Rebound at Laois distillery amid global popularity of Irish cream liqueur

A Laois-based company behind liqueurs like Feeney’s Irish Cream reported a more than eight-fold jump in profits in the year to end of March 2022 as the global market for the protected Irish spirit expanded again.

First Ireland Spirits Manufacturing, which was sold to European drinks group Quintessential Brands in 2014, saw its revenues swell 45 per cent last year to almost €33 million after a sharp dip in 2021 due to the pandemic, according to recently-filed accounts.

Profits after tax at the McCormick’s Irish Country Cream-maker also improved, climbing more than eight-fold from just €20,810 to €1.8 million.

Staff numbers at the Abbeyleix, Co Laois, manufacturing facility increased from 72 to 81 in the year, and the group continued to invest in the expansion of the plant, the directors said in a report attached to the accounts.

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Irish cream liqueur, which along with Irish whiskey and poitín are protected against imitation under the EU’s Geographical Indications regime, has increased in global popularity in recent years, carving out a bigger share of the market in the US and elsewhere.

Global exports of the spirit have increased steadily from 7.2 million nine-litre cases in 2014 to 9.9 million last year. In its 2022 Irish spirits report published earlier this month Ibec’s Drinks Ireland division indicated that the market was likely to expand to 10 million cases in 2023.

“This is a testament to all the Irish cream producers on the island of Ireland who continue to produce the highest quality brands that are welcomed all over the world,” the group said, adding that imitators continue to be a challenge, particularly in non-EU markets where it does not enjoy the same protections.

First Ireland Spirits is part of the Quintessential Brands Group, which also owns the Dublin Liberties Distillery. The company behind the distillery posted a loss of almost €1.8 million in the year to the end of March last, according to accounts filed recently. The accounts note that “significant funds” have been invested in the distillery building and the development of its Dubliner and Dublin Liberties brands, resulting in accumulated losses of close to €7.4 million.

Founded by former Campari chief executive Enzo Visone, the Quintessential brand stable includes London Dry Gin, Bloom Dry Gin and Dead Rabbit Irish whiskey.