Titanic Distillers has won the race to resurrect whiskey production in Belfast since the days of prohibition with the commissioning of its site at the Thompson Dock and Pumphouse.
It said whiskey has not been distilled in the city for 88 years but has now begun once again following an £8 million investment in the building in the heart of the city’s Titanic Quarter and the granting of a Distillers License last week.
The company, which his backed by investors Stephen Symington and former lottery winner Peter Lavery, had already opened the visitor centre at the new distillery but has just managed to get the distilling process up and running.
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The pumphouse where the distillery is based had been used to pump water out of the adjacent dry dock and was where the Titanic last sat on dry land before being launched.
It will produce single malt whiskey in its three copper stills which are situated on a mezzanine floor overlooking the Pumphouse’s original Gwynne pumping engines which are deep in the building’s pump-well.
Head Distiller Damien Rafferty said the start of production has been a momentous occasion.
“To finally begin production on site is an incredible feeling and a huge milestone, not just for us but for the city of Belfast,” he said. “A lot of time, hard work and investment has gone into this amazing project to date, but this week marks the culmination of all that – with the distillery and visitor attraction now both fully operational.
“In many ways though, the job is only beginning as we start producing a whiskey that the people of Belfast and Northern Ireland can be proud of, and one that will represent us well all over the world .”
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Stephen Symington, Director of Titanic Distillers, said the team has worked hard to recognise the sites history.
“This has been a real labour of love for all concerned over a period of more than five years – from the initial seeds, through the planning process and then the loving restoration of one of our city’s most historic and iconic buildings,” he said. “Our ambition, from the outset, has always been to embrace the history of our distillery’s location to create a unique product and visitor experience, immersed in the spirit of Belfast’s industrial and maritime past and inspired by the people who worked in Belfast’s shipyard more than a century ago.”