Kildare people urged to sell old bottles of whiskey at auction

People across Kildare, where there was a once thriving whiskey industry, have been urged to search their attics or sheds for old bottles of whiskey as the value of the spirit is soaring.

Whiskey sales almost tripled globally in the past decade, spurred on by celebs such as Conor McGregor, rapper Drake and Hollywood star Matthew McConaghey creating new brands.

The Dublin-based Celtic Whiskey Auction company, which holds regular auctions to tap into the spiralling demand for collecting and speculating, urged people to come forward with old bottles to be valued or sold.

Earlier this year, a rare 142-year-old bottle of Cassidy's whiskey distilled in Co Kildare in the 1880s went under the hammer on the whiskeybidders.com site with a guide price of €14,000.

Speaking about the revival in Irish whiskey,  Jack Simpson of CelticWhiskeyAuction.com site, said: "You don't need to look much further than the €250 million investment by Irish Distillers in Cork this month in terms of the confidence in the Irish whiskey market going forward."

He added:  "Along with all the smaller distilleries setting up, interest is only going up in my opinion."

The next Celtic Whiskey Auction sale is October 24 and bottles of vintage whiskey can be submitted up to ten days beforehand.

The number of distilleries in Ireland has jumped ten-fold from just four in 2010 to a staggering 42 in 2022.

And annual global sales have almost tripled from 60m bottles a decade ago to 168m bottles last year.

U2 frontman Bono has invested in a new whiskey distillery at the historic Ballykelly Mills site in Kildare which will feature whiskey tasting rooms, a roof garden and an exhibition area.

The distillery venture is being developed by Dublin-based Jewelfield Ltd led by businessman Paddy McKillen and which lists

Bono as a shareholder under his real name Paul Hewson.

Earlier this month, Taoiseach Micheal Martin unveiled plans for a €250m distillery in Midleton in east Cork by Irish Distillers.

The Taoiseach said Irish whiskey was now delivering on its enormous export potential with huge benefits for the economy.

The distillery will create 100 new jobs when fully operational by 2025.

During the construction phase, the project will support 800 jobs.

The new distillery will produce some of the world’s most successful Irish whiskey brands including Jameson, Powers, Redbreast, Midleton Very Rare as well as Method and Madness.