of fruit, vanilla and caramel, and the complex aroma of notes of apricot, vanilla, honey, caramel and nuts. The drink, first produced in 2009, already in 2012 received a gold award at the International Wine & Spirit Competition, in 2013 – a silver medal at the World Spirits Competition and a gold medal at the Los Angeles Wine & Spirits Competition, and in 2014 became the silver medalist of The Irish Whiskey Masters (The Spirits Business) and IWSC.
Tullamore Dew 12 Year Old (40%). Blended whiskey of light golden color with a delicate woody vanilla aroma. The taste of the drink, which matured for 12 years in oak bourbon barrels, is soft, with hints of oak, vanilla and nutmeg. The aftertaste is long, warm, with a touch of vanilla and lemon zest. In 2000, at the International Spirits Challenge in London, the drink was named “Best Irish Whiskey” and received the honorary Supreme trophies.
Tullamore Dew blends are considered by bartenders to be the ideal basis for cocktails and Irish coffee. And single malt Tullamore Dew 10 Year Old is recommended to drink neat or with the addition of 2-3 ice cubes.