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22-631: The Cork Distilleries Company was founded in 1867 to merge four existing distilleries in Cork city (the North Mall , the Green , Watercourse Road , and Daly's ) under the control of one group. A fifth distillery, the Old Midleton Distillery , joined the group soon after in 1868. In 1882, the company hired a young Corkman called Paddy Flaherty as a salesman. Flaherty travelled the pubs of Cork marketing

44-557: A comparatively low pot still content and a high malt content in its blend. Jim Murray , author of the Whiskey bible, has rated Paddy as "one of the softest of all Ireland's whiskeys". Cork Distilleries Company Cork Distilleries Company was an Irish whiskey distilling company. It was formed in 1867, when four Cork distilleries, Daly's , the Green , North Mall , the Watercourse were amalgamated under one company to form

66-532: A period in the 20th century. In the mid-1880s, the Watercourse Distillery was mothballed, so that by the turn of the century, only two of CDC's five distilleries, North Mall and Midleton remained in production. Unfortunately, in 1920 a fire broke out at the North Mall distillery, completely destroying its five-storey mill, and causing significant damage to most, if not all of the production buildings. Had

88-496: A subsidiary of the French drinks conglomerate, following a friendly takeover bid. In 2016, Pernod Ricard sold the Paddy brand to Sazerac, a privately held American firm for an undisclosed fee. Pernod Ricard stated that the sale was in order to "simplify" their portfolio, and allow for more targeted investment in their other Irish whiskey brands, such as Jameson and Powers . At the time of

110-518: The 1920s and 1930s in Ireland, whiskey was sold in casks from the distillery to wholesalers, who would in turn sell it on to publicans. To prevent fluctuations in quality due to middlemen diluting their casks, Cork Distilleries Company decided to bottle their own whiskey known as Paddy, becoming one of the first to do so. In 1988, following an unsolicited takeover offer by Grand Metropolitan , Irish Distillers approached Pernod Ricard and subsequently became

132-502: The CDC, bringing five Cork distilleries under common ownership. In the years following the amalgamation, the North Mall proved to be one of CDC's more promising concerns. When Alfred Barnard , the British historian visited the North Mall in 1886, the distillery occupied 23 acres, and had a staff of 250 people, and an output of 500,000 gallons per annum. The distillery, Barnard reported, was amongst

154-494: The Cork Distilleries Company for several years. The Watercourse Distillery was also mothballed in the mid-1880s, so that by the turn of the century, only two of CDC's five distilleries, the North Mall and Midleton -remained in production. In 1920, a fire broke out at the North Mall distillery, completely destroying its five-storey mill, and causing significant damage to most, if not all of the production buildings. Had

176-401: The Cork Distilleries Company. In 1868, these were joined by another Cork distillery, James Murphy's Midleton Distillery . The company existed until 1966, when the Cork Distilleries Company merged with two other Irish distillers, John Powers & Son and John Jameson & Son , to form Irish Distillers . The company produced Paddy Whiskey , and Cork Dry Gin among other products. In

198-527: The Irish whiskey industry not been in the midst of a crisis, with most distilleries enduring severe financial hardship, the distillery might have been rebuilt. However, facing an uncertain economic outlook, a decision was taken to concentrate production at Midleton, rather than to renovate the North Mall Distillery. In 1966, with the Irish distilleries still facing an uncertain future, CDC merged with two of

220-417: The Irish whiskey industry not been in the midst of a crisis, with most distilleries enduring severe financial hardship, the distillery might have been rebuilt. However, facing an uncertain economic outlook, a decision was taken to concentrate production at Midleton, rather than to renovate the North Mall Distillery. Subsequently, the buildings which were most badly damaged were demolished, and those that survived

242-574: The North Mall continued to be used as a bottling and packaging facility until mid-2007, when it was closed. Irish Distillers cited falling domestic sales of whiskey and gin following excise tax hikes, and the loss of the Tullamore Dew bottling contract as factors contributing to its closure. Much of the site was subsequently redeveloped and incorporated into University College Cork and the Mercy University Hospital. However, some remnants of

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264-530: The cleanest, and best-kept of all those he had visited in Britain and Ireland, and marketed a whiskey known as Wise's Cork Old Pot Still Whiskey in Ireland, England, "the Colonies" and America. By contrast, some of CDC's other distilleries were less fortunate. Daly's shut in 1869, shortly after its takeover by CDC, while distillation of whiskey likely ceased at the Green in 1870, although it may later produced gin for

286-439: The company's unwieldy named "Cork Distilleries Company Old Irish Whiskey" . His sales techniques (which included free rounds of drinks for customers) were so good, that when publicans ran low on stock they would write to the distillery to reorder cases of "Paddy Flaherty's whiskey". In 1912, with his name having become synonymous with the whiskey, the distillery officially renamed the whiskey Paddy Irish Whiskey in his honour. In

308-639: The distillery is uncertain, however, it is said to have been established in 1779 by two brothers, Thomas and Francis Wise. The distillery was located on the north banks of the River Lee, on the site of an old Dominican Friary known as the Abbey of St. Francis or the North Abbey. After its establishment, the distillery expanded rapidly, in particular, after the reform of the Distillation Act in 1823. In 1827, production

330-552: The distillery was destroyed by a fire in 1920. Distilling operations never resumed at the North Mall after the fire, and it was later converted into a bottling and storage facility which was used by Irish Distillers until 2007, at which point operations were transferred to Irish Distillers' other bottling facilities in Dublin. In the mid-2000s, much of the site was jointly acquired by University College Cork and Mercy University Hospital, and has since been redeveloped. The exact origin of

352-425: The fire converted to storage facilities. In 1964, a modern, state of the art bottling facility was added to the site of the distillery by Cork Architect Frank Murphy (architect) . In 1966, with the Irish distilleries still facing an uncertain future, CDC merged with two of the other remaining Dublin distilleries, John Jameson & Co . and John Powers & Co. , to form Irish Distillers . Under Irish Distillers,

374-572: The mid-1800s, the Irish whiskey industry underwent a period of turmoil, with the temperance movement of the 1830s, and the Great Famine of the 1840s reducing domestic demand for whiskey. At the time, Cork was home to several distilleries, therefore, in the 1860s, James Murphy, the owner of the Midleton distillery, suggested amalgamating the operations of several local distilleries. The other distilleries agreed, so in 1867, Cork Distilleries Company (CDC)

396-446: The original distillery remain. A brick chimney stack built by CDC for the sum of £5,000 between 1877–1888, originally with an elevation of 160 feet, but now somewhat reduced in height, remains as a protected structure. In addition, a residence of the distillery's former owner, Francis Wise, also a protected building, is now part of University College Cork's North Mall / Distillery Fields Campus . The building, known as Distillery House ,

418-482: The other remaining Dublin distilleries, John Jameson & Son. and John Powers & Son. , to form Irish Distillers . North Mall Distillery 51°53′58.0″N 8°29′08.8″W  /  51.899444°N 8.485778°W  / 51.899444; -8.485778 The North Mall Distillery was an Irish whiskey distillery located in Cork City , Ireland. In its day one of the most famous distilleries in Ireland,

440-636: The sale, Paddy was the fourth largest-selling Irish whiskey brand in the world, with sales of 200,000 9-litre cases per annum, across 28 countries worldwide. In 2020, Paddy's was named the Best Blended Irish Whiskey at the International Whiskey Competition . The whiskey also earned a silver medal and second place for Best Irish Whiskey at the event. Paddy whiskey is distilled three times and matured in oak casks for up to seven years. Compared with other Irish whiskeys, Paddy has

462-401: Was formed, with Murphy at the helm. In 1867, CDC took control of four Cork distilleries: North Mall , The Green , the Watercourse and Daly's , and a year later Midleton Distillery also joined. The years that followed its formation saw some rationalisation, with distilling ceasing at Daly's Distillery in 1869, and at the Green in the 1870s. Though both continued to be used as warehouses by

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484-536: Was reported as just over 320,000 gallons, up from 312,000 gallons in 1821, and by 1833, had rise to some 400,000 gallons per annum. In 1867, Francis Wise, a nephew and son of the aforementioned founders, sold the distillery to the Cork Distillers Company (CDC) which began as an amalgamation of four Cork distilleries: the North Mall, and three others: Daly's , the Green , and the Watercourse . A year later, in 1868, Murphy's Midleton Distillery also joined

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