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Irish whiskey distillery is sold for record $95 million

By
JAMES O'SHEA,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Saturday, December 17, 2011, 8:29 AM
Updated Saturday, December 17, 2011, 8:29 AM

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Cooley Whiskey brands
Cooley Whiskey brands


The Irish whiskey distillery Cooley was sold for $95 million to an American firm, Beam INC, the world’s fourth largest spirits company.

Sales of Irish whiskey globally have soared in recent years especially in America with Jameson leading the way. Currently 4.86 million cases have been sold.

Founder of Cooley, John Teeling will make $20 million personally from the sale.

Ironically, he has never drunk his own brew.

“I’ve never tasted the stuff,” he told The Irish Times yesterday.
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He had the idea for Cooley back in 1970 and started it with $100,000 dollars.

“We bought an old alcohol plant on the Cooley peninsula that was using potatoes to make ethanol,” he stated and they added the Kilbeggan distillery in 1988.

He said he agonized over the deal.

“It was like walking your only daughter down the aisle and giving her to another man,” he explained.

Beam’s president and chief executive Matt Shattock stated the deal was a “unique and compelling high-return opportunity to enter one of the industry’s highest growth categories."

“We look forward to being good stewards of these iconic Irish assets,” he said.

​
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4 Comments

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merefalow | Dec 18, 2011, 09:19 PM EST
john teeling,never tasted the stuff,brilliant,still think they sold it to cheap,costs nearly nothing to make,sells for anything between 20 to 200 a bottle,its allmost as good a business as religion.

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Springfield9 | Dec 18, 2011, 10:48 AM EST
Beam is run by BEAN COUNTERS. Teeling was a visionary. The difference between the two is that a visonary values every single person on his team. BEAN COUNTERS put you off your job if the next quarter looks bad. So, we now get an ordinary blend whiskey with shamrocks all over the label. Pity.

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Murph46 | Dec 17, 2011, 12:34 PM EST
Guinness & Cooley prosper in hard Irish times Hmmmm!

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joan1954 | Dec 17, 2011, 10:28 AM EST
If Beam Inc is the maker of Jim Beam Bourbon, my favorite by the way, I hope to see Cooley Irish in Texas at some stage.

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