The two companies are already established business partners as Altia is the exclusive distributor of Walsh Whiskey in the Nordic markets for its 'The Irishman' and 'Writers Tears' whiskey brands.
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| Walsh Whiskey CEO Bernard Walsh and Altia CEO Pekka Tennilä |
The deal, which is for the supply of malt and grain whiskey, is the first such partnership agreement made by Walsh Whiskey since its distillery at Royal Oak in Ireland was commissioned back in March.
Altia will use the maturated whiskey primarily for its Latitude brand, which is a strong performing and well established whiskey in Sweden.
Commenting on the news, Bernard Walsh, Founder and CEO of Walsh Whiskey Distillery, said: “We are looking forward to a successful long-term partnership with Altia. We are allocating 15% of the output from our distillery at Royal Oak to the production of whiskey for a small number of selected international partners. We are particularly pleased that our first agreement is with a company like Altia which is a partner of choice for us. In addition to already being our distribution partner, they are an innovative and modern leader in the Nordic spirits and wine sector.”
The Walsh Whiskey Distillery at Royal Oak was commissioned on March 27th, and is one of the largest independent whiskey distilleries in Ireland. The two production lines, using both pot stills and column stills, give Walsh Whiskey Distillery the capacity to produce 650,000 cases of whiskey annually.
Planned expansion of the business will lead to increased supplies of Irishman Whiskey and Writers Tears brands from 2019 when distribution will increase to over 100 countries including China and India.
Posted by Steve Rush